haines 445r-f conversion is under way. Updates regularly

[jeffo]

Email them to me if you like Chris and ill put em up.

black_marlin_@hotmail.com.

[doccrr9876]

Jeffo
Have emailed some pics

I have a large file of pics of my boat and 445f's and similar open boats from which I am contemplating layout ideas.
All mixed up - thus the paucity of pics.
I can send the lot to you if you wish to view 445's / Formula 15's etc ad nauseum.

Pls note the chine layout on mine.
I am told HH experimented with set up and then adapted this layout to the drifter models.
Evidently quite a few different versions of the 146 hull exist.
Thus your discovery of differing stringer sets.

HH were much into R&D in the eighties.
I imagine this reflects their dominance at the time, in a very small market with few competitve players and this willingness to experiment saw them develop their classic hull shapes and boats.

I think this boat is much more stable at rest than my 146 was.
It is also a much heavier boat - the hull appears enormously thick, explaining why it also gives a very soft ride.
Seems to go thru chop rather than over it to a lesser degree than the 146.
But this is possible contributed to by a number of different factors - weight distribution / motor etc.

Anyhow - hope all this helps your project along.

Pls keep us informed.
Just judging by the number of views on this thread there are a number of interested observers.
Regards
ChrisR

[jeffo]

Chris- email didnt turn up (note the _ after marlin- that gets a few people). Id love to see all you have in the way of photos as i am still tossing up center consoles and casting decks.

BTW- Do you reckon you could measure the distance from the aft (where you would stand when driving) of your console to the bow and to the transom? just working out where mine is going to have to sit so i know where to run some PVC pipe under the floor for steering, power ect.

[doccrr9876]

Jeffo
Pressed the send button as I left last nite and just came back to find message ' server not responding'
Will pare down the pics and send a few at a time. Perhaps file too large.

Failing that I shal have to humbly consult my children for technical assistance.

You are correct and that is why I have been collecting pics of cc layouts over the last few months - need to lift the best ideas from others before tackling my restoration.

Apoogies for delay
ChrisR

[jeffo]

bit of an update from this weekend. Got frustrated after an hour or so on Saturday trying to cut out the floor under the engine well. So rather than continue hot headed i downed tools and walked away from the job.

Got stuck into it again this am for a few hours. All the slow stuff happening now grinding the left over fibreglass dags from around the floor and a few fiddly areas. Its comming along ok i think.

I have opted to replace just one stringer at a time to try and best avoid the hull changing shape. Being a beginner to all this i spose the extra week or 2 it takes to do it that way might be safer in the long run.

Just a side question- Is it ok to have a join in the middle stringer? the 2.4m lengths of ply i have wont make it the full length. I am going to make the center one 24mm thick (2x12mm sheets glassed together).

A few photos of my hull chocking efforts and a bit of a brace i made up, and a few of the progress so far with the dags trimmed back. Any one got any ideas for a safer way to grind out the floor under the engine well? I am going to give a dremil a go- the grinder wont fit!

[Wahoo]

looking very good jeffo
yes you can join the timber, there is a name for it and also a ratio on what angle it should be cut, mix a bit of epoxy and Q-cell to bond the timber, someone else might come up with it, also make sure you put a nice round on the timber edges before you glass it
keep them pics coming

Da

[sooty_mad]

Jeff
On my 445 the floor was soft but all of the stringers were fine. However the angled board at the front was absolutely rotten. Just shows you can never tell how rot works. You would think that being the higest bit of timber with a good drain hole it would be ok but it was shot.
Kind regards... David

[doccrr9876]

Jeffo
I used a 'Makita Boat Building Sander' - a type of portafile
Has enough grunt do put a coarse belt in and efficiently grind out glass and timber but the size of the machine and shape of the sanding belt allow very good control and enable access inot tight spots.
Bought mine a few years ago - a little shocked to see their price now - about $450

Regards
ChrisR

[BigE]

Keep the pics comming there are plenty of rebuild junkies on ausfish. if you lose your way just ask someone here will give you the good oil. two things i learnt from my rebuild (Itchy & Scratchy) were learn how to use a fibre glass roller and were overalls. the roller will add heaps of strength to your work and the overalls will stop you from scratching until you rip holes in your skin. and septone fibre glass hand cleaner is worth it's weight in gold........get some!!!

Cheers
BigE

[muzzytt]

interesting thread something i mite have to eventually do on my HH 565r ....

[marlin01]

Jeff,
Good to see your progress. After having my 445F for over 20Yrs I gave it a birthday but only had to replace the poorly fastened cockpit floor. Once it was up I found the rest of the structure was very sound and most of the glass round the stringers was 5-6mm thick. When I replace the floor I fully sealed the new marine ply with glass and then set it wet in place. I did also build a forward cast deck for a bit of storage space.
Give us a yell if you need any more dimensions or detailed pics.
Cheers
Marlin

[jeffo]

well i've put in plenty of hours this week after work and agai today but not alot to show for it. I've had the difficult task of grinding, sanding and chipping away the rest of the floor under the engine well and up under the bow (would have been far easier with the deck mould off but i was worried about the hull changing shape if i took it off.

Using a flapper disk in a 4 inch grinder and a dremil for the tight areas did the trick.

Today i got stuck into the stringers at the very back of the boat and the rear bulk head. Cut them down to about 10mm off the floor- i will trim that little bit up tomorrow with the flapper disk.

My plan of attack from here is to remove about 3/4 of the main center stringer, the rear bulkhead and the 2 short stringers with transom braces on them. I will then give the hull a good sand back and clean in those areas and replace them. then continue with the rest of the center stringer and the forward bulkhead.

You will notice in the photos i have checked out a bit of the cross member under the front of the boat over the top of the center stringer- this is to try and leave as much strength in the boat as possible in the boat at all times. I have cut just enough to get the stringer out and glass a new one in.

As i am using 2400mm sheets of ply i will need a join in the center stringer so i plan on joining the front half to the rear half in the boat. (if you look closely at the photos it appears the center stringer was joined in the original job with an extra piece of ply either side to sandwhich it together). I plan on doing the same, a 45 degree angle on both of the lengths of stringer and bog between them with a bit of ply both sides. Can any one see any problems with this?

I accidentally nicked the hull with a flapper disk today but lucky ony went through a layer or 2 of glass...so i will have to patch that up when i get to glassing.

In one of the following photos of the transom you may notice that there is bare timber at showing below where the floor was- the transom was replaced 4 years ago and the lazy buggers must have decided not to glass it up- you gotta wonder what dodgey work gets done when it not going to be seen. Luckily it seams like water has ony affected the top 1 or 2mm so i will sand that back to hard timber then glass over it. They also didnt bog up the gap between the transom timber and the hull of the boat so ill have to do that also.

the photo of the rotten and new timber is the only bit of solid timber i have hit in the entire process. It's a cross section of the bit of angled timber joining the transom to one of the stringers. At least it gives credit to the reciept i was shown for the transom rebuild!

[jeffo]

A question for all you rebuild junkies. I have ground back the stringers near the transom as well as the aft bulkhead. Where the timber in the stringers once was there is a divet of about 2 or 3mm. Obviously the glass that was used to lay up the stringers is that distance off the hull now. My question is- Can i just clean these divets right out and glass them up so they are flush with the rest of the surrounding glass or do i have to grind it all right back? (geez i hope not).

[djmac]

lookin good mate

i went through the same thing when i did my boat..
dont you love the hours of grinding!
if im interpreting your question properly then yes its probably better to grind that old glass back. you mean the section under the splash well where theres glass a bit of left over glass on the transom?

my actual keel stringer doesnt go all the way back to my transom i left a gap to put a bilge pump and have actually left that area open.

if you're running the stringer back onto the transom at least try to clean the glass up back to fresh stuff and when u bog the new keel stringer in make sure you glass over.

dont forget to round your edges on your stringers

keep us posted mate

Col

[jeffo]

thanks Col , i have ground out what you can see in that last photo. The whole hull is now flush except for the reccess where the ply once sat. I am going to have a go at hitting that recess with a wire brush to clean it out then lay some strips of glass in there til its up flush with the rest.