Saltare rebuild. I HATE FOAM!!!

[texas scarecrow]

Finally got started with the boat rebuild. So far things have been going pretty smooth. The foam is a huge pain in the a$$. The foam was holding a ton of water.

Some of the stringers feel solid and the area all around the motor where the stringers are much bigger feel really solid. Do you think all of them need to be redone regardless? 81218122812381248125

[texas scarecrow]

Forgot the last pic. 8127

[haugy]

Well I gotta say, seeing as how y'all look young, and you are tackling this, I'm impressed. Good for you for trying this new job and kicking ass and not quitting. Yeah, the foam is tough, but once you get that out, it will be much smoother and at your pace. Do each stringer slowly and patiently, and it will all fall together.

Keep up with the pics, and good job.

[wotan2525]

That's the best tool I've seen yet for pulling the engine. Here's the methods I've used:

1) Engine hoist. Massive failure. Didn't have enough reach or get up high enough. Or clear the trailer wheels.
2) Ceiling beams. Cracked one. Welded an additional steel support gusset and through bolted it to further strengthen the beam. Had to let all the air out of the trailer tires to clear the rear bench. Scary as hell.
3) Mechanics hoist. Ended up not being able to get the jack high enough to clear. Used a chain hoist from the top point of the hoist. Worked. Still sketchy.
4) 1956 Loggers Crane. Didn't have any brakes and I had to drive it 40 miles with the emergency brake (which barely worked) and the engine brake. Sketchy. Dangerous. I could have easily died. Had to hand crank the boom to pull the engine. Worked but was crazy.
5) Tree limb + vertical come-along + chain hoist. Oddly, the best method I have used.

Removing the foam is sort of a right of passage on this board. Those who have done it will never do it again, those who haven't usually won't listen to those who have. Good luck!

[mr.jrc]

Nice work. I see you left the motor mounts, bell housing and transmission. It will be much easier putting things back in with all these attached to the motor. On your rebuild, I would consider running the exhaust pipes inside the stringers... most likely the water originated from where the exhaust penetrates the hull. When they are inside the stringers, any water intrusion would enter the center sump, and you would know when you have leaking seals. I did not do this on my floor rebuild 11 yrs ago, but in hind-sight would go that route today.
Keep the pic's coming.

[jet]

I found that using a little hand saw and cut out 1-foot cubed sections like a block of ice was the fastest and less mess. Good luck. Jet

[mr.jrc]

I used a flat garden shovel... had all the foam out in about an hour, it was like shoveling peat moss.

[lively]

TS- HA ha the foam is no fun at all ! it dont stop there , wait till you get to grinding the glass out and cutting stringers , thats when ALL the fun begins :) ... and yes if the woos is rotted replace the entire stringer , your pics of the saturated foam is identical to how mine looked , Wait till you smell whats under the front bilge box , thats the part with the triangular bulkhead in between the stringers , if you like fishing you might want to bring some tackle cause theres gonna be a lake under that :) ...... and make sure you measure before you cut anything out , im doing one side at a time on my rebuild and im starting to cut out the other side this weekend and get it prepped for new wood .. (also supports will need to be added all around the hull if your leaving it on the trailer for the resto , i used 2x4's and 1x4's to shim it straight ... good luck and take one thing at a time ... its not a race ... -lively-

[lively]

I used a flat garden shovel... had all the foam out in about an hour, it was like shoveling peat moss.Man you had to been shoveling your ass off for getting all that foam out in a hour .. lol

[sybrmike]

Gawd, that looks way too familiar. For a second there I thought you just re-posted my old pictures - standing water under the floor, wood turned to mulch, and all the makings of a science experiment gone horribly wrong releasing mutated mold & fungus spores onto the unsuspecting population... Nasty stuff down there for sure.

My opinion - since you've already gone this far and reached the point of no return - might as well do it right and replace all the stringers. Wood rot is an insidious thing - once it starts, it won't stop. Drying, sealing, patching, etc. will slow it down - but you'll never know the true extent of the existing damage or how much longer it will last. Maybe 5-10 years, maybe just 1? I'd hate to invest all that time & $, only to have to redo it in a short time. If you plan on keeping it any length of time or want to really recover some cost at resale - do it right only once.

Great job getting this far & keep up the good work. Good luck.

[Okie Boarder]

I would second what sybrmike is saying. You've gone this far...might as well go all the way. There isn't much sense in leaving semi rotted wood down there or even wood that is close to heading down that road. You're making good progress so far...keep it up and keep posting pics.

[texas scarecrow]

I'm actually a little older, 29. The young guys working are my construction students. My class usually builds a 500sf cabin that we take to our state contest and is by far the biggest most time consuming project at the contest so theres not much compitition. Plus it cost me over 2g to haul the cabin to the contest. This year the students wanted to do something different so I offered up a boat rebuild and they jumped all over it. We are still building a cabin that we will sell as a fundrasier to buy tools and take field trips but the boat will be a cool project to have at the contest. Got to love free excited labor.

Ya I think replacing all of them is the best way to go also.
Where is the best place to buy fiberglass? I found a local shop here in SA but was wondering if it would be a better to buy it online. Is there any specific type of glass or resin I need?

[lively]

UScomposites.com is a good place to price on the glass , and im using poly on my rebuild , its bout a 100 for 5 gal and catalyst here at my local shop .. you will want 1.5 oz chopped strand mat , and 1078 biax for the structure , im using douglas fir for my stringers.. but i have heard others used yellow pine


also if you have a account with ebay , i always see glass for sale on there

[Okie Boarder]

I used US Composites exclusively for glass, resin and other supplies. I used epoxy resin. There are pros and cons to epoxy vs polyester resins that you might want to research. It is highly recommended to use CPES on the wood as you do the rebuild. Doing this almost naturally drives you towards epoxy resin.

[texas scarecrow]

Lots of questions before I get started ordering stuff from us composite

how many yards of the 1 1/2oz chop strand?

how many yards of 1708 biax?

how many gallons of resin?

I have seen a lot of comments about running the exhaust out of the center section of the hull. Has anyone done this and did it cause any problems with mounting up to the motor? What did you do with the original exhaust cut outs, fill them in?

I'm also thinking about turning the back five feet of the boat into ballast tanks under the floor which would mean some really trick fiberglass tanks thoughts?

I have also read about not putting foam back in? I really like the idea of no foam. Besides keeping the boat afloat in a bad situation does the foam serve any other purpose?

I feel like I'm lost in a forest and dont know which way is home. I'm close to run for it with all my ideas just need to get pointed in the right direction before I start running.
Thanks

[Jetlink]

I have also read about not putting foam back in? I really like the idea of no foam. Besides keeping the boat afloat in a bad situation does the foam serve any other purpose? other porpouse?

Yeah, the foam does wonders at retaining water that gets into the hull...but then again, it looks like you already discovered that quality...

[lively]

Go with NO FOAM ! and i bought 40yards of 1708 and full roll of 1.5 CSM and also some 10oz wovin roving .... You need to decide on what resin you want to go with , poly is what the boat what made from , but epoxy if easier to work with ...I Have used 5 gal of poly on my one side ( coating stringers x 3 layers ) and i will buying another 5 gal ... dont buy all the resin at once .. it will go bad if its not used accordingly , just start small and get a pencil and pad and write it all down so that way you can limit your spending and still be moving along , (AND LET ME SAY THAT WHEN YOU GO TO CUT THE STRINGERS OUT OF THE BOAT , USE A 4" CUTOFF WHEEL AND JUST SCRIBE INTO IT ABOUT 1/4" ON BOTH SIDES AS CLOSE TO THE HULL AS YOU CAN , RUN THAT ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STRINGERS ... AND THEN GIVE IT A KICK ...... SAVE ALL PIECES AND MAKE SURE TO MEASURE BEFORE YOU CUT ) :) ... this will give you a good template for cutting th3 new stringers ... good luck and if you need to reach me for more ?s 817 996 3051 be glad to help !! -lively-

[Okie Boarder]

I used around 25 gallons of epoxy resin and I used somewhere around 30-35 yards of the 1708 biaxial, plus tape, mat and some cloth. I also went through quite a bit of cabosil and glass bubbles.

As far as the ballast tank idea, do the volume math and look at your possibilities. Several on here have realized it may be more work than it's worth for the weight you will get.

Foam...if you talk to people that know the Supra design (e.g. Jim at Viper Customs for one), you will find the foam was for rigidity and sound deadening, not floatation. There isn't enough foam to float the weight of the engine and transmission and keep the boat level. Foam or no foam it will sink stern first and bob at the surface by the air trapped in the bow.

[texas scarecrow]

What are cabosil and glass bubbles used for?

[lively]

thickened resin , I use cabosil and small strands of csm , u figure if you mix up 2 quarts of resin 1oz of catalyst you want 70% of cabosil to make it thickened for bedding the stringers , filling voids (air gaps,holes) but there is a substitution to that ...(PL construction adhesive ) Salty87 introduced that to me for my fillets ...

Stringers have to set on top of the hull , they cannot sit directly on the hull or the pressure from the water hitting the hull would cause fractures , that is why we use thickened resin or PL to bed a stringers and to create a 1/4 to 1/2 gap so that during all the flex in the water will be spread throughout the hull not just the stringer ...

Google "fiberglass boat stringers" and look at how the fiberglass layers corresponded with the hull and how important it is to layer your fiberglass , this will give you a better understanding on how its structure is used in fiberglass boats ... ( at least that what works for me )