Custom 1965 Correct Craft Mustang build

peter1234 wrote: Pete i was reading that thread , not a lot said about those lvls what would your take be on those , pros and cons,

Peter,
I believe I was the one way back who recommended the LVL as an alternate if Doug Fir wasn't available. It's an "engineered" product so it's very consistent in strength. All the grain runs the length of the LVL and with the addition of the glue, makes it stronger that a solid. You can look at the charts and see an LVL will carry more load than a solid. It however must be sealed with a decent CPES treatment and of course an epoxy layup. Lagging engine mounts to it is not an issue since the grain is running the proper direction but, after drilling the pilot holes for the lags, they must be CPES'd and then sealed with 5200.

I just got the vin off the hull from todd, thanks todd!

gt21t522981

Mean anything to you guys?

Heres a couple pics of the typical kind of boat I would fix up. Marine ply for the stringers and deck with fibre matt for reinforcement. Cant remember the brand of resin we use, something through morgan

Hussler wrote: Heres a couple pics of the typical kind of boat I would fix up. This dingy was for a doctors young son. Marine ply for the stringers

Wow! yes, I agree that it's hard to imagine someone putting in major man hours on an old hull like that!

Marine ply? Why? How long are you getting the sheets? If not long enough for the length needed, what are you doing for the butt joint?

Riley wrote: It must be less expensive to repair than buy another boat. Pete, I know you're correct about the no need to swell up the bottom, but it seems back when wood boats were still in regular use, it was pretty common to see marinas soaking them every spring. I guess because very few people replaced the bottoms?

Bruce,
The quick answer is yes! However, replacing just the canvas and bedding compound wasn't that big of a deal. You did not need to flip the hull since if done regularly all that was needed was to pull the outer layer of planking and the reuse it. Sometimes the screws needed to be up sized. It's how the silicon bronze screw guys came up with number 7 and 9 sizes!!

Heres another one. This guy wanted it done in 4 days because he only visits his ADK camp for a week in the summer! That was a very tight time contraint. I had no choice but to reuse the carpet and it was a pain getting the anchor well port lined right up but it turned out nice. He just needed a quick patch job so his seats would stop ripping away from the floor. By the time we delivered it the anchor well was still wet. I told him to not put anything in there for a couple days, he said he didnt care and was more than happy to have his boat on time. Nice boat, wish I had more time for detail but he just needed it asap.

Hussler wrote: I keep seeing doug fir, now correct me if i'm mistaken but isnt that what they build interiors walls out of? That really surprises me, the treated version isnt a better option?

Yes, Doug Fir is a common wood used for contruction but typically for high strength components like joists and headers.

You NEVER want to use treated wood with any kind of resin glass layup. The resin and treated do not like each other so the resin will not bond. It may seem fine when first done but it will come off. Also, treated typically is of unknown moisture content.

With the CPES and epoxy, the Doug Fir is a basic and sound choice.

Hey Jim. What was the white I/O boat with grey stripe, a Checkmate?

You need to figure all this stringer stuff out so when I get a project boat I can send it to you to get re-strung! Good luck, you've obviously got the skills and experience to do this a lot easier than most of us (or me anyway).

Your boat is a great first project boat. You can rebuild it without going overboard on the method and/or the parts. If you get into fixing up Correct Crafts, you'll find that there are other boats you'll want that will justify the "costy isn't a factor" approach.

Joe,

Where did you buy your coosa board? Looks like about 430 for one 2" board and if it has to be delivered thats prob a 100+ shipping charge.

I would get set up with an account with Composites One if youre going to get serious about using composites. I believe the RI store is closest to me. Not sure where abouts in the Adirondacks you are.

You wont want to use 2" thick coosa. Your main stringers will be longer than 8', so you'll need to piece them together. By making them multiple layers of thinner material (Joe and I each used 3 layers of 1/2" on the mains) you can stagger the joints and maintain more strength over the entire length. You also get the added strength of the glass used to bond the layers together. Expect to pay in the $200-250 range per sheet, if you go that route.

On a small 16' boat like a Mustang, I bet you could get both sets of stringers and the front floor section out of 2 sheets. If you go with a foamed (glass directly over foam) build, then you can probably rebuild that boat with composites for little more than it would cost to do a wood based build. A foamless composite-floored build would likely add at least 1 more sheet (maybe 2). The stuff is really nice to work with, so the only real downsides are 1)the extra cost of the material 2)the extra time involved with laminating your stringers together and 3)having to be really efficient with your use of material (see #1) so you dont waste much.

For reference, here is our coosa BFN build.

Dammit tim!

Tim, Joe looking through your coosa builds, you guys are freaking nuts!! Nice work!!
I see what you guys mean about the layering of coosa, thanks for explaining.
I was reading through some threads on this forum and others and it seems that the people that had trouble with pressure treated didnt use kiln dried pressure treated, the none kiln dried has about 1/3 of its weight water!
I think the coosa looks like a great product but the more I read, a wood stringer setup really does last 30-40 years when properly taken care of. My boat will be about 100 years old by the time it starts to rot again! The original fiberglass will poof to dust before then lol!

Again, you guys do beautiful work!!

Again, if your budget is really tight (and Ive been there!) then a wood based build certainly has its merits. Against the common "avoid pressure treated lumber" mantra here, I know of someone who has used it with good success in the past. Personally, I have no experience with it (at least in terms of boat building).

Then again, if you can be real efficient with your cuts, then a few hundred bucks spent on better material may be worth considering. Like Joe, I would have a really easy time justifying a $500 premium for coosa/airex on a boat I planned to keep. Especially if you could coerce the man into dropping a few sheets off for you!

Hussler wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote:     If you have been using treated or not, I sure hope you use a moisture meter. Kiln drying will only take the content down to about 13% and that's too high. What is the moisture content of the wood you have been using? I have no idea, I wasn't aware there was a range. A lot of my guidance has been second hand from my boss. Thats good, I'll know from here on out whats acceptable. What is an acceptable range any how?

Jim,
I suggest a % below 10. 8 is a good number. The last % points are the ones that take time. Good lumber should be sticker'd if air dried for at least 2 years. It depends on what part of the country you are in! A moisture meter is key. Sorry, but if you do not use one, I consider the work "half as**".

Tim,
I do have a friend up north that way back when he first started stringer jobs, he thought treated would be a great idea. He did several and they all failed after one season (glass bond). Eric as well has had problems. If the wood is dry and you CPES it, they is no reason to go treated. I also feel that some shops will use treated as a shortcut. No CPES and they give their customers a "line of BS"!!