1975 Skiier Stringer Replacement

79TiqueRebuild wrote: Keeganino wrote: My fuel line had 1973 printed on it too. They must have bought a lot of that to still be using it 2 years later.     I need to replace all of my lines also.   Does anybody have a good source? The places I have looked are 2.25-3.00 a foot for type a uscg approved line. Ouch!

Where are you looking?? Overtons or West Marine???

USCG fuel line

EDIT: Wow! Go2Marines is per Inch so I didn't help out!!

My fuel line had 1973 printed on it too. They must have bought a lot of that to still be using it 2 years later. Man you are flying along! I have not made any progress this week with the weather since I am working all outside.

I guess not . will try and do better. I have no excuses. My first opportunity to read is saturday and sunday night this week.

On my computer at work. Headed out and will check back in the morning.

scott

Yep, and they were still doing that in 82. Was the same on my boat. Don't know if/when that practice stopped. BKH

My boards were 8/4. Actual 2" boards like from days of old. I had it planed to 1.5 so it would fit my channels I left on the hull. Our horse barn is built with "real" boards. A true 2x4 that measures 2" x 4". I want to say Greg's boards were 8/4 also.

I think the answers are going to be 50/50 Scott. Just do what's in you budget and what you are comfortable with.

About 1/2, including me used the more expensive straight grain.

Pete is a pretty experienced woodworker, and he felt it didn't make much difference. Greg is a fine woodworker by trade. I don't know what he used, but I believe someone said he used the lower grade fir.

Whatever you do, make sure it is dry. A lot of the lower grade fir is not dry. When it dries, it warps and twists badly, and then you will have a problem.

I just went with the straight grain, kiln dried doug fir because for me it wasn't worth the headaches to think about it.

I don't really understand why it has to be planed.

BKH

I agree with Kap and Mike. Read, read, read. I admire the tenacity with which youre tackling this project, but I would highly recommend you slow down a bit and come up to speed on the methods and materials involved. There is a TON of information on this site, and it covers everything from hull prep, material selection, tricks and tips, etc. I have restored several of these boats from the hull up, and even with my latest project (Another BFN Rebuild) but I have spent countless hours planning. I expect the rebuild to go much more smoothly because of it. You dont need to take it as far as I did, but having a good plan in place before you proceed will pay dividends in the end.

A few quick comments though:

1. Remove every last bit of foam from the boat. Even the stuff way up in the bow up high was soaking wet on my Ski Tique.

2. I highly doubt I will refoam a boat like it came from the factory. Even with improved methods and materials, water will find its way in. This is a hotly contested topic, so inform yourself before deciding which way to proceed.

3. Getting rid of all the gel in the bilge is a good way to go, but grinding does suck. At least get rid of it everywhere where you'll be laying new fiberglass (along the stringers, etc). Gel is brittle, so bonding directly to glass instead will produce a stronger structure.

4. You'll want to address the weak points of the factory design in your rebuild. This starts with better materials (epoxy, for example) but you can also beef up certain problem areas. This includes weak bulkheads, poorly sealed drains- like the battery box, leaky vent hoses- replace with pvc or similar like was mentioned, sealing up all screw holes with epoxy or 5200, etc.

5. Save some budget for other "while Im in there" costs. Things like replacing the bilge pump hose, new control and/or steering cables, fuel lines, etc, are easy to replace with the boat disassembled. You'll need new flooring too- carpet, vinyl or otherwise.

scott you really need to read some of the other threads but here it the set up i mean with the pipes

weeding the pumpkin patch

this one of the best documented threads in this site!!!

kapla wrote: problem in the bow is that they put that wire hose ain't that hard and then it was foam over..if any hole was there..water entering trough the vent system due to a nose dive will end up in the foam instead of going to the bilge..thats why guy here put PVC pipes instead of putting that wire vynil hose back again!!!

Kapala,
that makes perfect sense to me. What kind of pvc do I use? Something flexable I suppose. Will see you in the morning, got to start driving now.

scott

US Composites is about as good as it is going to get. Plus they offer free tech advice.

You would be correct my friend. Any comments?

Here ye here ye!!!

OMG!!! The area under the dash was so much fun I wish I had another boat to do it over again. I have some more questions as usual:

1. Why are the end of the primary stingers under the dash rotten as well as the small vertical piece of wood sittting on top of the stringer? I would think this area is the safest of all from rot.

2. Ended up pulling out the three ventilation hoses from the air scoop on the bow. I guess I will buy new hoses and foam it back in.

3. I was looking at the sides of the hull inside the boat and the little lip that is left over from taking the floor out seems to be one big piece of fiberglass laid on top of the gelcoat hull. Does everybody leave this in(I hope)?

4. About the best I could come up with on the Douglas Fir is $211+$68gas+$50 to finish the wood to a smooth surface and about 7hours of my time. I don't know why but this part of the project really gets under my collar.

5. What do you guys call the foam that you put everywhere and where would I begin to look for it locally? I had a insulation guy reblow our attice this year and they mentioned that they spray something similiar to this between the walls for insulation. I wonder if I should call them and see what it is and could I buy some.

TRBeng, tell me one more time about the areas NOT associated with fiberglassing the stringers related to gelcoat or grinding it off. Should I try to make the whole bottom of the boat the same or just focus on the areas that the stringers sit on?

I am going to make a template based on the footprint of the engine and take a lot of other measurements to make sure I put the engine back in exactly where it was or as close as humanly possible.

Ya'll please give me some feedback.

Scott

Keegan,

Did you or do you intend to leave that lip that runds around the inside of the hull where the floor met the wall or are you going to grind it off?

Also, do I try and grind or pry up all the old fiberglass in the floor area? I noticed yours does not appear to have any left and looks copper in color.

Thanks,

scott

The stringers will only extend a few inches past the footrest hump. Some people cut it out completely and reglass it in afterwards. I laid all new glass on my Ski Tique (same hull as your Skier). Removing it also made the foam removal much easier.

Other options to consider for stringers would be LVL (microlam) beams, or composites like Coosa. For just the stringers alone, I think you could come close to the price for wood (~$250 per 4x8 sheet of 1/2"), but theres a little more work involved since the mains would need to be laminated together with 3 layers before installing. The stringers would never rot, though! Check out threads by JoeinNY and lfskizzer to see what is involved. Im rebuilding a BFN with Coosa right now as well- but Im not very far along with the rebuild.

Can't see a lot of the boat, but what I can see looks to be in very good condition. BKH