Finally!!!! Someone explains how to measure/draw/get the hull curve on the bottom of the stringers!!! Thank you fine sir!!!! I have six stringers to make when I’m done with the transom on a 1994 20’ Champion Bay boat. Really appreciate it bud.
It's a great method to measure stringer curvature for sure. At the shipyard we call it "tick sticking" or using a "ticking stick". I was really surprised to see it mentioned on RUclips here. The newest method I've been using lately on the last few boats, is using popsicle sticks and a hot glue gun. I make a template of the entire bottom of the stringer with the popsicle sticks, gluing then end to end from fore to aft. Then, take that and put it on the bottom of my stringer lumber and presto! A prefect replica of the bottom of the boat. (Mainly do it this way now just because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and anal when it comes to my builds. But, any errors get filled with peanut butter anyways, so the ticking stick is probably much faster in the end, with very little difference mattering, lol).
The explanation through the whole video with the pictures and diagrams were great. Doing the work is just natural, but the explanation was done very well. Great video.
No - but it would probably work. The gap needs to eventually be filled with glass/resin anyway, so it probably doesn't matter what you use as long as it's not hard/abrasive. I just used wood shims...
nice prep work. treating wood with epoxy resin allows fiberglass to adhere to something as over-time water seeps in and rots the wood. marine grade lumber would be best
Thanks for the comment. Regarding the epoxy - that only works if I planned to use epoxy for everything. Problem is, that was just too much money for my budget. As it is, this boat survived over 45 years with the original sloppy poly resin, and what I've done is sealed better than the original - I'm not expecting to survive myself much over 45 years from now as it is. Marine grade lumber provides no real advantage in this situation as a core for stringers, and costs a lot more. The waterproof glue is the same as exterior grade plywood. Marine grade ply usually has more/thinner plies, and less voids - and that is critical when building a wooden boat. Not so critical in a glass boat.
@@zero_to_floating8338 I agree. Marine ply is overkill for this application. A decent fir ply is quite enough, given the practicalities of the boat's age and value. It is written somewhere that, Epoxy Covereth A Multitude Of Sins.
Polyester is more than OK. Your whole boat was built out of polyester - most of the older ones were. Some of the newer boats use Vinylester resins, among other stuff, but polyester resin is just fine, and a LOT cheaper than using epoxy. The key is proper preparation, and using the correct glass. You need to grind to clean existing fibreglass, wipe it down with acetone immediately before you start laying new glass. The new glass should have a layer of glass mat against the old glass before you put down a layer of weave. Easiest to buy glass that is a biaxial weave with a mat attached.
@@zero_to_floating8338 I'm going to sand all the surfaces with 36 grit sand paper. Can I sand all areas first then wipe with acetone at a later date on since I don't have the fiberglass matting yet or do I have to wipe it twice? Once now after sanding and once when I'm ready to lay the glass? Also how many layers of fiberglass should I lay for transsome and stringers is one layer of chop strand then 4 layers 1708 Good enough ? I will be using 3, 1/2 inch Marine plywood for the transome. 1 layer of 1.5 oz chop strand inbetween them to bond them into one then fiberglass into boat or should I fiberglass each sheet Independently
@@disonesto 1708 glass already has a chopped strand mat attached - so no need to add another layer of chopped strand before you lay that on. 4 layers should be plenty, just make sure the glass is thoroughly impregnated with resin with each layer. You don't need to put layers of glass between the plywood. Also, for the resin, make sure you get unwaxed/laminating resin if possible. It cures kind of "tacky", but you can put another layer of glass on top without sanding in between. With "normal" waxed resin - that you buy at a hardware store, etc... you need to sand and wipe down with acetone between layers. For the last layer, you can add the wax - it comes in a small jar - to make it cure hard for finishing. For the plywood itself, marine plywood is good, but not necessary. Standard exterior plywood uses the same waterproof glue, and is a lot cheaper. Both types of plywood will rot if they get wet, are left exposed/unsealed. The real difference with marine plywood is the lack of "voids" (knot holes, etc. are filled in), and sometimes they have more/thinner layers of veneer for dimensional stability - both of which are very important if you are building a wood boat. When used as a core in a glass transom, or in glass encased stringers, you don't really gain much (if anything) through the use of marine plywood. If you do it properly it will last a long time. If you don't seal in the wood well, it will rot - marine plywood or not. For surface prep, grind it down, get it as ready as you can. While you work on it, you will get dust & dirt in there. Just before you lay new glass, give it a quick sand and wipe to make sure it's clean.
@@zero_to_floating8338 I have one more question. Is it OK to use polyester for transom and stringers because I read it's not waterproof? But to use vinyl eater? Just want to make sure which I should order.
@@disonesto It's perfectly ok. Yes, if you leave standing water in there all the time, water can eventually - theoretically - cause a problem. I've used polyester resin for everything, and most fibreglass boats, other than those built recently, were built entirely with polyester resin. Your whole hull is polyester resin as it is. What really causes problems in boats is a lack of maintenance, leaving it uncovered so it constantly is full of water, and drilling holes in transoms and stringers but not properly sealing them and allowing water intrusion. If you want to spend more, and use something else, I'm sure it will be fine - but the vast majority of older glass boats are all polyester resin. Maintenance and proper storage of the boat is what will make it last.
Why not? It's what they used to build the boat originally - and it costs a LOT less than using epoxy (especially with a project of this size). Nothing wrong with polyester resin if used properly, and surfaces are prepared properly.
Sorry it's been months since you asked the question, but... The stringers are cut from 3/4" plywood, and I ran the first 8' continuous from the transom forward. The end of that 8' ended up roughly between two bulkheads, so I laminated a second piece of 3/4" ply to the inside of both stringers to span the joint, with that extra piece going from bulkhead to bulkhead. It's all glued and screwed together, and then encased in several layers of glass.
When I got the boat, there was no foam down there - from work previous people had done on it. I didn't put any foam back in, although I did change the boat - as you can see in my later videos - by putting in a bulkhead and creating a separate engine compartment. Two bilge pumps - one for the engine compartment, one for the rest of the boat. I also created two sealed chambers at the sides of the engine compartment - for flotation "just in case". The lake I use it on isn't very large, water never gets too rough. Main concern for flotation would be leaking bellows or something like that happening.
Finally!!!! Someone explains how to measure/draw/get the hull curve on the bottom of the stringers!!! Thank you fine sir!!!! I have six stringers to make when I’m done with the transom on a 1994 20’ Champion Bay boat. Really appreciate it bud.
Glad it helped!
It's a great method to measure stringer curvature for sure. At the shipyard we call it "tick sticking" or using a "ticking stick". I was really surprised to see it mentioned on RUclips here.
The newest method I've been using lately on the last few boats, is using popsicle sticks and a hot glue gun. I make a template of the entire bottom of the stringer with the popsicle sticks, gluing then end to end from fore to aft. Then, take that and put it on the bottom of my stringer lumber and presto! A prefect replica of the bottom of the boat.
(Mainly do it this way now just because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and anal when it comes to my builds. But, any errors get filled with peanut butter anyways, so the ticking stick is probably much faster in the end, with very little difference mattering, lol).
The explanation through the whole video with the pictures and diagrams were great. Doing the work is just natural, but the explanation was done very well. Great video.
Thank you Sir for your videos. I learned a lot about about fiberglass and restoring my boat. 👍
Glad you enjoyed them!
Thanks for sharing. I'm getting started on a very rotten '95 Stingray!
Good luck with it!
Thanks.. getting ready to start doing stringers in a boat I acquired..
Have fun with it... Make sure you check the transom while you're at it!
Nice job
Have you heard of using small foam squares for spacers in between stringers and the hull? Thoughts? Rebuilding 19' Bowrider
No - but it would probably work. The gap needs to eventually be filled with glass/resin anyway, so it probably doesn't matter what you use as long as it's not hard/abrasive. I just used wood shims...
@@zero_to_floating8338 thanks for the prompt response
nice prep work. treating wood with epoxy resin allows fiberglass to adhere to something as over-time water seeps in and rots the wood. marine grade lumber would be best
Thanks for the comment. Regarding the epoxy - that only works if I planned to use epoxy for everything. Problem is, that was just too much money for my budget. As it is, this boat survived over 45 years with the original sloppy poly resin, and what I've done is sealed better than the original - I'm not expecting to survive myself much over 45 years from now as it is. Marine grade lumber provides no real advantage in this situation as a core for stringers, and costs a lot more. The waterproof glue is the same as exterior grade plywood. Marine grade ply usually has more/thinner plies, and less voids - and that is critical when building a wooden boat. Not so critical in a glass boat.
@@zero_to_floating8338 I agree. Marine ply is overkill for this application. A decent fir ply is quite enough, given the practicalities of the boat's age and value. It is written somewhere that, Epoxy Covereth A Multitude Of Sins.
I'm redoing a boat I just bought. Is polyester OK for transom and stringers? Or should I use epoxy? My boat is 1982 proline 21ft
Polyester is more than OK. Your whole boat was built out of polyester - most of the older ones were. Some of the newer boats use Vinylester resins, among other stuff, but polyester resin is just fine, and a LOT cheaper than using epoxy. The key is proper preparation, and using the correct glass. You need to grind to clean existing fibreglass, wipe it down with acetone immediately before you start laying new glass. The new glass should have a layer of glass mat against the old glass before you put down a layer of weave. Easiest to buy glass that is a biaxial weave with a mat attached.
@@zero_to_floating8338 I'm going to sand all the surfaces with 36 grit sand paper. Can I sand all areas first then wipe with acetone at a later date on since I don't have the fiberglass matting yet or do I have to wipe it twice? Once now after sanding and once when I'm ready to lay the glass? Also how many layers of fiberglass should I lay for transsome and stringers is one layer of chop strand then 4 layers 1708 Good enough ? I will be using 3, 1/2 inch Marine plywood for the transome. 1 layer of 1.5 oz chop strand inbetween them to bond them into one then fiberglass into boat or should I fiberglass each sheet Independently
@@disonesto 1708 glass already has a chopped strand mat attached - so no need to add another layer of chopped strand before you lay that on. 4 layers should be plenty, just make sure the glass is thoroughly impregnated with resin with each layer. You don't need to put layers of glass between the plywood. Also, for the resin, make sure you get unwaxed/laminating resin if possible. It cures kind of "tacky", but you can put another layer of glass on top without sanding in between. With "normal" waxed resin - that you buy at a hardware store, etc... you need to sand and wipe down with acetone between layers. For the last layer, you can add the wax - it comes in a small jar - to make it cure hard for finishing. For the plywood itself, marine plywood is good, but not necessary. Standard exterior plywood uses the same waterproof glue, and is a lot cheaper. Both types of plywood will rot if they get wet, are left exposed/unsealed. The real difference with marine plywood is the lack of "voids" (knot holes, etc. are filled in), and sometimes they have more/thinner layers of veneer for dimensional stability - both of which are very important if you are building a wood boat. When used as a core in a glass transom, or in glass encased stringers, you don't really gain much (if anything) through the use of marine plywood. If you do it properly it will last a long time. If you don't seal in the wood well, it will rot - marine plywood or not. For surface prep, grind it down, get it as ready as you can. While you work on it, you will get dust & dirt in there. Just before you lay new glass, give it a quick sand and wipe to make sure it's clean.
@@zero_to_floating8338 I have one more question. Is it OK to use polyester for transom and stringers because I read it's not waterproof? But to use vinyl eater? Just want to make sure which I should order.
@@disonesto It's perfectly ok. Yes, if you leave standing water in there all the time, water can eventually - theoretically - cause a problem. I've used polyester resin for everything, and most fibreglass boats, other than those built recently, were built entirely with polyester resin. Your whole hull is polyester resin as it is. What really causes problems in boats is a lack of maintenance, leaving it uncovered so it constantly is full of water, and drilling holes in transoms and stringers but not properly sealing them and allowing water intrusion. If you want to spend more, and use something else, I'm sure it will be fine - but the vast majority of older glass boats are all polyester resin. Maintenance and proper storage of the boat is what will make it last.
Why use polyester? This is my first stringer replacement on a 1975 boat.
Why not? It's what they used to build the boat originally - and it costs a LOT less than using epoxy (especially with a project of this size). Nothing wrong with polyester resin if used properly, and surfaces are prepared properly.
How did you get the stringers so long? Did you use a butt joint or some sort of scarf joint? Thanks.
Sorry it's been months since you asked the question, but... The stringers are cut from 3/4" plywood, and I ran the first 8' continuous from the transom forward. The end of that 8' ended up roughly between two bulkheads, so I laminated a second piece of 3/4" ply to the inside of both stringers to span the joint, with that extra piece going from bulkhead to bulkhead. It's all glued and screwed together, and then encased in several layers of glass.
No foam under the floor
When I got the boat, there was no foam down there - from work previous people had done on it. I didn't put any foam back in, although I did change the boat - as you can see in my later videos - by putting in a bulkhead and creating a separate engine compartment. Two bilge pumps - one for the engine compartment, one for the rest of the boat. I also created two sealed chambers at the sides of the engine compartment - for flotation "just in case". The lake I use it on isn't very large, water never gets too rough. Main concern for flotation would be leaking bellows or something like that happening.
what a waste of time, you talked and talked and did not show any work being done