Saving an Square Windshield 'BU

[2014Skier]

Thanks Woodski and Matt, I appreciate the ideas, I'll take a look at the muffler thread again when I get to that stage...gonna be a while yet but you have to plan quite far in advance. I spent 7 hours glassing the other day, the stringers are finally in, 4", 8", and two layers of 12" on each side plus capped with one layer of 8" to waterproof. Then area around the engine mounts has a couple layers of CSM plus biax over top of that for additional strength. There isn't much for pics, cause it all kinda looks the same. I'm really glad to be done the stringers, it was very labour intensive and the progress appeared to be slow.

Top pic it the wrapping of the top of the stringer, I just poured resin along the top to hold the biax in place then wetted it out and rolled it down on the stinger and then put the second layer of 12" on after that to sandwich it all together.

The second one is just the motor mount, the shape is quite complex and it was a challenge to get the CSM and biax to lay down nice and really hard to get all the bubbles out. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, there will be one more layer of biax over top of it all once the floor goes down.

[2014Skier]

I got started on the transom re-enforcement, the wood in the transom seems fine for now...I'm gonna have to dig a bit deeper but so far so good. I made a template out of cardboard, transferred the main points onto a sheet of 3/4" marine ply and then screwed another sheet to the back and cut it all out with a jig saw. Turned out well, I need to cut an angle into the bottom and the area on the top of the stringers to allow it to sit better on the hull, then once thats done I'll router all the edges and coat the pieces in thinned resin then bond them together.

[2014Skier]

Some more progress, Ive got the addition to the transom cut, the angle on the bottoms of the flats cut to match the angle of the transom in relation to the stringers and the edges all routered. It fits nicely. Next was to start on the floors. I used 1/2" high density foam from Home Depot to make templates, then transferred the pattern onto 3/4 marine plywood. The technique i used was to mark the stringers at 6" increments starting at the back, then measure out to the side of the boat, I wrote down the measurement. I then marked the foam with 6" increments and transferred the measurements onto the foam marking dots along the way, then connect the dots, cut the line with a box cutter and test fit, it actually worked quite well and was reasonably pain free.

[Levi900RR]

Nice work man, looking good!

[2014Skier]

Thanks Levi, its coming along pretty good now. I'm happier with the progress. I've got all the floor pieces cut out now, I used the same technique with the 1/2" foam as a template for the pieces towards the front that run from one side to the other. The only difference is that I measured the total width, divided it in half then measured out from a center line that I marked on the sheets. The sheets are 2' wide so I tapped two together and that fit nicely on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. The pieces all got test fit then I routered all the edges to get a nice smooth radius so the CSM will follow it nicely.

I saved the piece of plywood that was the floor for the bow storage compartment, it baffles me, but Malibu decided to coat this piece in CSM from the factory but not the floors in the main part of the boat, go figure. They did make it out of two pieces of 1/2" split down the middle which I didn't really like, so I decided to have one seem towards the bow, should be stronger and easier to make as far as I can see. I just laid the whole piece down on a sheet of 3/4" plywood and traced it out, marked where I left off and used a piece of scrap to make the smaller bow triangle.

[Asmodeus2112]

Thanks for documenting this, really enjoying this thread.

[John I.]

Thanks for documenting this, really enjoying this thread.

[2014Skier]

Thanks guys, nice to hear people are enjoying following this thread even though its an old boat. So I've now got all the pieces for the floor cut out except for one filler strip that I don't want to make until I have all the other pieces secured to the hull and stringers permanently. I have coated the bottom of all the panels with two coats of Styrene thinned slow curing resin so that it soaked in nice, then wrapped the bottom and sides with a layer of 1.5 oz CSM for extra water protection. In theory no water should ever be getting in the floor cavity as it will be totally sealed unlike from the factory, but I'd rather have that extra level of protection. I'm only doing the bottoms at this time as once the panels are installed I will do the tops, it will be easier this way.

In the first pic you can see some of the panels after the thinned resin has been applied.

The second pic is one of the front panels that will be under the front bench seat and helm. The two large holes are going to have 4" ABS pipe running through them under the floor to the bilge. The one on the left will be for the fresh air vent from the font and the one on the right will be for the steering and throttle cables, plus wiring for the engine etc. To keep the bilge as uncluttered as possible all wiring for the fuel tank, rear lights etc will run through conduit I'm gonna install in the gunwales. There will be a panel about 6" in front of the pylon with two 4" holes for the end of the pipe. This panel will be about 18" further to the rear compared to how Malibu made it with one large panel for the kick plate under the helm going almost all the way to the floor, but not close enough to keep water from easily getting under and up to the foam at the bow of the boat.

When I think about the way that the boat was built from the factory vs the way that I am rebuilding it using better techniques, though more labor intensive, its pretty easy to see some of the cost cutting that Malibu used when there were better solutions for potential problems in the long run. Great boats and it seems like it was just the way it was done in that era.

Edited November 17, 2013 by 2014Skier

[2014Skier]

I'm a bit behind on posting, I'm trying to catch up. I've made some decisions around the stereo for The Mistress, its early in the game but I needed to know speakers I'm gonna use so that I can make the appropriate box for the sub and later proper mounts for the coaxials. I'm using an Alpine SWR-12D4 sub and will have RF M282-B coaxials. Alpine calls for a box size of 0.85 Cu Ft. So I've made a box that I will be integrating into the floor and storage compartment at the front of the boat under the helm.

The box is made out of 3/4 marine ply, all the seams are biscuit jointed, glued, and screwed so this box is pretty bomb proof, once it was all made up I did the same thing I always do, router the edges and coat it in thinned resin. I then found the spot where it will be sitting and made the appropriate cut outs in the storage compartment floor and kick plate under the helm. Then using some blocks I screwed the box to the floor and kick plate to make one piece, then I cover the bottom of this whole section with 1.5 oz CSM.

The first pic is the sections of the box being laid up, you can see the biscuits and the corresponding slots.

The second pic is top of the box going on.

The third pic shows the box set in the floor with the blocks holding it all together, I took it apart, coated the blocks in resin, then put it all back together and coated it all in 1.5 oz CSM.

The corners don't line up as nicely as I would like, I used the old storage compartment floor as a template, and cut it out, but in hindsight I should have measured and tweaked it a little bit. It's not a big deal as it is not really structural, just means a bit of a cap that will have to be spanned by the biax I'll tab it in with. Might use a few extra layers in that spot, it fits fine elsewhere.

[2014Skier]

So now that the transom reenforcement piece was coated in CSM and the transom in the boat was ground down I was ready to put the transom in. To do this I mixed up a large batch of resin andInterfibre and troweled it onto the back of the transom using a 1/2 x 1/2 trowel that I had lying around. I the wiped the boat down with acetone and slid the new part into place. I used two clamps through the exhaust ports to clamp the bottom into place and three lengths of wood which I hammered in place at the top, braced against the hull to hold the top in place while the mixture cured. I then mixed up another batch of resin and interfibre, quite thick this time, and used that as a filling compound and using a spatula forced it into the space at the bottom of the hull and around the stringers, I also formed a bit of rounded edge here to help the biax lay out nicely.

[2014Skier]

Once the resin and Interfibre mixture had started to cure I began tabbing in the bottom portion of the transom in the area's that will be covered by the floor. I chopped up a variety of lengths of 4" and 8" wide biax, enough pieces to overlap the bottom of the hull, the gunwales and the stringers. Ideally I would have done the whole thing but due to time constraints I had to settle with just getting the portion done that will be covered by the floor, this way I can still get started on the floor installation in preparation for the next fibreglassing session.

I'm thinking that one layer of 4" and one layer of 8" biax should be strong enough for the tabbing, the load should be taken up over a large area, the corners edges around the stingers and gunwales have a total of four layers.

I decided to write a little note on the transom that is now preserved under the CSM, it'll be hidden behind the gas tank once all is said and done but if I sell The Mistress, at least there will always be a record of the work done to her.

[Oberon]

Nice touch!

[martinarcher]

Just like my Sunsetter.....way stronger than it ever was when it left the Merced plant! Looks great. That note hidden by the gas tank is too cool! Very nice.

[2014Skier]

Thanks guys, its coming along. It will no doubt be a stronger boat once I'm done with it that it ever was.

The next thing on the list was getting the new engine mounting system ready. I had mentioned in earlier posts when I was building the primary stringers that I was going to do something so that no bolts went into the new stringers. The idea that I came up with was to drive three 1" diameter holes in the main stingers along where the motor mounts attach. I then filled these holes with resin. Once the resin cured I drilled a 3/8" diameter hole through the center of each 1" hole, giving me a hole through the stringer, but one that exposed no wood. Once the stringers were tabbed in I drilled through the biax that was covering the holes. I then used a piece of flat bar and drilled holes in it that lined up with the holes in the stringer, then put 3/8"x5 1/2" bolts through the hole. I then welded the heads of the 3/8" bolts to the flat bar. This whole piece will be covered by the floor never to be seen again. Then on the inside of the stingers I got some 1.5"x3" angle iron and using 1"x1" square tube on top of that lined it up with the top of the motor mounting surface in the stringers. Then drilled holes in the angle iron. So no I have 2 7' long strips of angle iron that I can mount the ski pylon to at the front and they run back to approximately where the steering cable attaches to the hull. This will allow me to securely mount the hinges for the dog house, ballast pumps and what ever else I may need. I can then bolt the motor mounts to the 1"x1" square tube and the angle iron. Should be pretty solid, and no holes in the wood.

The first pic shows the flat bar with bolt heads ready to be welded.

Second pic is the angle iron in place and bolted down for test fitting.

Third pic shows the pylon mount in place and the holes drilled in the modified upper pylon mount.

[2014Skier]

I just realized I had a pic that might depict what I made a bit better.

[Boatman]

WOW! I just read all of this thread and am BLOWN AWAY! Great work.

[formulaben]

Yeah, this is impressive to watch...keep up the good work!

[Levi900RR]

Keep it up man, this is great!

[2014Skier]

Thanks guys I appreciate the comments and feed back.

It seems like I didn't have a ton of time to work on the boat over the last week but I managed to get a bunch done none the less. The big news is that the floors are in, well almost, there is one filler strip, and the tabbing needs to be completed but I have floors to walk around on when in the boat now.

To put then in I mixed up a bunch or resin and Interfibre and gobbed it onto the stingers then laid down the floor sections on top, snapped a chalk line and screwed the floors down using 3" screws into the primary and secondary stringers. I then used some more resin and Interfibre to fill the small void in the area where the primary stringers and the floor meets up, there was a small void here because of the routered edges of the floor. I also filled the area at the rear where the transom and the floor met, there was a small void there for the same reason as above. Once the both sides of the rear section of floor were in I did the front section by the pylon. This piece was a bit more tricky to manipulate in the boat so I ended up pushing it up under the bow as far as I could then gobbing on the resin and Interfibre then just kinda pulling the section of floor out from under the bow and lowering it onto the stringers using the pylon as a reference point. Same deal here, snapped some chalk lines and screwed it down. Next was the bow storage section / kick plate. This was pretty simple, I just installed a block at the front of the front floor section and pushed the bow section in until it rested against that block and then screwed it to that to hold it in place. All that is left is a small strip about 4" wide near the pylon, which I will make soon. I left it out so that I had some wiggle room when installing the floor pieces.

First pic just shows the rear sections of floor after they have been screwed down.

Second is the front and bow section, you can see the missing strip in the bottom by the ski pole

Third is the rear section being tabbed in at the back by the transom. There is a layer of 4" biax and 8" biax over the floor and stringer and a layer of 4" at the transom area, I'll be putting a layer of 8" in, just hadn't done it when I took the pic.

Edited December 13, 2013 by 2014Skier

[2014Skier]

Just a few more pics of the floor installation

I went over the area around the motor mounts with a layer of 4" and 8" biax, I will be applying a layer of 12" biax over this area for extra strength when I do my next fiberglassing session. I then cut out a bunch of 4" biax and started tabbing in the floor. My plan is to put a layer of 4" biax all the way around and force it into the small void where the floor meets the gunwales, then fill this void with Interfibre and then finish it off with a layer of 8" biax. The floor was originally only held in with one layer of CSM to this will be exponentially stronger.

The storage area under the bow will be tabbed in with a single layer of 4" biax, no need for anything stronger here, I will be adding a strip or two of 8" up at the bow and down by the kick plate.

Next step will be to make the 4" tubes that run under the floor for the bilge vent and electrical.

[2014Skier]

I made some decent progress this week. I got the tubes made that run under the floor for the vent and power train electrical/control cables. Pretty simple just two 4" 90 degree PVC bends and couple 4' lengths of pipe. I made some mounting plates out of 3/4 ply with 4 1/4" holes cut in them that fit the OD of the PVC pipe quite well, a bit of wiggle room but not too much. I put the pipes under the floor and lined up the 90 bends through the holes in the floor then glued two short lengths of pipe to get me up above the floor and mounting plates by a few inches. Hopefully I'll be installing the mounting plates to the floor in the next few days, then I'll be able to put the plate into the bilge that will hold the other end of the pipes.

I started making the seat bases too. I have the observers seat portion done so far. Pretty simple just used what was left of the original parts are templates and made up new parts out of 3/4" ply. The bases are all glued and screwed together, they will be getting the usual routered edges, thinned resin and CSM treatment. I'll be mounting the riser for the observers seat to the floor once the foam in in and the floor is covered in CSM. I'm not gonna glass up the actual seat back and seat bases till I get the upholstery in case there is some modifications needed, they were all quite rotten to I had to improvise in quite a few spots.

[2014Skier]

Got a bit more work done over the last couple of days, I'm off work for the holidays so have a bit more spare time. I am really glad to be done what was the worst glassing job of this project. I got the floor of the bow storage compartment tabbed in, the is really not much space to be working in there, I could barely fit, and was wearing a head lamp to see what I was doing. I tabbed it in using 4" biax over the whole length with re-enforcements of 8" biax at the bow and where it meets the kick plate. I took a picture of it, but you cant really see any of the work so I'm not gonna bother posting that.

I also got the PVC tubes mounted, they turned out good, I think they should do there job well and keep water out of where it shouldn't be. The pictures explain it better then I can.

Also got the final piece of the floor installed in the section that was left over, it worked out well. I used Interfibre to fill the gaps, I will just have to give it a quick sand to smooth out the bumps before glassing the floor to seal it all up.

The bilge now ends about 4' before it did originally. When the boat was built they basically just extended the kick plate down to the floor and tabbed it in using some CSM, though it never went all the way to the floor so water could just run up towards the bow and get into the floatation foam there and rot out all the wood. I added the plate that you can see with the PVC pipes coming out of it right in front of the pylon mount which should make things better as far as water drainage and it gives me about 5 more cubic feet of floatation foam as an added bonus. The piece is tabbed in with 4" biax all around I just need to add a layer of CSM to it all to seal it up and make it look a bit nicer.

[Levi900RR]

Nice work man. Keep it up. I really can't wait to see the finished product. Do you have an estimated completion date?

[jaciche]

I second everything Levi said.

[2014Skier]

Thanks guys i appreciate it. I can't wait to get her finished up, it's kinda hard to say when she'll be done. I'm definitely done the hard part, all that's left is upholstery, electrical, stereo, powertrain, and then spraying new gelcoat....ha ha. Oh yeah plus a trailer. The list always seems longer when i write it out. I'm hoping for early summer, which for now i think could be possible, but we'll see. I try not to think too far ahead when it comes to small details, just overall concept, otherwise its kinda overwhelming, I just try to plan my work about two weeks in advance.