repairing old glass on a merrymeeting bay scull float

W

Werner

Active member
Happy 4th of July all,

I have an old scull float that was built in 1980. I would like to repair and repaint this old boat. It is a fiberglass over wood boat. I do not feel any soft spots and I am pleasantly surprised as to how solid the stern feels.

The boat does not leak water except if I lean on the starboard side of the stern where the waterline passes over a section of fiberglass that has worn away at the corner of the starboard hull and the stern. I have a picture of that damage below.

I know next to nothing about fiberglass repair except for what I have watched on You Tube. None of the videos I have watched show me how to refurbish an old fiberglass over wood boat.

I do not even know how to remove old fiberglass or if removing fiberglass requires that I remove the entire skin. Can I can "get away" with patching things using pieces of chopped strand fiberglass matt and covering the patches with fiberglass weave and resin?

How long might such a job take on a 16 foot narrow scull float? 100 hours? 200 hours? (I realize variables such as degree of damage are a factor. I have included pictures below to show the worst spots.)

I am trying to figure out how big of a job I maybe getting into here.

Does anyone here have experience with refurbishing an old duck hunting boat with fiberglass over wood? Would anyone wish to give this newbie guidance on rehabbing his classic scull float? (I imagine the project would take time and I would need pointers as I progressed along.)

Below are some pictures as to some of the major flaws "that I know of" on this old boat.


The stern shows sign of fiberglass delamination.
View attachment IMG_0025.jpg

This is most pronounced at the scull port.

View attachment IMG_0028.jpg

The builder of my boat appears to have used metal reinforcement at the stern for the outboard motor clamps.




View attachment IMG_0026.jpg

Moreover, you can see where some of the fiberglass weave failed to seat against the gunwale near the stern on the port side of the scull float.


View attachment IMG_0027.jpg


Also, the fiberglass skin has completely worn away at the corner of the hull and stern on the port side of the float. This is were the water leak can come if I lean on the stern on the starboard side of the float.

View attachment IMG_0022.jpg


Below is the picture of the stern where I "think" most of the repair is needed. Thanks in advance for any input.


View attachment IMG_0024.jpgView attachment IMG_0016.jpg
 
Message me.... you can either bring it over, or I can swing by and help you with a plan. If it only needs spot repairs, I have the materials you need.
 
Good morning, Werner~


You are in fine hands with Mr. Diefenderfer.


This sure looks like a "spot repair" project to my eyes. A couple of days before it's ready for paint. Probably lots of grinding with 40-grit, then making sure the wood is dry and sound. Repair with epoxy resin and cloth. I like to use my first resin coat as a sealer coat. I apply the cloth and more resin when the first coat is just tacky. (If you wait 'til it's fully hardened, you should sand before applying more resin.)



FYI: Most 'glass mat is chemically incompatible with epoxy resin.


All the best,


SJS

 
Dave,

I will humble myself and upload my pictures of my transom after removing the delaminated fiberglass. You can see that there was a scull port for a left handed sculler that has been plugged. Also note the dowel. There are about six dowels in the hull but most of these have been cut because of various modifications on the transom.


View attachment IMG_0031 (3).jpg


Here is a close up of the port side of the stern.


View attachment IMG_0032 (1).jpg



Here is the inside of the transom after removing the glass, hardware, and seat.


View attachment IMG_0033 (1).jpg



The port side of the transom after pulling off the fiberglass and discovering this side of the transom was soaking wet. I used a heat gun and some tools to dig away the rot until I got to hard wood or as this shows came right through the other side of the transom.
View attachment IMG_0034 (1).jpg


I "think" the core material is plywood after stripping away some of the fiberglass as the pictures below suggest to my untrained eye. I hope I am wrong but....



View attachment IMG_0039 (1).jpg

Below is a close up of the port side of the transom looking into the hull. It looks like wood to me. You maybe able to make out a nail and a screw.


View attachment IMG_0043 (1).jpg

Below is another shot along the starboard side of the hull closer to the bow where the fiberglass easily peeled away. It appears to me that here that the hull core is peeking out above the fiberglass just before it joins the deck.



View attachment IMG_0041 (1).jpg

One more picture where I sanded away inside the boat.


View attachment IMG_0044 (1).jpg

To round out the photographs here are some other pictures of where large portions of the fiberglass easily pulled away. I did not need to use a heat gun to remove the fiberglass and I did notice the "bondo" odor as I removed some of the glass. So I guess I am not dealing with epoxy resign.


View attachment IMG_0038 (1).jpg

If the hull is fiberglass then I am not too worried about tearing out the rotten transom and replacing this with Coosa board. However if this is wood, I am worried that doing such a job might be more tricky as the hull is not that thick. For example, how do I get out the nails attaching a thin plywood hull to a wood transom? (Unless I cut the hull 1 1/2 inches?) A bit tricky to me.

Thanks

View attachment IMG_0046 (1).jpg
 
Steve,

Thanks for your input. I did get the 40 grit sandpaper and started sanding. However, as you will see from pictures that I attached to my reply to Dave I am afraid I ran into a major snag with the transom.

I would like to either repair the damaged transom with Abatron wood rot repair products that I have used in the past (all be-it on my home doing major rot/wood damage repair) or use Coosa Board. I worry that the hull maybe made thin plywood. Please have a look at the pictures I showed Dave. I would appreciate your input very much.

We thought the hull might be made of fiberglass only but the transom pictures suggest otherwise to me -but I am a novice.

I am concerned about damaging the hull. I lack the confidence in tackling the art of making an accurate copy of the existing transom as I am not as confident in my carpentry skills as I am with my mechanical abilities. It is night and day where those two are concerned.

Thanks again.
 
Not to worry! You have not exposed anything that we can't fix right. I may have a piece of 3/4" Marine plywood that would be large enough for the transom. Make a good cardboard template of the shape now before you lose any shape when it is cut out. I can't tell in your pictures if there really is plywood in the hull, if it is, I didn't see anything that suggested there was any real areas compromised.

Give me the width and height dimensions and I will see if I have plywood to fit a new transom. We can double it to make it enough to hang your outboard off.
 
Nice boat. There?s a few rebuilds in the archives of this site. Dave did a nice rebuild on a Sam hunt, I did a few of them the most recent my Garvey. Search NJ Garvey restoration under my name and also Heinrichs sneakbox renovation for pics and progress shots of what I did. Both are glass over cedar. I learned everything I know from this site and trial and error. Steve Sanford?s site is also a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.
 
Just an FYI, I dropped off my epoxy supplies to a co-worker restoring his outdoor bar surface.... should have them back in a week. Will check on Marine Plywood this evening and let you know what I have on hand.
 
Hello All,

Update. I spent much of one day sanding and removing more fiberglass. Also, I had to use goof-off to remove the glue residue from the tape that the previous owner rapped the gunwale with. I sanded the inside of the boat, the deck, and the gunwale. I still have to flip the boat over and sand the outer hull.


In trying to remove the glue residue along the gunwale using a heat gun, I managed to lift some more fiberglass which ended in me removing most of the fiberglass from the foredeck.
View attachment 20180715_161641_Burst01.jpg

I "think" the builder of my boat used bondo over the wood deck along the side of the boat. There was a thick plastic like residue below the fiberglass. I could smell the bondo when I used my heat gun to pry away the fiberglass. Below is a picture of the deck with the sanded residue.


View attachment 20180715_161710.jpg

Perhaps the hull is made of fiberglass after all? When I was sanding the inside of the boat I inadvertently sanded a patch of the hull down to a white substance that looks like straight fiberglass to me.


View attachment 20180715_161812.jpg

I do not know what was going on when the builder smeared on this plastic substance. Maybe he was cleaning off left over bondo?


View attachment IMG_0058 (1).jpg

It is a good thing I was able to pull up the fiberglass from the deck and the gunwale. The picture below reveals a gap between the two.


View attachment IMG_0052 (1).jpg

Below you can see a wood rib just behind the seat after my sanding. These ribs run along the inside of the hull and are used to anchor the deck, gunwale, and hull to each other. I think I may need to hammer in the nails with some strong adhesive to eliminate the gap between the gunwale and deck.

(Or perhaps I should not? Maybe it is a good idea to have a tiny space to allow for expansion and contraction due to heat, cold, and moisture?) Does someone have any ideas on this?

I still need to figure out how to unscrew the very rusty screws holding the hinges to the shelf door. They are stuck fast.

View attachment IMG_0056 (1).jpg

Below are some random pictures showing more of the scull float after sanding.


Port Side.



View attachment IMG_0054 (1).jpg

Starboard side.



View attachment IMG_0057 (1).jpg

Thanks all for your interest and encouragement.

View attachment 20151206_152022%201_zpsopioab5y.jpg
View attachment IMG_0057 (1).jpg
 
I think we will put some tape behind those spaces between the coaming and the side decks, and will fillet and then glass the joint. It will stiffen everything up and seal it off that way. My co-worker did this outdoor bar this weekend, and is quite pleased with how well the epoxy flowed out... it helps that is was so hot out!

I should have the epoxy supplies back this week.

You can stop and grab the plywood if you like, or bring the template and we can cut it here on the bandsaw. Though a jigsaw would work if you have that.
 
Werner, boat shop (tent) is straightened and swept clean. Will make another set of horses to get the Susquehanna sneakboat out of the way to bring yours in.
 

The Coosa Bluewater 26 Series Composite Board arrived. It is 3/4 inch thick. I would like to double this to get the 1 1/2 inch thickness of the old transom. I emailed the manufacturer as to how to best fasten two pieces together. However, I was invited to telephone the manufacturer with my questions. This I hope to get to this week. The piece pictured below cost only $15 to ship and it arrived promptly.

View attachment IMG_0066 (1).jpg

One of my questions to them is how best to cover the pin holes in the substrate. Below is a close up of what I mean. Perhaps I may need to apply some resin to fill in the imperfections first? I will see what they recommend. The surface is very gritty. I can feel very fine granules of probably what is glass upon my fingers after gently sweeping my hand across the board's surface. Gloves probably are necessary for handling this material.

View attachment IMG_0080 (3).jpg

I have carefully cut out the pattern to draw the transom. This took me some time to try to get an exact fit on the outer part of the transom. However, I am slow. Below is a picture of the pattern tacked onto the old transom. I tried very hard to cut away any old glass right where the transom and the hull meet each other. This took me some time too. (I still need to remove a little bit of glass on the inside of the transom where it meets the hull but I am cautious so to do as I do not want to damage the inside of the hull by pulling away too much glass.)


View attachment IMG_0064 (3).jpg

I sanded down the hull near the bow as best as I could. I believe a previous owner used bondo to create the protrusion on the bow. The bow still looks uneven despite my sanding. However, I do not want to sand it all away. Apparently the material was unevenly applied to the surface.



View attachment IMG_0070 (1).jpg

The hull has been patched midship on the hull both at the starboard and port side. Here is a picture of one patch. You can see the indentation. Perhaps this should be built up further with fiberglass or resin before painting?

View attachment IMG_0073 (1).jpg

Some of the fiberglass rubbed away from the tip of the skeg so I wound up removing quite a bit from the starboard side of the skeg. You can see the thick piece of material (I assume bondo) that was used to secure the skeg into place.


View attachment IMG_0065 (1).jpg

Actually the skeg is quite puny compared to the size of the boat. It is only three inches high and rather short. I wonder if this isn't too small for proper sculling. Below is a picture I took with some wood strips at level. The skeg would be about five inches high in this picture. The picture suggests what a larger skeg might appear for scale relative to the hull. Does making a change here make sense? Would it help make the boat a better craft to scull?

After making the transom, I think I may have enough extra Cossa Board to make a 4 foot long skeg as much as six inches high. This too I need to ask of the manufacturer. Can this product be used to make a skeg?

(The boat is wet because I washed it after sanding down the entire hull.)


View attachment IMG_0081 (1).jpg

Below is a picture of the hull after sanding. You may be able to make out the second patch about midship. This patch looks much better than the one I previously showed. I am a novice but I do not think the patch on this side needs any additional work.


View attachment IMG_0075 (1).jpg

And one final picture from the bow.





View attachment IMG_0072 (1).jpg
 
I realize I slightly mangled two of my sentences in my last post. I apologize if this makes reading my reply difficult. Thanks for your interest.
 
Good morning, Werner~


Great progress! You obviously have the necessary thoroughness and attention to detail that will make your restoration a real success.


With respect to fairing the dents/hollows in the hull: I recommend filling them with thickened epoxy - after first sanding the surface with 60-grit to give some tooth. I use US Composite's fairing compound - mixed with resin to peanut butter consistency. A nice wide plastic squeegee (or even a piece of thin plywood or Masonite) bent to a curve can be used to screed the filler just as you would with concrete. After curing, the best way to sand is with a "longboard". A long strip of sandpaper can be glued to a length of 1/4-inch or 3/8-inch plywood - say 3 inches wide by 24 inches long. Glue blocks at either end to serve as handles. Work the longboard across the repair at different diagonals 'til it matches the original convex shape. After sanding, apply 2 coats of resin for water-proofing (the microballoons in the filler are cut open during sanding and need to be sealed). If the repair is exceptionally large and deep, I would probably cover it with cloth first.


As for the skeg. I have never used a scullboat - so do not know what's needed for tracking. I would presume that the builder got it right. If your sea trials suggest a deeper or longer skeg, you can always add some hardwood over the 'glassed skeg. This sort of sacrificial "shoe" is a good idea for any boat that will ground out regularly.


Here is another scullboat from John Gardiner's "More Building Classic Small Craft".


View attachment Merrymeeting Page 41 - sm.jpg



Note how the skeg and shallow keel run the entire length of the vessel. Again, you can always add something - White Oak bedded in 3M 5200 for example - if you feel the need in the future.


View attachment Merrymeeting - Page 40 sm.jpg



Keep up the fine work!


SJS





 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top