A snowball effect............

So the weather forecasters came through and it was a lovely day today, warm with lots of sunshine and not a drop of rain in sight. I did quite a bit of grinding and cleaning, unearthing some old bodged repairs in the bilge area, including some glass that was laid directly on top of gel coat. This had lifted enough to allow water in underneath. No real harm but it meant that the glass wasn't really doing it's job. I took a closer look at the rot in the stringers and the engine mounts/ stringers. Not good at all so I'm working towards repairing and/or replacing these. Some opinions needed in this regard. I've posted a pic showing the ends of the motor mounts/stringers, which for some reason, reduce from the large 7"x 4" down to two smaller separate sections where they would tie into the transom. These separate sections have a gap running between them, which is just a trap for muck and water, neither of which I need! So, I was planning on cutting the top gel/glass off the top of the mounts/stringers (along with the two smaller short sections) and replace them with new wood, running the full length, right up to the transom, replacing the short small sections in the process. You can see the rot in the mount in the picture showing the section of gel/glass cut away.Thoughts?

Next question is regarding the stringers that run parallel to the engine mounts. I've already cut away the ( transom) ends of these stringers to investigate the rot, which is extensive. Drilling holes along the length of the stringer revealed mostly mush or empty space. So I was going to approach this repair like the transom, by cutting away the outer glass skin, clean away the rot and replace it fully, tying it into the transom also. Drain holes will be inserted as per the originals, properly sealed up. Any thoughts?

Tomorrow I hope to start fitting my new transom, weather permitting, Everything is cut, treated and just a bit of cleaning to do on the transom area first.

 
Lovely weather today and I got my transom cleaned up and the first layer of glass laid, along with the first of the two new transom boards. This is all clamped up and hardening overnight and tomorrow I'll repeat the process and get the second board glassed in, then it's just layers of fibreglass. So a bit of a milestone. Always good when you start putting things back together again!!
 
Bouba said:
You are quick;). To be building up already is amazing, hope the weather stays dry
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Thanks for the encouragement, but I wish! I've had so much lost time with bad weather, some days only getting an hour or two at it. Tomorrow should see a good bit more done, but the forecast is for bad weather to roll in by the weekend. Just trying to get the bulk of it sorted before my work season kicks in around march 8th.
 
So another great day on the weather front, almost too warm! A good day at the transom too, as I got the next resin and glass sandwich done, with the second transom board in place and tabbed in. I stuck some screws into it too and I'm happy that everything is nice and solid so far. A positive note was the fact that when I removed my clamp boards and "G" clamps from the first transom board, there was no movement or separation at all. Woo hoo!! Now it's just layers of glass and that much is done, before I move on to the stringers. A pic to show how it's shaping up. Not very exciting, but I'm a little bit excited!

 
I've replied twice to this post and managed to delete both of them! Old age! Anyway, time and weather conspired against me but I got bits and pieces done in between and the transom is all finished. I've started on the stringers and yes I will incorporate drain holes in them. The reduction in the engine mounts are there to facilitate the flywheel housing so I'll make up my new mounts with the same clearances. Only tidier. I'll be getting back home later today so I'll post an update with some pics soon. Hope you and yours are staying well. Thanks.
 
Hi fella. I can put a lot of hold ups on mine to the weather. Either to cold. Wet or warm. Windy. Be good to have a big workshop hey.

Atleast it's getting there now. But as we know a boat always needs a tinkering.

Best to never do a job unless you want another job to do lol.


This is how I did my draind so water gatherd for a bulge pump . Just a notch out and sealed good time and laminated over.

https://i.imgur.com/1WwaJiz.jpg
 
Well, as promised, a bit of an update. Today I got the stringer cut for the port side and then used it as a template for the starboard side, as they are about 99% the same. Just a case of flipping the piece around. I did a dry fit and all is good, including the angle at the transom and the angled cut along the bottom edge, to match the shape of the hull. I also included a cut out for drainage, into which I will fit a piece of pipework, all duly sealed and "resined" in.

I made the short, right angled section taller than the original, as it stopped short of the underside of the deck floor. My replacement piece goes all the way up, helping to give the floor some extra support and it also fills in an unnecessary hole.

All the stringer sections have been given a very liberal coat of resin on the inner sides, ready for fitting and I also have all the glass cut and waiting. I'll glass in the port side first and after it's all set properly, I'll cut away the outer glass skin on the starboard side, remove the mush and repeat the process. I just want to have one side finished before starting the other, to go some way towards maintaining structural integrity. I'll do likewise on the engine mounts. Some pics to clarify...….Transom done.jpgStringer rot.jpgStringer 1.jpg
 
Just more ply and fibreglass. I got the port stringer resined, fitted and tabbed in along with the short section at the transom end. It's wedged in place while it sets up and then is ready for final glassing. I'm just about ready to move over to the starboard side, but the weather will dictate what I get done. Typically, it's forecast to take a turn for the worst, just when I manage to grab some free time...………………..Transom tabbed 2.jpgTransom tabbed 4.jpg
 
sogood said:
Thanks for the input but perhaps you might elaborate? I opted for Trilux after researching and asking questions and opinions on forums such as this. One of the reasons I subscribe to these forums is to gain from other people's experiences and to sometimes impart some of my limited experience also. One thing I don't do is to post casual, throw away remarks that might be misconstrued as a simple smart alek attitude
I'm sure this doesn't apply to you and in that vein, could you please explain your apparent disdain for Trilux? Bearing in mind the fact that we might be in very different geographic environments with very different prevailing conditions. Thanks again for your input.
Click to expand...

Just seen this thread, I had similar issues with trilux but not as bad as Bruce. Back in 2017 I changed to Seajet 034 and that is a good improvement, a lot less brancles.

Interesting seeing how you progress, keep posting. Any pictures of the boat?
 
Scubadoo said:
Just seen this thread, I had similar issues with trilux but not as bad as Bruce. Back in 2017 I changed to Seajet 034 and that is a good improvement, a lot less brancles.

Interesting seeing how you progress, keep posting. Any pictures of the boat?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. If the trilux doesn't do the job I'll bear that in mind. I have a post up on youtube showing mostly before and after type pics of the other work I did on the boat. If you're interested you'll find it by searching "Wellcraft Sportsman Restoration"
( or something like that). That's because the boat in question is a Wellcraft 250 Sportsman. 25' long powered by a Mercruiser 5.7 V8 petrol inboard, with an Alpha 1 Gen 1 outdrive. Some pics, as requested.20180701_200056.jpgIMG_6415.JPG One pic on the hard, the day I brought her home, and the other, showing her in a more natural habitat. As for progress, I got the starboard side stringer cut out today, and ground down a ton of gel, as previously mentioned, to facilitate glassing in. No pics, as I want to forget the experience as quickly as possible!

But it's mostly all done, just a bit more on the engine mount "stringers".
 
So, I got the starboard stringer fitted and tabbed in today, thanks to the good weather. Work takes me away tomorrow for the next 9 days, so not a lot happening until I get back home. Some glassing to do on the stringers and I can start working on the engine mounts.
Happy to have the (worst) of the grinding behind me!
 
Just saying "hello" and letting you all know that I'm still around, somewhat. Work has been crazy so far this season with no let up on the horizon, so I haven't gotten near the boat since my last post. I may not even get it back in the water this year, and that being so, I will take my time and look into other jobs that are on the to do list along with the idea of building a hard top that I've been playing with. More about this anon. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves, stay safe and stop sending so many American tourists to Ireland!
 
Tell me about it. But at least I've learned not to rush into getting her wet and neglect things in my hurry to get back on the water. I want to take advantage of the delays as I'll have a few months free time in my off season. The tinkering and fettling is part of the pleasure for me. Having said that, I do like to catch the occasional fish sometimes! Still looking forward to your big day and hope you're on target.
 
Same here i reckon, i love to faff about, wouldnt surprise me if i sell this one then get a new project next season lol. i am glad in a way Khashoggi ( name of choice now and on paper ) isnt fully complete as its a good excuse to go away for a weekend and tinker then chill on it.

Could be worth you getting a 16 footer fishing boat for pottering about...but hen you may get to distracted hey.


Oh yes and on track for launch in a few weeks ;)
 
So, it was early in June when I last posted on here, largely because it was early in June when I last worked on the boat! Work has been non stop but this week I had a little breather, which allowed me to revisit it. I started out by taking some measurements and making a template of sorts to help with replacing the engine mounts. I say engine mounts, but what I was dealing with was just a load of mush encapsulated in fibreglass!

I cut away the top section of glass and dug out the old wood, which revealed a stringer within the cavity that housed the mount. I knew this stringer would be mush too, so I cut the top section of glass away also and cleaned out the old wood/mush. The condition of the wood wasn't helped by a poor design feature, whereby the drain hole at the base of the stringer allowed water to run inside the stringer cavity, so over time it just absorbed everything that was thrown at it. End result, mush!

I'm going to replace the stringer, but incorporate in into the mount, which is less work and makes everything stronger and stiffer. I'll do this by extending the stringer to the same height as the mount and incorporate it into the 3/4" marine ply sections that the mounts will be formed from. I'm going to make it all up using 5 ply strips, on edge, which gives me the proper width to fill the existing glass channel that I dug the old mounts out of. Pics will explain better as I go along.
 
So today I got some more work done. After looking at the original set up of the engine mount, I decided to simplify the arrangement by cutting away the glass that housed the "hidden" stringer ad I also cut away the glass that formed one outer side of the fibreglass encapsulation, which by it's construction, didn't add anything except complications to the engine mount set up.

I got my new mount woodwork fully assembled and covered in glass and after some cleaning on the boat, it will be ready to be fitted in place and glassed in. Interestingly, the original mount and stringer arrangement were made up using 3 soft wood sections, glued together and glassed in. My new set up consists of 4 x 3/4" strips, which I screwed together after they were slathered in glass resin. This was then covered in a covering of chopped mat, so it's all sealed up and ready for fitting. I'll lay a base of peanut butter for it to sit into and it will be glassed in, including tabbing in at each end (transom and middle bulkhead). I also have to cut out a drain hole at the transom end.<a href="https://postimg.cc/872ZvmGb" target="_blank"><img src="https://i.postimg.cc/872ZvmGb/Mount-9-2.jpg" alt="Mount-9-2"/></a>
 
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