1979 Skier floor replacement leads to stringers and more

[tim79mc]

ok, ok... pictures are cool. So here's some to satisfy.

Tonight I cut crossmembers for the bow floor. I used a 2x4 with cardboard "feelers" to make a template of both sides of the 2x4 - this gave me a great template that allowed me to get really close to the compound angle cut needed to get the right fit in the bow.





Both 2x4s in place for test fitting


I had time to try my hand at filling in the gaps between the wood and hull - it's my first time working with fiberglass, so I figured this is a good place to give it a try. It's not structural and no one will ever see it once the floor is down.

[tim79mc]

A couple of pics of the port outside stringer, well what was left of it...

The top was completely rotted. The fiberglass shell easily peeled right off of the wood and the bottom of the stringer was water logged.



The ShopVac hasn't worked this hard in years...

[Ironhorse]

Great pics, keep them coming. Nice work!

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Really starting to take shape now.

[kjohnson]

Great job. There is no way that I would have the time or patience to do something like you have done.

[tim79mc]

Thanks everyone. I don't have the time or patience, either... i got suckered into a big job because I thought it was only my floor that needed to be replaced! But, now that I'm in it, the love for my boat that I learned to ski on keeps me going. I know that after I'm done, it will feel great to be back in "old blue"

[tim79mc]

More progress this past week. The hardest thing has been trying to figure out the order for doing things. I've avoided grinding and sanding in my garage - I'm doing this in the driveway so the dust doesn't get into everything I own. Thankfully, we've had almost no rain in NY.

A LOT of grinding on the hull - Mastercraft didn't do a great job with the roving, especially on the sides where there were a lot of pockets that held dirt and debris. If I'm going to be foaming the floor, this needs to be smoothed out and sealed. The mat/roving that held the stringers in also had to be ground down to make a flat bed for the new stringer. I made sure I ground at least 8" away from the stringer to give a good surface to bond the new glass to.

Not easy doing all of this work while a stone's throw from the lake...



I got the secondary stringers cut. I bought douglas fir lumber one size too big so I could cut it to the right size - the secondaries could have been cut from 2x6 material, but I would have had to get the bottom cut just right the first time. I used 2x8s and transferred the hull shape to the 2x8 on each side. I cut the "high side" and used an electric planer to make the angle until both lines were removed.



With the stringers lying down, I placed my handy-dandy laser level in rear of the boat at the height of the top of the floor as marked by the old tabbing on the walls. I then placed the stringers and marked out the top of the floor height. I took off 1/2" and then some for the floor and fiberglass thickness and cut a nice straight line. This came out perfect.



The corners of the stringers were then planed and sanded to make them about 1/4" radius so the glass would bend easily.

I got the port stringer bedded in first. I used medium cure epoxy with 1/4" chop, fairing powder and some sawdust. I didn't get enough to completely fill the gaps between the hull and stringer, so another quick batch of fairing was put into a 1 gallon plastic zip-bag with a corner cut off. I used this like an icing bag and filled the edge and a plastic spoon to make a nice 1/4" fillet. Pretty sweet.

While this was curing, the swim platform was removed and repaired- the bottom braces were cracked, not from skiers' weight, but from water pushing up on the platform when the boat comes to a stop.



The port stringer now has 4" cloth tabbing on both sides and a 12" cloth on the inside that wraps over the top. Another 12" will be placed from the outside of the stringer and roving over the top of it all. This will be one layer better than the original Mastercraft layup, so all should be good. The starboard stringer is bedded, ready for glass once I sand the "twigs" sticking out of the bedding.

[tim79mc]

Several have asked for details on my wood gantry for engine removal. I'm not a PE, I didn't use wood span tables to engineer this. But, it worked for me and I'll be using it again to put the engine in.


A garage is never big enough...

The gantry uses 2x4x10 lumber for the A frames. They are reinforced with a 2x4x8 screwed into the side of the 10' uprights. The A frame is completed with a (2) 2x8s up top to hold up the beam and (2) 2x4s one in the middle, one at the bottom to prevent spreading of the A-frame. All of the hardware is 3/8" through bolts.

The beam is made of (3) 2x10x12 douglas fir. I picked the good ones from Home Depot- straight with no warp, twist, bow and as few knots as possible. The beam uses short 2x4 spacers where the diagonal bracing is attached to space the 2x10s apart. This helps to make the beam wider and lessen the risk of the beam twisting in the A-frame from an uneven loading.



For a hoist, I used a lifting strap wrapped around the 2x10s, hooked on a 1 ton chain hoist + engine leveler and chains to the engine.

By the way, this gantry was just tall enough to lift my engine above the transom so I could pull the trailer out. My ceiling is over 12', so I had plenty of room...

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Fantastic work. I appreciate all the pics.

[Lumbergh]

Sweet mother of god that is a lot of work.

You are hardcore, and thank you for your dedication and documentation of your project.

Keep us posted!