Southwind - can o worms - hull reinforcement

[spectra3279]

He has side tanks.

Cool. Makes it much gooder

 

[HOSS]

I have a total of 5 stringers in my 1975 20` Southwind. After floor shot tough stuff in it then glass.

 

[Roosta]

I am starting to make some progress again. Had to re-organize the garage to get the boat jammed in there, but it turned out to be worth the effort cause it's been a wet winter here in SoCal... So, the floor is going in now. Bedded down in epoxy mixed to peanut butter consistency and screwed down to the stringers. Have the last piece under the bow to put down,and then will glass over it all.

 

[Roosta]

I have a total of 5 stringers in my 1975 20` Southwind. After floor shot tough stuff in it then glass.

Dang - built like a tank now! :thumbup:

 

[lenmann]

Nice work, coming along nicely and really far superior to where you started.

What kind of screws did you go with?

 

[spectra3279]

Nice work, coming along nicely and really far superior to where you started.

What kind of screws did you go with?

Of couse he used the good ones. Dry wall screws.

 

[Roosta]

Nice work, coming along nicely and really far superior to where you started.

What kind of screws did you go with?

Thanks. I'm using 1-1/2" exterior deck screws.

 

[Roosta]

Been a good weekend for making progress on the old Southwind. Finished the final plywood piece to the floor, filleted along the edges for a smooth transition and cut the 1708 to size. Putting down the 1708 biax, and then topping it with 6oz or 4oz cloth for a smoother surface.

Hopefully I have time to start glassing in the floor next weekend, picking up the short block and heads from the machine shop on Saturday. The engine is a whole nother story... Another can-o-worms...

 

[Roosta]

Got the floor glassed in today.... went pretty smooth. Put down 1 layer of 1708 biax and 1 layer of 6oz cloth.

 

[Headless hula]

Got the floor glassed in today.... went pretty smooth. Put down 1 layer of 1708 biax and 1 layer of 6oz cloth.

View attachment 538779

I bet that stiffened it right up too.

Glad to see your progress man.

 

[Roosta]

and I need to get this sucker done. Engine is ready to go in. Decided to have some brackets welded on the tanks to bolt them in rather than they way they were installed before. Here's the latest:

 

[Headless hula]

and I need to get this sucker done. Engine is ready to go in. Decided to have some brackets welded on the tanks to bolt them in rather than they way they were installed before. Here's the latest:

View attachment 547262 View attachment 547263 View attachment 547264 View attachment 547265 View attachment 547266

Fillets and bulkhead look awesome man!!

Been wondering wtf happened to you!!

 

[Roosta]

Fillets and bulkhead look awesome man!!

Been wondering wtf happened to you!!

Thanks. Haven't posted in a while, but i've been working on it pretty much every weekend. I put down a layer of 1708 and 6oz cloth on the hull in between the engine stringers and fuel tanks. And it took a bit of work to get the tanks to sit down nicely and figure out how I wanted to mount them.

I'm finally starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Once I get the tanks and front bulkhead glassed in, I'll start working on the underside again. Once that's done it's time to drop in the motor and move on to building the seat boxes.

 

[Roosta]

Got a boat load of work done this weekend.. tabbing the inside of that bulkhead was not much fun... I think I'll work on the hull repairs next.

 

[lenmann]

It's looking great! You do nice work.

Are you using a single layer of 1708 for the tabbing? Is there any reason to do multiple layers of tabbing?

Thanks for bringing us along on the ride.

 

[Roosta]

It's looking great! You do nice work.

Are you using a single layer of 1708 for the tabbing? Is there any reason to do multiple layers of tabbing?

Thanks for bringing us along on the ride.

Thanks lenmann! I'm using 1 layer of the 1708 on the bulkhead tabbing. That stuff is pretty substantial. I'm sure there are others that would build up more layers, but I think it'll hold up to the abuse. Plus the epoxy fillets add quite a bit of strength.

 

[Roosta]

Spent the last couple of weekends getting the 'body work' finished up on the bottom side of the hull and finally sprayed some gel coat yesterday (orange peel city).

Spent most of today blocking it down, but nowhere near done. Got maybe 1/3 of it blocked... My arms are done...



It's come a long way from this:

 

[Backlash]

1708 is roughly 25 ounces of glass. That is substantial and should do well for most tabbing chores. When I lay it up on anything structural (Stringers, bulkheads), I like to lay up the first layer.....say a 4" wide piece by 24" long......that will give me 2" of cloth up the vertical surface and then 2" of cloth on the horizontal surface. Like a capital L. Then the second piece over that one would be 8" wide by 24" long. The third piece would be 12" wide by 24" long.

I like to let each layer cure so I can go back over it and feather the edges down to make a smooth transition. You can lay each layer up "Wet" if you like too. I just like my work to look halfway decent. I also use vinylester resin which has a more tenacious bond then polyester resin.

It looks good though; you've come a long ways. Any chance you can thin the gelcoat a little more so there is less heavy orange peel?? That would reduce the amount of sanding you're having to deal with. Just a thought.

 

[Roosta]

1708 is roughly 25 ounces of glass. That is substantial and should do well for most tabbing chores. When I lay it up on anything structural (Stringers, bulkheads), I like to lay up the first layer.....say a 4" wide piece by 24" long......that will give me 2" of cloth up the vertical surface and then 2" of cloth on the horizontal surface. Like a capital L. Then the second piece over that one would be 8" wide by 24" long. The third piece would be 12" wide by 24" long.

I like to let each layer cure so I can go back over it and feather the edges down to make a smooth transition. You can lay each layer up "Wet" if you like too. I just like my work to look halfway decent. I also use vinylester resin which has a more tenacious bond then polyester resin.

It looks good though; you've come a long ways. Any chance you can thin the gelcoat a little more so there is less heavy orange peel?? That would reduce the amount of sanding you're having to deal with. Just a thought.

Yep thinned it out as much as the directions said "10%-15%". Still came out pretty rough but not terrible. You only have about 10 min before it kicks off, and I didn't want to spray too much material in just dialing in the pattern.

 

[Roosta]

...ridiculous amount of sanding. The bottom is done... New polisher works great.

Engine going in next weekend!

 

[Roosta]

Went smooth. Mocked up the short block. Measured and marked everything.
Removed the short block to drill and mount the brackets to the stringers.
Assembled the long block and dropped her in...

 

[Headless hula]

SWEET!

 

[Roosta]

Did some wood working this weekend. Seat frames built. Going to glass it all down to the floor next weekend...

 

[Roosta]

So it's been a while since the last post. Finished up the seat furniture, broke in the engine, installed new carpet, and put the interior all back together. Then did a cut & buff on the gel coat for good measure.

Been taking the boat to a local lake in SD and went on our Havasu vacation a couple weeks back.

The verdict? It's sooo much more solid than before. I can tell a "Yuge" difference with the added full stringers & bulk heads. Yes I did make the Southwind Great Again.

And the engine runs STRONG. Flawless. No problems whatsoever.

Thanks to all of the folks here who gave input and advice throughout the project.

Here are some pics:

 

[Roosta]

Yes, I did glass in the seat peds....

 

[spectra3279]

Nice work. Now if mine looks that good when done.

 

[lenmann]

Nice job man! The boat looks great and you did it!

Thanks for bringing us along, speaking personally I learned a ton on the journey.

Congrats and enjoy.