Me and My Boat: The Wonderful World of Fiberglass

The time had finally come.  The day after Thanksgiving Tim showed up with his work trailer and all of his tools, and we went to work.  I had discussed my plans with him and for the most part they seemed feasible. 

Instead of having plywood ribbing like the original design, I would go with a frame to support the decking.  This would leave open space under the decking for storage and would make it easy to remove any water that found its way into the boat.  Never again would there be anything that would trap and hold water.

Wait; I’m getting ahead of myself.  I almost forgot the hull prep work that had to happen prior to installing the new interior. Fiberglass, you got to love it.

Interior Repairs

Yes, I had to repair some spots on the inside of the hull.  That is because; in the process of removing the old interior some damage was done to the hull with a grinder.  I had to literally cut the old interior out.  This left a lot of fiberglass bulkhead material to be removed, as the original wooden decking was held in place by it.  The new interior would be glued in.  Either way, I had my fill of fumes from the process.

Along with the damage I did, there were also many spots that needed fixing.  I would get to know the wonderful world of fiberglass repair intimately, spending at lest a few days doing fiberglass work.  I would prepare an area or areas, fiberglass it, and then leave for two to three hours due to the fumes.  Upon my return, I would repeat the process.  This went on until I had fixed everything that needed it.  Soon though, all of the rough areas, cracks, and grinding boo boos were as good as new. 

Just one other thing, while doing all this I had to fix the most prominent leaks in the hull.  They were not due to damage but to design.  Being a swing keel trailerable boat, the bolt that holds the keel in place is below the water line.  Past experience alluded to the fact that if this problem was not addressed; it would still be the sight of osmosis between water and the cabin.  A condition that is not desirable in any boat.

Keel Well & Bolt (below the post)

Problem: I couldn’t remove the bolt to replace the rubber gaskets that sealed the bolt and prevented leaking.  That is I could, but how in the hell would I get the keel back on the boat; it only weighs 500 or so pounds.  Not to mention is located in a deep cavity that is under the boat, which is resting on a trailer.  Unless I had specialized equipment, like a crane and something to hold the keel in place in order to reattach it to the hull, that puppy wasn’t going anywhere.

Solution: Spend five bucks and silicon the crap out of it.  There are two plastic caps, one for each side of the keel well.  These caps cover the bolt head and the nut, but were not water tight.  They are now, or I hope they are.  Anyway, I put silicon on each side of the bolt and let that dry.  I then filled the caps with silicon; an entire tube of silicon split between the two, and pushed them onto the bolt on each side of the keel well.  A clamp was put on to hold the caps in place and the whole mess was left to sit for two days.  Later, glue was applied around the edge of the caps to help secure the decking.  If the keel ever does need to be removed, it’s going to be a major pain in the ass.

So there you go, the interior was now ready to be rebuilt.  Tim, his toys, and my money were all that were required to accomplish this.  Actually, I’m sure I could have done it myself.  It would have taken longer and I may have had to redo a few spots due to trial and error, but I would have gotten the job done.  However, never look a gift horse in the mouth, so the saying goes; especially one who is a professional builder.  I am more then happy to let Tim work on the boat.  Besides, having a few beers with a buddy while you build shit is always good.