Project Boat, help needed

[Keevers88]

Hi All,
I need some help wit a project I have just started. Back story; I live in Townsville, just moved up here from Brisbane, am a keen kayak fisho but kayak fishing is kind of limited up here due to the scaley back swamp dogs, so long story short the mrs wouldn't let me get a boat cause we are saving for a house BUT I was allowed to get a project. NEK MINUT. For a carton of Rum I got this bad boy dropped off at my house, that's right hull cost me zip, picked it up from a scrap yard. I am handy as the next DIY bloke with tools and I have used epoxy before making my own lures and such so I'm looking forward to this project, stringers, transom, gunnels, floor, dual side consoles all need to be replaced. Boat is 4.98m long, I will be turning it into a fishing machine, dual side consoles. I understand I have a lot of work ahead, the hull is in great shape and gel coat is in excellent condition. i'll be using epoxy resin and 420 gsm double bias. I understand theconcept of need to fillet corners etc. and I have spent a lot of time researching and writing down all necessary information though I still I have some questions need answering,

1. Does anyone know what type of boat this is? it was a half cab, no ID tags/plates

2. for stringers, how many layers of glass will suffice for adequate strength and water resistance? 2 or 3 layers, I've read mixed opinions.

3. I need advice for stringer material? would treated structural pine be suitable?

5 stringers in total 2X8 inches high, 3X4 inches high, floor sat evenly across stringers, keel stringer is 4inch. all are 35mm wide plus around 3mm thick of fibreglass shell.
The photos are of the day the boat got dropped off, the previous owner had visions of repairing it but gave up. the next couple are of my progress so far, levelling gunnels, cutting out floor and side pockets getting ready for the hard work to begin but before I do I want to have all my materials on hand so I can work on it most nights and weekends.

Transoms is going to be marine ply and glassed and tabbed accordingly, stringers will be sourced from Bootle Timber locally.
looking forward to your replies
Ben

p.s what kind of horse power should I have, the online calculation suggests around 120hp, local chandler suggests 100-115?

[Floating Rib]

Hi Ben, i enjoyed the read and sorry couldnt pick the hull, there are a few rebuilds on this site so hopefully those in the know will offer up some good advice. Good luck with the build and i hope you can post some pics as you go along. Depending on how much weight you throw into it with fittings etc id imagine from 80hp up to 100 would cover your needs, efi 2 stroke may keep the weight down and allow a little less horsepower.

[Fish Face]

Hey Ben. Nice little project there. Not sure what the hull is but it does look like a good solid build. Nice purchase.. Ok, for a start, personally, I wouldn't be using epoxy resin. Its a bit of an overkill. Hard to work with, very toxic and top dollar. My choice would be vinylester, although polyester would be fine. And a lot cheaper. Double bias is great and a lot more than most manufacturers use. I would only use 1 layer but with a layer of 600gm CSM [ chopped strand mat ] either side. If your concerned about water resistance, get some cheap flow coat but it should be fine if its laminated well. As far as stringer material goes, anything will be fine if its glassed properly. The material is basically for the shape. The glass gives the strength. That's why foam is used a lot now days. No rot. And there are alternatives to using timber in your transom. Sounds like you want to keep this boat. Good luck.. MM..

[oldie]

maybe a nova craft or mustang

[Shark Poker]

Nova 16 foot Eclipse is my guess.

[Hossfish]

Hi Ben.

My previous boat was a Pride Palamino 4.9m half cab powered by a 70 hp johnstone 2 stroke. With 2 blokes and fishing gear on board we would cuise at about 40 kph sea conditions permitting at about 4400 rpm and about 50 kph WOT . If i had the wife and two kids on board for a family day performance would be about the same. Overall not bad performance for a combo that size and fairly economical boating in terms of fuel and oil.

Having said that there were times when i thought another 20-30 hp would have been nice for a bit of extra speed, so i think something in the 90-100 hp range would not be to far off the mark.

Good luck with the project and i look forward to reading about your progress with great interest.

Safe boating to all.

Cheers Greg

[Jarrah Jack]

Don't bother with the epoxy Ben for the reasons already stated. You can use ply for the stringers and it does add strength. Make sure the boat hull is true before you start laminating seeing that there's nothing holding it in line now.

Might be best to hide a few bills from the Mrs too LOL, it all adds up.

[Keevers88]

Thanks for the Advice guys, my local chandler can do me a 24kilo kit of epoxy for $600 neat which is the best price i have found so far. going to poly or vinylester is going to save me a bit thouogh wouldn't i need 3 times as much resin for 600 csm? original wood in the boat was ply for transom and stringers so i'll probably go back to this wood form.

i think around the 100hp should be sufficient, a lot of the decent reefs are around 60k's + out to sea so that bit extra HP is needed up here, me and the mrs are keen wakeboarders as well so the bit extra hp will be plenty. on occasion i'll take a couple of mates out for fish but majority of the time will just be me and the mrs.

She nearly fell over backwards when i showed her the estimate of materials, motor and brand new trailer. Good news is she has agreed to go halves in the motor and trailer as long as i put somewhere for her to sleep and put a good top on it ha ha.

i'll be sure to post plenty of pics and discussion as i move along with the build. Unfortunately i wont have much time of the next couple of weeks as i am going down to Brisbane and visiting family, the company i work for doesn't allow me to take holidays in December cause we are too busy. Hopefully before Australia day i should have a good start on it.
Thanks again guys
Ben

[dogsbody]

A couple of things to ponder K man, since you're new up there and extra hands may be thin on the ground. Will the underside need some work ie: will it need to be flipped, no point adding extra weight then realising ya need to turn the bitch over.

You'll need some kind of cradle so it sits true, don't want the hull warped as it may have unwanted handling characteristics and make life difficult putting in stringers/floor.

Will ya need to move project at some point down the track ie: will cradle need wheels or something?

It may be wise to make a list of things ya plan for it and think about any problems that may arise, and at which point will something need to be added to accomodate for something else at a later point. Take the time to think ahead, it'll save you time and maybe some coin.

Lastly say to yourself I love sanding, repeat that mantra over n over. It's not a lie if you believe it, chortle


Dave

[Keevers88]

Thanks for the Advice Dave,
yeah the gelcoat all the way down to the keel is in really good nick no obvious mark and repairs, the first investment is going to be a trailer so i can move it around and before any major work starts on it i'll have it moved under the house and a temp cradle made to make sure there is no lateral flex. The idea is to replace 1 stringer at a timber therefore reducing the risk of warping. i've got a couple of straps as well i'm thinking about wrapping around the hull to help maintain it's shape but i'll wait and see how much movement i get once the first stringer is cut out. Ha ha i am already seeing me hating sanding, spent roughly 4hrs sanding back all the joins where the old bunks and shelves were. i've enlisted my dad and a mate(Carpenter) from Brisbane to give me a hand when it's time for some serious work, all for the low cost of return flight to Brisbane and the promise of landing a barra in the kayaks ha ha.
But yeah great advice Dave, good to see so many helpful beings out there, the more advice the better, even if its been said already

Ben