South Bay refurb

Eric Patterson said:
My nav lights are set up the same way on my broadbill. Just make sure camo doesn?t block the sockets. Otherwise I think it works well.
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Gonna be first time cutting into boat... but now that I've started glassing I'm not too scared...
 
If there is foam in the bow and stern, I would not remove it. Drill a small hole in the deck and probe with a coat hanger. I drill a small hole on the bottom of each one to see if there was water seepage.
The motor mount should be checked. My mounting bolts had corroded down to about 3/16. I would raise the spray shield and put in a shelf as Steve did.
Have fun, keep up the pics.
 
Capt Rich Geminski said:
If there is foam in the bow and stern, I would not remove it. Drill a small hole in the deck and probe with a coat hanger. I drill a small hole on the bottom of each one to see if there was water seepage.
The motor mount should be checked. My mounting bolts had corroded down to about 3/16. I would raise the spray shield and put in a shelf as Steve did.
Have fun, keep up the pics.
Click to expand...

I know the rear foam area had water in due to a crack where the bulkhead met deck, whem pushed on water seeped out. The front I am not sure. But i would like to add a bow eye on the underside to attatch trailer winch to.

On side not I need some input: anyone have any clever suggestions on how to roll the boat over topside down onto the cart by myself? I want to be able to work on underside. Or should I just wait until I can muster up few extra hands...?
 
Is there a bow eye on the boat now? Mine was under, but was small. I added a small clevis and 3" galvanized ring, it holds the winch hook and safety chain. If I did it again, I would take the deck off and reglass and refoam the chambers.
 
Capt Rich Geminski said:
Is there a bow eye on the boat now? Mine was under, but was small. I added a small clevis and 3" galvanized ring, it holds the winch hook and safety chain. If I did it again, I would take the deck off and reglass and refoam the chambers.
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There is not one there now. I was going to add a few layers of glass then drill in a U bolt with solid backer on inside and silicone sealant.
 
Rich~


In a PM, I had advised Jason to remove any existing foam - after cutting holes for Beckson deck plates. This allows one access for backing up hardware, provides inspectability in the future - and re-pouring new 2-pound closed cell foam is fairly easy - especially if the boat is stood on its nose or tail during the pour.



NOTE: 2-part flotation foam should be poured in several "lifts" - allowing each lift to expand and cure before adding more foam.



Saturated flotation foam is worse than no foam - from a safety perspective.


Jason~ I would definitely get help for flipping the boat - one strong helper should be sufficient - but a total of 3 is best. (Of course, if you round up 3 friends you can simply supervise.....) One on each end to lift and one in the middle to rotate the hull. (I have eye bolts and chain hoists suspended from my shop ceiling for this task).



All the best,


SJS

 
Rich~


I have not removed the deck from any of the South Bays I've worked on. From what I have seen, the flange seems to be glued together AND the seam is 'glass taped over from the inside. A big job, seems to me.


One thing I like about the South Bays is that I can fit below both fore and aft decks to reach what I need to reach. I would not want to do lots of grinding in there, however.


All the best,


SJS

 
Do you ever add shelves inside? Im wondering if they can be done in conjuction woth removable floor boards... Sunday morning, stuck at work thoughts
 
A shelf is my next project. I think Steve hung his from the top deck? One thing is I have to put in a drain plug, it just bugs me not to have one. Also led under deck lights would be great .
 
Capt Rich Geminski said:
A shelf is my next project. I think Steve hung his from the top deck? One thing is I have to put in a drain plug, it just bugs me not to have one. Also led under deck lights would be great .
Click to expand...
The stern is the meat of my project now that Ive repaired holes in hull.
Get 5200 off bolt threads and nuts
Remove steel motor mount
Remove steel plate inside
Make template then cut out bulkhead
Remove old foam
Build new bulkhead
Build new motor board
Build new backer, inside board for motor mount
Glass in bulkhead
Drill through bulkhead and pour in foam
Install motor board and inside board
Install drain plug


Flip boat, sand and paint bottom


Then on to inside:
Floor
Shelves
Wire up battery and switch panel, battery box too
Find place to mount small electric bildge pump i have


Then top deck:
Install 2 pin light sockets, 1 fore and 1 aft
Repair cover and add handle
New rub rail
New blocks and hardware for flaps, keeping old flaps for now
Repair/replace conduit that holds up canvas dodger


Sand and paint top


Shewwww!!!!




 
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Good morning, Jason~


I have not yet built a shelf for a South Bay, but....


I have built them in other duckboats and will be doing so next month in a Scooter.


As Rich mentioned, I prefer to hang them up off the floor - so everything stays dry. You can make them as long or as short as you like. Just for odds and ends - or to hold your cased gun, too ? In any event, I would make them at least 24 inches LOA.


[definitely CLICK to enlarge this so you can read it!]







View attachment Shelf - Design Sketch 4-2020.JPG



I cut big openings in the knees so that I can put longer stuff in when I want to. I store my pickup stick - about 42" long - through them when not gunning.


I also make the inboard rail wide enough - 5/4 stock - to bore some shell holders in it. These should be placed convenient to your re-loading hand when you are in place for shooting. (FYI: I posted the details of the shell holders here a couple of years back.)


On South Bays, there is diagonal framing on the side decks. You will need to work around them or notch the knees to accommodate them. Also, newer South Bays have foam sprayed on the underside of the entire deck. You will need to cut this away - easy enough with a knife and dull chisel - to get to the underside of the deck.


Hope this helps.


SJS









 
Jason~


Another thought: Here's how I would remove the aft bulkheads...


1) Mark a line about an inch around the entire perimeter. With a drill or hole saw, bore holes at each "corner". Then, with a Sawzall or jig saw, connect the holes.


2) Remove foam with any hand tool that works: screwdrivers, chisels, trowels....



3) IF the remaining bulkhead wood is sound, you can leave it as a very handy lip to which you can fasten the new bulkheads. If the remaining wood is at all punky, make your templates now, then chop the remaining wood. I would do so by sawing through every 3 or 4 inches then chopping out with that same dull chisel. Clean up the bearing surfaces with grinder afterward.


NOTE: The inner face (toward cockpit) of the new bulkheads can be 'glassed on the bench before installation. Similarly, the holes for the Beckson deck plates can be cut beforehand. The other side of the bulkheads should be sealed - 2 coats of resin is best - also before installation. I would use epoxy resin for all aspects of this job.



All the best,


SJS

 
Big Update:

Today is my one day off work so I got right to it.

Finished removing the steel motor mount, the last 2 peices were bolted and sealed with 5200, including 5200 covering nuts and threads on inside.
Wire wheel did enough to allow impact gun to remove nuts, then I had to wedge several flat head screwdrivers around metal brackets and yank hard.
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A lot of sanding and some filler will do the trick, need to the fill the holes as well since the holes are 11" wide and my new motor mount is a 2x10.

Next I moved on to the steel plate which was 5200'd to the bulkhead on inside, again using a lot of wedges, cursing, and yanking.
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Next I moved onto the bulkhead. I started by opening up and inspection area and examining the wood i removed
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Not good... My girlfriend assisted at this point by tracing a template of the bulkhead in case it disintegrated. Turned out to be a good move since I removed a the bulkhead leaving some around the edges.
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I also should mention I opened up another inspection on both sides of the transom section to ensure I didnt sawzaw into it in the middle. This meant removing the bulkhead in 3 sections. the 3rd section was not fun, I used a dremel to score edges cutting through fiberglass then basically ripped it off.
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The foam was saturated and moldy, and once removed there is about 1/4" of water in the tail sections that was sitting there for who knows how long.
I used a boring drill bit to break up foam and also employed a small shovel I borrow from a 6 year old

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I had a hard time getting under the stern to put in a board for the motor mount. Don't think I could replace the bulkheads with my dainty body. Great pics and good work. Keep up with the progress pics.
 
Capt Rich Geminski said:
I had a hard time getting under the stern to put in a board for the motor mount. Don't think I could replace the bulkheads with my dainty body. Great pics and good work. Keep up with the progress pics.
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It's a tight fit, but I make it work. My girlfriend comes in behind me and cleans up sweeping and vacuuming.
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Yesterday I had to have a cleaning day, the garage was out of hand! Once that was done I finished the trimming out the lip (what was left of the rear bulkhead wood and fiberglass tabbing where it attached to the hull all the way around the stern). An oscillating tool from harbor freight really made the difference here, but the fiber glass ate up the blade after 5 minutes!
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I received the edge protection I ordered. It doesn't had the thickness of original part, and I lose about 1/8" of depth onto the lip which would not allow me to rivet it on. It could be glued on and might do the job just fine, protecting the lip when I drive it up through phrag...


The question is: do I glue on the new stuff or continue searching for a replacement in kind?


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Good morning, Jason~


Nice work removing the aft bulkheads! Tedious work to be sure - but the little shovel was a nice touch. I think I may have borrowed a garden trowel from my wife once or twice for boat projects.....


re removing 5200: I should have told you that heat is very effective at softening it up for removal. A heat gun or torch does lots of the work. Heating the steel plate with a torch would go most quickly - but you'd have to worry about fumes working 'neath the stern deck.


I'm not sure what to say about your rubrail. I've yet to replace one. All I know is that stuff can be very expensive - and hard to find in brown or grey.


All the best,


SJS

 
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