how do you rejoin top and bottom hulls?

[mattij2005]

Hi all

As some of you know i'm in the process of refurbishing my old pongrass runabout....was thinking that when it comes time to painting and fibreglass modification of the top hull it would be easier to seperate the two halves.... mine is stapled together through a lip that both the top and bottom hull have. now i'm just wondering, if i pull all the staples out is there another way to join them back together or do you have to staple. Was thinking just maybe figreglass over the lip but then i'd have to repaint..so yeah any ideas would be great.

thanks

matt

[Noelm]

there is various ways to join the hull/deck joint, staples. bolts, rivets, glue, resin, silicon, or a combination of all those things as well, all have been used over the years with success, just use what you will feel comfortable with and put on new rubber and it will be like new again.

[mattij2005]

thanks noel pretty much what i figured, am havin a bit of trouble findin the right rubber to replace it though. other than whitworths is there anywhere you can get rubber to go on a lip like that?

[Noelm]

Isn't it just a flat "lip" that sticks out? all it needs is rubber that has a slot in it, some makers had different edges, but I think Pongrass was just a flat lip.

[Steve-G]

FGI sell the gunnel rubbers in a couple of different designs and sizes. I think the quote was about $9 - 9.50 per meter.

[cormorant]

Grippy rubber sell about 10 designs - or used to Match it on website or ask then to send a sample of couple that are close.
Glueing on the gunnell rubber - well that is a a whole other issue


Is a major effort seperating and rejoining and unless there is a major reason I wouldn't bother. Crapload of extra work unless you have to.

Most renos can be done without doing it and you don't end up with issues like it getting out of shape etc.

[tropicrows]

Grippy rubber sell about 10 designs - or used to Match it on website or ask then to send a sample of couple that are close.
Glueing on the gunnell rubber - well that is a a whole other issue


Is a major effort seperating and rejoining and unless there is a major reason I wouldn't bother. Crapload of extra work unless you have to.

Most renos can be done without doing it and you don't end up with issues like it getting out of shape etc.

As cormorant said gluing on the gunnell rubber is a whole other issue, I found that to be the most difficult part of my whole boat rebuilding project. Fixing the two half's together is the easy part. If your boat does not have to be separated don't do it.

[mattij2005]

okay then point taken the hulls will stay together thanks guys, i'll definately have a look on both those site for info and yes it is just a flat lip...why is it so difficult to glue the rubber back on, any hints for me to make it easier?

[wayno60]

because if you dont heat and stretch it on and what ill probable be useing is stikaflex, on a hot day it will sag or bow out from the hull.
One boat builder put the gunnel rubber in a 44 with a small gas burner in the bottom and heat it that way but ive been told laying it out in the sun in the middle of summer will get it plyable enough to do the job.

also have a read
http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=68541

[Cootac]

Hi all

As some of you know i'm in the process of refurbishing my old pongrass runabout....was thinking that when it comes time to painting and fibreglass modification of the top hull it would be easier to seperate the two halves.... mine is stapled together through a lip that both the top and bottom hull have. now i'm just wondering, if i pull all the staples out is there another way to join them back together or do you have to staple. Was thinking just maybe figreglass over the lip but then i'd have to repaint..so yeah any ideas would be great.

thanks

matt

Matt if you haven't seperated hull and deck yet, don't do it . Its a lot of work and you can do more damage than good. If it was my boat I would just do all the repairs with out the rub rail. Repair your bottom hull and paint it first, and do the deck last, then fit a brand new rub rail. This way you are going to save a lot of headache and a lot of swear words.

[JACE...]

Blind rivets did the job for me.
I searched high and low for gunnel rubber and could not source a decent product locally so I ended up getting a Taco product sent over from the US using West marine, Plenty to choose from over there.

It was a two man job soaked the rubber in hot water in the bath tub and stretched during fitting.

[Gon Fishun]

For what its worth I`ll input a bit of info. I bought a 12ft fibreglass ( about 35 years old ) that had the top already removed and ready for stringers and transom.I won't bore you with all the details but when it came time to fit the top back on it had holes top and bottom, presumably from rivots, so I just pulled and pushed starting from the front using Sikaflex and long rivots to join the 2. I had a lot of trouble lining them up . Assume it all had warped with age. Any way it turned out ok. The old gunnel rubber was hard and brittle ( tossed it out.) I ended up with another boat so gave this one to my son. He bought a length of black rubbery type hose, laid it out in the sun, ran a split all the way along and siliconed it over the join, and it looks good. Covers the rough edge and no sharp edges.
Cheers Bob.

[Wet Work]

Something like sikaflex is okay. Fibreglass bog is also good. Dont try to put the strip on yourself. You need at least 1 other person helping you and 2 is better.

I rejoined the deck and hull on my v19r. Fibreglass bog is best. Getting the parts matched up nicely is hard work. This is another job for when someone is there to help you. Once the resin/bog had set I laid some glass over the joint inside the hull, 3" and 5" wide strips all the way around with plenty of overlapping. Super strong joint now. I also have used rivets. It was originally stapled and when former owner pulled the deck off the lip was badly damaged so i had a bit of rebuilding to do.

If you dont need to separate the deck from the hull dont do it. If you want to reinforce it and you can get to the join inside the boat lay some strips of glass along the join.

[mattij2005]

Thanks for all your input guys, looks like i'll be leaving the two halfs together now, also have to do a couple of repairs to the lip as well looks like it's had a know or two and has broken bits of the lip off. i'll definately be reinforcing the join and doin some modification to the dash for radios etc while i'm at it.