Framework Repair

Remove Decking

To gain access to the stringers and other framework below deck we had to remove all the decking. Our plan is to replace all of this stuff so we carefully cut the fiberglass tabbing on the edges and otherwise tossed the remaining stuff out. Also had to pull a lot more foam out, this will also need to be replaced so toss away I say!

While removing the old decking, we found signs of how the water penetrated the stringers below. The person who put this decking on, and it obviously wasn't the manufacturer, decided that having more staples was cool thing. There is no reason to have this many staples, it effectively injected water directly into the stringer -- very much like a syringe stuck into the wood.

Just for fun, I thought I would show what the neighbors see their crazy neighborhood boat enthusiast doing...

Now that the mess is cleaned up for the time being, it's a good time to take a shot of what I'm calling the "topside of the keel". I don't know what is under the piece shown in the red outline but I do know it has a lot of water inside (shown in the right photo). Looks like that needs to go too, it's mushy.

The worst part of the framework, excluding the old transom, is this part of the stringer. The bare wood was exposed after someone had removed a rib from between the two main stringers. The starboard stringer (which is on the right side in this photo) is so rotten the fiberglass shell is hollow as you go forward.

There are some other minor signs of rot that will be removed and replaced but the above photo shows the worst case. I think the rot from having bare wood and far too many staples spread to some other pieces of the framework.

Here is a shot of the rot spread in progress.

The other spots are relatively minor but will be replaced anyway... It's that whole "do it right" thing. This boat had a repair done by someone who didn't follow that mantra, but she's in good hands now.

Ok after taking out the old flotation foam, and removing the stringers and ribs that will be replaced we have this view. The sunlight is casting a shadow which makes this photo a bit difficult to see but feel free to click on each of them to get a better view.

We still haven't removed the center board (aka top side of keel) which is definitely rotten and needing replacement. Here is the view of that board finally being removed. The left photo shows the water trapped in the bottom of that encapsulated board. The middle photo shows a decent shot of how the fiberglass looks after the pneumatic cut-off tool grinds through it. Finally the right most photo shows the severely rotten condition of the wood.

This photo of the transom illustrates how much fiberglass dust, or powder was left over after an entire day's worth of grinding. If we didn't have respirators to filter this stuff out, this work would be impossible. Also take note of what the sides of the transom support boards look like, we're about to fill those in.

Ok after cleaning that stuff up, and doing a good acetone wipe down of the portions we plan to apply fiberglass to we are ready to get busy. On Monday, or Memorial Day, we had some helpers coming by (Katy and Alex, our helpful siblings) so I thought it would be best to back the boat into the garage (to avoid direct sunlight) and otherwise setup "stations" for the work to be done easily... Here are those stations. From upper left going clockwise, we have the epoxy mixing station, then the fiberglass cutting station, a shot of the boat in the garage, and finally a shot of the board cutting/shaping station.

Ok, now we're all setup -- let's get to the glassin'.

First we mixed up some fillet material to fill in the gaps like you would use spakle putty to fill in gaps in sheetrock (e.g., house walls). The mixture consisted of 4 oz of epoxy resin, 9.5 tablespoons of wheat flour and 2 tablespoons of milled fiber powder. The result was a nice peanut butter like consistentcy that cured very solid.

Before the fillet (pronounced "FILL-IT", not "FILL-AYE" like a fish) cured we applied the fiberglass to it which formed a chemical bond. If we allowed the fillet to cure fully and then applied the fiberglass over it, it would have formed a "mechanical" bond which isn't as strong. The chemical bond is also referred to as a "primary bond", but who cares -- all we know is that it's now providing solid support for the transom.

Immediately after we got the transom in, we had to do some minor shaping of the new wood to make stringers and ribs out of them. Then applied them to the hull exactly where the previous stringers and ribs were. Here is a photo of the parts in their rough-cut form, the full sheets of plywood stacked behind the parts are reserved for the decking -- not there yet though.

Once we started fiberglassing the stringers and ribs in, we forgot to take pictures of the process. So we need to take some new shots and get them uploaded. Today we had some rain and the boat isn't in the garage anymore so the new photos will have to wait until tomorrow. It looks great though, now we can finally start to see the boat coming back together... WOO WHOO!!!

Here is a sneak peek at the stringers. We ran out of fiberglassing materials so we aren't quite done with them. Luckily we still have plenty of other tasks to accomplish while we are waiting for the next order of materials from US Composites to arrive. This photo was originally taken to show the transom work being completed, but you can see the stern stringers completed in this shot:

Another item worth taking note of, here we are using the "glue and screw" method of clamping the last piece of the transom. That's why it looks like a bad attempt at building a jigsaw puzzle.

Next we are on to rebuilding the stringers and floor (ribs).