80's Fletcher 165 GTS Restoration - Rotten Wood Advice

[mucklestone]

Hi

I'm looking for some advice on how to check for rotten wood. How do you know if wood needs replacing or if it is ok?

The boat is a Fletcher 165 GTS with the mercruiser 3.0 sterndrive. Exact year is unknown but is around late 80's. What started as a transom/drive swap is turning into a full restoration!

After discovering the cockpit floor was as brittle as a biscuit it's now basically a bare hull with no engine, drive or floor!

How can I tell if the stringers / transom is ok? With the transom assembly removed I can see the edge of the plywood that reinforces the transom. It is black/darkened but is dry and seems solid when prodding with a screwdriver. Using a hammer on the back it seems solid apart from a 2-3" arch at the bottom around the drain plug which sounds a bit more hollow. It's a small area at the bottom, which won't significantly effect the strength.

I'll be glassing in a new floor with epoxy, just want to ensure the rest is sound before doing it.

Finally off topic, I'm tempted to fill the floor void with buoyancy foam (closed cell) glassed in. I have seen no sign of foam so far in the boat, which is worrying in a small boat like this. There are two boxes eitherside of the engine, which i assume will be foam filled and the same in the bow. Should there be foam in the floor?

 

[QBhoy]

Hi

Everything you have described is common problem to these superb range of boats. Haveing had a few, the main problem indeed seems to be rotting transoms and rotten wooden floors and seat mounts.
Have a look at the fletcher owners club in the U.K. plenty have dealt with your issues with great success. Still plenty of these about and even a decade older than yours or more. Great boats.
PS, hopefully you have kept the original seats and upholstery patterns ? A pet hate of mine, when some people think it’s a good idea to stick £30 fold down seats off eBay in a Fletcher, instead of re upholstering, haha.
All the best.

 

[mucklestone]

Haha yes, it was re-upholstered roughly 2 years ago. Original seats but a simplier pattern to make it easier....

I'm really just wondering how to tell if the transom is solid, it certainly seems it but just wonder how to check properly.

Most importantly everything is dry so far... No damp wood.

 

[seaangler23]

drill holes (not all the way through) from the inside and check for water or rotten cuttings then plug the holes woth thickened epoxy, dry out the stuff can see with acetone and brush a few layers of epoxy on,
Good resource for such things
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/302700234822

 

[mucklestone]

Thanks. How would you descrube yhe rotten wood, is the best way to look at colour, eg if yhe chippings are black?

 

[TSB240]

If you want some expert advice on Fletchers and their restoration contact Rob.

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...lt-21-Project-(70-s-80-s-)&highlight=Fletcher

 

[seaangler23]

Drill into a fresh bit of ply and see, should be light coloured and no moisture, water generally turns it to dark mush, done a new floor in an arrowflight years ago that rotted out, as for boyancy under the floor I wouldn’t fill with foam it’s rarely closed cell and will hold water, I knew someone who was going to fill his with plastic bottles which if you could prevent rattling isnt a bad idea

 

[mucklestone]

Some great advice here. I rang a marine surveyor who gave similar advice - drill some test holes!

Tonight I got out there. There is a hole through the transom for the drain bung. I removed the bung plate and looked at the hole. The wood was untreated, and didn't look great. I widened the hole out from the inside with a step drill, so that the finished hole is now tapered. The hole diameter is the same on the out side where the bung fitting goes, but it tapers to a much wider hole inside. Amazingly the wood was light and dry around the enlarged hole. The photo below is not great as it was taken at night, but you can see the wood is light coloured and solid!

Then I drilled some holes into the inside of the transom with a spade drill. I concentrated on the bottom of the transom where it is likely to be dampest. I used a new spade drill and it was immediately obvious that the transom was still pretty solid - it took a lot of pressure to drill and started burning the drill bit / wood slightly. It was hard to assess the wood by colour as it burnt slightly as I drilled it (as I said it was hard to drill!) but from how difficult it was to drill it is obviously still solid and tough! The image below shows one of the holes. The wood looks darker in the picture than in real life as it is in shadow - it is vitually impossible to light such a photo properly! You can also see how dirty the transom is. I will be cleaning this up and re-painting the engine bay!

Finally I thought I would attach a photo of the rotten floor. Most removed, but the difficult bits to come! The stringers are light coloured and dry where I can see through a couple of gaps in the fibreglass tabbing.

I will fill the holes with epoxy and replace the floor, but I think amazingly the rest still seems in very good condition, particularly for a 30 year old boat! Thanks for the advice!