Any PW boat fixer-uppers?

[pegasus bridge]

I've been hankering after a little boat to fish for pike on the Trent , and today I brought a little project boat to have a tinker with. It's about 13 /14 ft, in poor condition , but with a reasonable boat trailer , I got it for a cheap price so if worse comes to the worse I'll not be losing much sleep over it. The first and immediate job is the construction of side rails , the sides are literally just sharp edged fibreglass . In my mind this should be fairly straight forward - I was thinking some long thin lengths of marine grade ply (2" on inside and 1" on the outside?

 

Do any PW boat fettlers have any thoughts on this ? Will it work ok?

 

 

 

[billytheghillie]

what about some plastic pipe slit open and put on sides?

[deny essex]

Probably a hardwood gunnel rail rather than ply which can splinter fairly easy, rebate one or both halves of the gunnel timber to allow for the thickness of the glassfibre hull edge.

If you can get the gunnel timber profiled easily before fitting i.e edges rounded off then do so, but with a little work this can be done after fitting as suits you.

Use a marine quality adhesive filler on assembly on each side of the hull where the gunnel edging fits and screw both halves of the timber gunnels together with stainless or galvanised screws through the timber and hull edge.

 

Alternately if the hull edge is good and firm a preformed rubber or plastic composite gunnel edging can be fitted in a similar fitting manner as recommended by the supplier .

No doubt you tub has a video somewhere to help.

Edited March 26, 2017 by deny essex

[peck]

Thats just the sort of project we at the Men's Shed are looking for. If anyone has something similar close to Shrewsbury please let me know.

[deny essex]

Thats just the sort of project we at the Men's Shed are looking for. If anyone has something similar close to Shrewsbury please let me know.

 

Quite often similar on facebook for sale .

[hawkfanz]

as de says use hardwood inside and out screwed together with stainless screws it will make hull more rigid,you can the screw rod rodrests,rowlocks etc with no probs.

[pegasus bridge]

Cheers Gents , what sort of hardwood would be best ?

[andrewluke]

you could use pipe lagging/insulation(as it is split along it's length) and glass fibre over it,

 

http://www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/pipe-insulation/cat831554

Edited March 26, 2017 by andrewluke

[deny essex]

Cheers Gents , what sort of hardwood would be best ?

 

Teak is the best but costly , near any other hardwood will do , a boat that size I would think a combined thickness of around 40/45 mm x 40/45

[deny essex]

you could use pipe lagging/insulation(as it is split along it's length) and glass fibre over it,

 

http://www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/pipe-insulation/cat831554

 

Yep that can be done as well, more complex if you have not use glassfibre before, can be messy and require a reasonable degree of skill to get a respectable finish .

[islandgun]

what about some plastic pipe slit open and put on sides?

 

yep, long lengths, slit jammed into place then filled with expanding foam , done it a few times, also gives reserve buoyancy,

[hodge911]

to me it looks like the original gunnels have been cut off for some weird reason .........my reason for saying this is if you look along from the cuddy to the transom its a pretty uneven line .......I may be wrong but like I say that's just my thoughts .

I would consider fibre glassing a new rail in .

possibly by shaping a lengths of hardwood and screw either side of boat with stainless screws then encase in fibre glass . an added bonus would be you could fix rod holders or yolks for oars ect and on the + side it will add a lot of strength to the boat top.

or if you not up to glassing screw a piece of shaped hardwood either side along the length of the boat [screw through outside bit of wood side of boat into the inside piece of wood with stainless or brass screws . pre drill all holes and countersink outside edge apply a bead of sealer along the length of both bits of wood and screw together and finish by sanding and sealing with a few good coats of clear boat varnish

Edited March 27, 2017 by hodge911

[pegasus bridge]

to me it looks like the original gunnels have been cut off for some weird reason .........my reason for saying this is if you look along from the cuddy to the transom its a pretty uneven line .......I may be wrong but like I say that's just my thoughts .

I would consider fibre glassing a new rail in .

possibly by shaping a lengths of hardwood and screw either side of boat with stainless screws then encase in fibre glass . an added bonus would be you could fix rod holders or yolks for oars ect and on the + side it will add a lot of strength to the boat top.

or if you not up to glassing screw a piece of shaped hardwood either side along the length of the boat [screw through outside bit of wood side of boat into the inside piece of wood with stainless or brass screws . pre drill all holes and countersink outside edge apply a bead of sealer along the length of both bits of wood and screw together and finish by sanding and sealing with a few good coats of clear boat varnish

Cheers, yes they do appear to have been cut off (no idea why, the guy I brought it off said they were like it when he brought it a few years ago (he never got round to doing anything with it) few bits of damage where ratchet straps have cut into the top which I'll need to repair too.

 

My concern with the hardwood option is that the shape is curved, it would be a challenge bending thehardwood, my thought process re; using a couple of lengths of marine ply glued and held with g clamps in place as the glue dries ( 2 or 3 in total laminated together) which would follow the curve of the sides and be rigid once glued and layered, I could then cap the top off with hardwood ?

 

Edit - another option I quite like is capping the top off with ply and finishing with thin chequerplate?

Edited March 27, 2017 by pegasus bridge

[johnphilip]

The first thing i would do is get a garden hose and half fill it and check for leaks.

[pegasus bridge]

The first thing i would do is get a garden hose and half fill it and check for leaks.

That's a fair point, would it not be worth repairing if it's leaking ? Or is this just to identify what needs to be done?

( apologies if these are very obvious questions, this is my first boat)

[deny essex]

For a boat that size up to 20mm thick by 40/45 width in hardwood either side of the hull would be no problem bending and screwing, cross brace from side to side as you fix timber until the adheasive sets if you feel its needed, capping off would be more of a problem due to the curve if you chose to do it.

All the options mentioned in previous posts above would work, I cut my teeth making boats in the glassfibre trade over 45 years ago and to be honest have a preference for glassfibre over timber, but in some aspects not a material for the novice if you want a sound job ,respectable finish and un-stuck tackle

 

A nice little project though .

Edited March 27, 2017 by deny essex

[deny essex]

That's a fair point, would it not be worth repairing if it's leaking ? Or is this just to identify what needs to be done?

( apologies if these are very obvious questions, this is my first boat)

 

Not sure I would take that method for checking the leak myself although undoubtedly it would show any leaks.

If it has had an impact that has weaken'd the GRP integrity but does not leak you could be asking for a major burst.

 

Looks like you could be doing a paint job on it just look for any damage areas before and during rubbing down for painting .

Any areas that show damage tap them with a pin hammer , toffee hammer , spanner or the like and listen for any dull sound , if you find a spot mark it, if it gives a good pure "TAP" sound the damage is superficial, filler or gelcoat fill to repair.

If you get a dull what I would call a "wet" sound then there is a strong possibility the glassfibre in that area has de-laminated (glassfibre layer's have parted weakening the area) requiring grinding back to good glass then laminating new and pulling it in when cured.

 

Glassfibre repairs if done correctly can be as strong as the original new boat when done correctly and procedures followed, they can be more labour intensified than actual material cost much the same as car repairs.

 

Hope that helps

[pegasus bridge]

 

Not sure I would take that method for checking the leak myself although undoubtedly it would show any leaks.

If it has had an impact that has weaken'd the GRP integrity but does not leak you could be asking for a major burst.

 

Looks like you could be doing a paint job on it just look for any damage areas before and during rubbing down for painting .

Any areas that show damage tap them with a pin hammer , toffee hammer , spanner or the like and listen for any dull sound , if you find a spot mark it, if it gives a good pure "TAP" sound the damage is superficial, filler or gelcoat fill to repair.

If you get a dull what I would call a "wet" sound then there is a strong possibility the glassfibre in that area has de-laminated (glassfibre layer's have parted weakening the area) requiring grinding back to good glass then laminating new and pulling it in when cured.

 

Glassfibre repairs if done correctly can be as strong as the original new boat when done correctly and procedures followed, they can be more labour intensified than actual material cost much the same as car repairs.

 

Hope that helps

Cheers, it's helped a lot - much appreciated 👍

I'm looking to blast loose paint and debris off with the jet wash, is this ok on fibreglass or should to do it by hand?

 

Edit - would this be ok to use to glue the rails? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181107513489

Edited March 27, 2017 by pegasus bridge

[deny essex]

Jet washing will be fine, just rough up any internal surfaces before coating as you would for any surface to be painted or flow coated. ,

The adheasive should do nicely.

[deny essex]

Just an add on , glassfibre can be very sharp and splintery, the use of good strong gloves and a mask when rubbing down is a must, cover bare skin as much as possible as the dust can irritate, rinse any dust off bare skin with cold water before washing proper.

[impala59]

Look forward to your project updates, not really into boats but a few years ago I restored a Seadoo, much glass fibre learning curve! What motor are you looking at? A mercury 500?😄 Just kidding of course but it is important to get it right

[Eyefor]

I had a 13ft aluminium "Jon Boat" and used 2" hard plastic tube (split full length one side) for the side rails which worked really well.

 

I then bought a tap set with matching drills (cheap off the Bay) to match the thread on most rod rests / bank stick etc and tapped several locations along the plastic so I could fix the rod rests at various points to suit that day's fishing?

 

Also hung a couple long home made wire "S" hooks along the gunwhale / side rails to take the butt of the rods and keep them off the boat floor - because you will trip over them!

 

Finally, got some 18mm marine ply, cut to shape for the floor and covered this with expanded mesh for grip. Great for not slipping over?

Edited March 28, 2017 by Eyefor

[pegasus bridge]

I had a 13ft aluminium "Jon Boat" and used 2" hard plastic (split full length one side) for the side rails which worked really well.

 

I then bought a tap set with matching drills (cheap off the Bay) to match the thread on most rod rests / bank stick etc and tapped several locations along the plastic so I could fix the rod rests at various points to suit that day's fishing?

 

Also hung a couple long home made wire "S" hooks along the gunwhale / side rails to take the butt of the rods and keep them off the boat floor - because you will trip over them!

 

Finally, got some 18mm marine ply, cut to shape for the floor and covered this with expanded mesh for grip. Great for not slipping over?

Cheers, where did you get the plastic?

[Eyefor]

Cheers, where did you get the plastic?

 

From Wickes.

 

I think they call it waste pipe (might be 40mm).

 

Set up a bench saw to about 1/2" height then run the full length along it.

 

When fitted to the boat it grips itself in place.

 

Used standard straight connectors and 90deg bends in the same way (solvent fitted) to give yourself a long flat bottomed U shape?

[pegasus bridge]

 

From Wickes.

 

I think they call it waste pipe (might be 40mm).

 

Set up a bench saw to about 1/2" height then run the full length along it.

 

When fitted to the boat it grips itself in place.

 

Used standard straight connectors and 90deg bends in the same way (solvent fitted) to give yourself a long flat bottomed U shape?

Cheers, some food for thought👍