Stringer Repair 1985 2001 Ski Nautique

I used the diamond blade on a grinder... Joe recommended it in his rebuild thread.   I felt that it worked pretty well, but scared myself once I got to about the drivers seat.   I didn't cut the bottom of the hull, but sure could have.   make sure and give a good couple of inches to the hull side, then curve sharply to the keel line as you pass the pylon mount.   YOu'll have a better feel for where the side is once you get some of the foam out. Foam removal worked really well using a hand driven sheet rock saw, and a trenching shovel.   I did my floor cutting in the garage, but I used visqueen as a "booth" around the boat. I was happy with the way that worked, but will probably grind the bilge outside since it is starting to be less rainy.

Gas tank is out ~~~ finally.


BTW, when I was reading the initial stringer replacement threads, I was amazed by how many times people were washing the transom out..... well now I know. It's a filthy mess down there!

Removing the rudder assembly has me a bit unnerved. Besides taking lots of pictures and video does anyone have any suggestions?

iplan wrote: As to the circular saw and the floor: ~~~ any suggestions?

I haven't done this myself, but I remember others used a sawzall for ripping the floor. You can just let it hug the hull side as you travel down the length.

8122pbrainard wrote: I would caution you on the use of a level. It only works if the boat is level. I like to use a straight edge across known points like the old floor and then measure to the stringers.

What the hell does this mean?


You are going to make a huge dusty mess inside if you cut and grind everything out now. Do everything except the stringers outside, on the trailer. Maybe someone who has done a SN2001 hull can further comment.

PS. Looks like Gary has been cutting off the [/ at the end of his quotes, probably just getting a little wild with the delete button while slimming down the quoted content.

Hey ~~~ that's why I couldn't do it ~ I was hitting the "Quick Reply" at the bottom.

This first picture shows the extent of floor separation (I put screw drivers in the crack so you could see how far it went).... It is basically separated from the air intake box to about 2 feet in front of the gas tank on the starboard side. You can also see the white line cut from the circular saw ~~~~~



The Port Side Secondary Stringer (below) has known issues.




No idea why pulling this tank is so hard. I'm cutting it tomorrow (I did get a fillup when I emptied the tank ~ so I'm still in the black). It also looks like there is a leak somewhere (see the dark stains running down the left side?)




Leveled and braced ~~~~~ For some reason, I'm really proud of this accomplishment.



As to the circular saw and the floor: It may have been a blade issue. I had a plywood blade ~~~~ little bitty teeth. It was brand new however, so I figured it would work on the fiberglass. I set the blade to cut about an eighth of an inch, but it was not happy, and made a lot of sparks. After a lot of forcing, it finally did draw a tiny line down the side, but that was about it. Once the line was drawn, it did not come free like I figured it would. I know this has to be a "user error" ~~~ any suggestions?

Best,
J

It turns out that I had to finish my building before I took the floor out (as it wasn't quite waterproof with no shingles or sides) ~ imagine that. It's still not "done" but today's the first day of spring, so I figured I needed to at least get going.


The carpet, engine, tranny, exhaust piping,etc., are all out.

I can not figure out the gas tank (I got it empty, but the hoses are immovable ~ essentially frozen. I was thinking I might just "cut" them off. Does anyone have a better solution?

Cutting the floor did not go as expected

I tried a circular saw, but that didn't work.

I also bought a 4.5 inch grinder, but I got the wrong kind of disks, so I couldn't even try it to see if it would be any better. If you recommend grinder, what disk would be best?

On the starboard side, the floor is mostly separated from the hull. I was really tempted to just pry it back from there (but I didn't want to break through the outer hull......).

Still now idea how to post pictures on this forum....

Best,
J

TRBenj wrote: The trailer plus some strategically placed braces (Ive put them under the chine at the rear and again under the windshield) should shore it up properly.

This is the question I'm driving at: What did you use as a brace?

As far as I understand you need to take the boat off the trailer and make some wooden mounting blocks for it, there are plenty of folks on here who have posted photos, I'll eventually be looking to do the same..