Fibreglass project - Where to start?

[Ruanm2]

Hi all,

I have recently bought my first boat, a 13ft fibreglass hull (if anyone is able to identify the hull that would be a great help). I bought it knowing it will be a lot of work and now that it's at home and sitting in the garage I can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed with where to start.

I bought it of a guy who has had it sitting in his back yard in the elements for a month or so. The deck seems dry and solid, but had a few small holes where the old seats were mounted. Once I arrived home and tipped it up there was a considerable amount of water that came streaming out of the bottom of the hull (through the centre bung). I put a bucket under it to see how much water was in there (about 5 litres).

My question is, do I need to be concerned about the stringers and underfloor and if so how do I check them without ripping the entire floor up?

I'll attach a couple of photo's for anyone who fancies guessing what it might be.

Thanks in advance for any advice or any pointers on where to go and find some more information on the boat and the process of starting this project.

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[inveratta]

Im sure you will get a wide variety of opinions on something like this.... general pictures online are hard to guage condition from .As a first boat..an older fg boat can be a very steep learning curve...there is simply a lot of places that water can get into ...specially rainwater from open storage...an old boat builder once told me he saw more boats ruined by

rainwater than seawater...look for water stain marks etc specially round the old mounting holes and corners etc....soft spongy flooring...blisters...anything like that needs to be poked and prodded in the first instance..

The simple truth is the hull looks old..the transom?? the stringers etc ..the trailer ..a motor??? If its a project then fine .....open up the floor and drill the stringers to see what they are like and if they have gone ...its a huge job ..but a contained learning adventure..and you have the choice to not do it!

If your looking for a boat to use on the water soon....there are a lot easier ways to do it and moneywise you will spend a lot on f/g supplies some equipment etc on this boat that could be put into a ready goer.Projects are generally not cheap and only worth doing if your sure you want to use that boat for years to come......generally people change boats early on a couple of times til they work out what suits them best.

All the same front on ....its quite an elegant hull shape.....

[gazza2006au]

If you do some research you may pick up on a lot of ideas and advice to stream line your learning curve and with free time u may be able to do ahull like this in 150 hours

If you do any structual work look into resins somepolyester resins are waterproof and are covered by insurance companies

[Ruanm2]

Thanks Inveretta and gazza. It's a pretty sweet looking hull and something I'm happy to put the time into and I picked it up for next to nothing. I intend on using it as an estuary/flats boat to do some fly fishing off.

After doing some more digging over the last few hours I am convinced I'm going to have to rip the floor up to at least inspect the stringers and i'm guessing its likely the transom will have to be replaced as well.

Time is not an issue as I am in no real rush to get on the water. However, I am slightly concerned about a major blowout of costs. What is it likely to cost me to replace both. I have done some basic calc's and come up with a rough estimate as below:

Marine ply Transom and stringers: $250-$300
Fibreglass and resins, thinner etc. : $200
Paints and primer : $150
Disposables and consumables: $200

any other major costs I may be overlooking?

[brett62]

You may want to recalculate the amount for your materials. Measure the amount of cloth you will need and work out your resin from that and then price it up. Will depend on what resin you are going to use. Nice lines on the hull.

[billfisher]

I would try pushing the hull in by hand. If there is no movement then it must be reasonably sound and there is no need to cut the floor up.

[gazza2006au]

You can gst a pretty rough estimate of materials

Measure the transom from left to right in width, measure from below the bung hole to the highest point of the transom (on a boat that size u should get two layers of ply from one sheet)

You can measure how deep your floor is than work out how long the floor is to know roughly what kind of lenghts of plywood u will need for stringers

Measure the floors width x length

There are resin to mat and cloth ratios online something you'll need to look into

Bringing the boat home is just the beginning of the grey hairs, i have grey hair in front of my ears like the mafia guys i have only gotten this while rebuilding my boat

[Mopheus]

One thing in your favour is the smaller the boat, the less critical stringers, bulkheads and transom are. You have less weight, less load, smaller spans and will be using it in smaller seas therefore less dynamic stress. Also closer to shore so less risk and more chance of help if needed.

I wouldn't personally be hugely concerned about the floor and stringers UNLESS the deck is soft, which you've said it isn't. Give the transom a good tap over listening for hollow spots, and use a clamp or large wrench at midspan of the top transom edge to try to put some torsion into it. If it all sounds and feels solid, I reckon you'll be just dandy.

[Corry]

Keep in mind the cost calculation and budget, if you need to stick to a budget, this can nearly always be blown out, and then you get to a point where you're either throwing good money at bad, or writing off what is already spent.

I know it's cars, but boats are similar (sometimes worse) but one of our hobbies is building cars, a big thing I've learnt out of that is when you do your budget, look at what you 'think' you'll need, double it, then multiply it by how many sockets are in a standard socket set, this will then indicate the minimum amount you are going to spend ::)

The last thing you want to do is do a half assed effort and it's all for nothing in the end, or you're not happy with it.

Good luck, if you're like me, the end result is worth way more than it will be in resale, but the reward of sitting back and seeing what you've created is unimaginable.

[Ruanm2]

Brett62, I definitely underestimated the cost of ply and materials.

Probably likely to be closer to $600 for ply and $250 for resin and glass. That does change the game a bit.

QUOTE=Mopheus;1689586]One thing in your favour is the smaller the boat, the less critical stringers, bulkheads and transom are. You have less weight, less load, smaller spans and will be using it in smaller seas therefore less dynamic stress. Also closer to shore so less risk and more chance of help if needed.

I wouldn't personally be hugely concerned about the floor and stringers UNLESS the deck is soft, which you've said it isn't. Give the transom a good tap over listening for hollow spots, and use a clamp or large wrench at midspan of the top transom edge to try to put some torsion into it. If it all sounds and feels solid, I reckon you'll be just dandy.[/QUOTE]

Although I like the sound of this option, am I silly for even considering not having a look under the floor?

Ive had a good look at the transom and even to my untrained ear I can tell its rotten around the bungs and solid around the motor mounting plates. Is it at all possible to rip the transom out and asses the floors at that point without drilling or opening it up?

Thanks for all the input. I am already beginning to have a clearer picture of what lay ahead for this project.

[Mopheus]

Ive had a good look at the transom and even to my untrained ear I can tell its rotten around the bungs and solid around the motor mounting plates. Is it at all possible to rip the transom out and asses the floors at that point without drilling or opening it up?

If that's the case then the stringers are probably rotted out where they join the transom too. Doesn't sound like a project I'd want to have, tbh. It's going to soak up hours and cash for little return.

All good if the project itself is part of the experience you're after though.

[inveratta]

Ok ..whats its going to cost?....Firstly..mostly people are here to try and help you...accept or reject their opinion..thats up to you..its a good site ..and we will all try and give you help...

The neatest way is to get a pro to quote ...as you wont like the quote...pay him in beer...or the like..and work out who would pay you for an amateur repair job.

Looking at the hull and everything else involved in bringing this hull motor and trailer to a good boat...I would estimate somewhere between $2000...and $3000 as a complete bottom end.. either is a minimum depending on what you want...You are certainly not in the numbers indicated so far...and yes you might get away with less ...but not that likely..

[catshark]

looks like a little beast project to do up, cant identify the make but looks to have a "carolina style flared hull"

[Noelm]

Flat bottom, low sides, maybe an old Pride?

[gazza2006au]

You don't need the bunnings rolls royce at price tagged plywood u can find marine grade plywood much cheaper i think its stamped BS1088

there are alternatives but they can bring your work undone so it pays to ask the guys here for advice if u want to cut the price down

You will need personal pretection equipment this alone cost a bit of money, a mask is around $80 alone

[Ruanm2]

Inveretta, I hope it doesn't seem like I am disregarding anyones advice. To the contrary, it has all been a great help in thinking this project through. In the last 24 hours I have dropped it picked it up and gone full circle again.

I realise after measuring the hull and calculating the surface area and ply required my initial estimates were well off. I have no doubt that that $2-3K estimate is pretty close. Then finding an Outboard to slap on the back would be the next issue.

I am beginning to doubt whether I want to tackle this or just lay the money out up front and buy a seaworthy option. However, the thought of buying something and having to go through this process anyway is a bit daunting. At least if I tackle this myself I know its done and won't need doing again... (hopefully) until I decide I've outgrown the boat.

I will do some digging and see if I can find the model thanks for the suggestions Noelm & Catshark

[gazza2006au]

At a wild guess your underfloor structure wouldbejust 3 small stringers no cross members

I would estimate
1x 25mm sheet for the transom
3x 12mm sheets for the floor and stringers (you'll have left over plywood)
You may use 2 pales of resin and be left with a bit
You could probably get away with all chopped mat no cloth its only a tiny boat (a lot bigger boats were built in the 60' 70's with all chopped mat, cloth on major structual areas like transom)
Im not sure what fillers u use with polyester resin for glue mixes
You'll need gloves, respirator, ice cream containers, mixing sticks, scales, acetone, that isjust for glassing, you'll need away of demo'ing the hull, a grinder, cutting disc, sanding flap disc, sander, than u need painting supplies, tapes, rollers, handles, paint trays, paint, paint thinners for clean up

Probably a lot more i am leaving out i cant think of

You may come out way over spending on a tiny hull like this, imo the only way to come out even or a head is rebuilding good known hulls 18ft+ like haines hunter that sell for rediculous prices

But if its something u will keep its well worth rebuilding

[billfisher]

I'm still not sure why you want to rebuild it if there are no signs of softness? As to the transom you said it's solid but there are indications of wet wood around the bung hole. I'd remove the bung assembly and have a poke around and maybe do some test drills. If it hasn't gone far you might get way with drying it out and treating it with a penetrating epoxy.

[Bremic]

There was someone on here, Giddyup? Something like that. Anyway, he was rebuilding a boat and had a pile of photos in his thread. He could be worth asking, he would likely have a better idea on cost. As an aside, I was given some step by steps for repairing a transom etc. I could forward them if it would be helpful.

[Ducksnutz]

Personally, I’d go through the archives of Ausfish in regards to the projects that have been successfully completed. Look at the quality builds that have been done with success and reach out to those members.

Looking forward to the build.

[gazza2006au]

There is one bloke to ask and that is Noel he's an encylapedia for boats

[Noelm]

My advice (for what it's worth) unless you want to do this for fun/hobby, and you plan on keeping the boat for a very long time, then cut your losses now, and buy a complete running rig! It will work out cheaper and save you a lot of heartache and time in the long run.

[stevej]

As noelm stated unless you want the exercise and enjoy building stuff sell it in and buy something done and fit for purpose
it’s only ever worthwhile if it’s really a boat you live or can’t buy in the format you want.
You also have all the costs of a full fitout and outboard it will suprise you what it truely costs in the end

the fibreglass itch is also one of the bonuses you will get to enjoy