Crazy man looking to step on nortons

willy · #1 08-30-2005, 09:09 PM

Need advise from you guys. A little hole in the wall marina in Rockaway NY is selling a brokerage boat the guy just wants them to get rid of $1200 no trailer. Went to see it today, 1986 v20 with a reportedly non-working yamaha 115 same year on it. Motor looks great from outside but obviously does'nt tell you much. The transom is solid as a rock, pulled screws out of it and they were dry and had solid purchase when screwed back in, no water weeping at all below water line. Rocked engine back and forth, solid ;D Hull is solid all over. Boat needs cosmetic stuff done which I can do. The problem is that the starboard stringer along side the gas tank, about half way up is soft and flexes about 1/2" right in one spot. The rest of floor is solid, rock solid. Can u guys give me the skinny on how hard a job it is and what I might run into if I get this boat as a project boat and try to repair the stringer myself. With a goal to restore it and re-power it one way or another depending on what i find is bad on the motor. I have never done this kind of work and don't know how you would access that stringer without removing floor.

Franco · #2 08-30-2005, 09:47 PM

Hey Willy,
I'm guessing it is the thin stringer your talking about. Usuall it has a plywood core of 3/4 inch plywood wrapped in wroven - thats the heavy duty fiberglass cloth - it is used to support the deck. I would pull the gas tank to gain access to the stringer - easiest way to get to it and you could repair it from the side. Once you get the tank out I would drill some holes along the length of it to determine how much of it is wet. There are two schools of thought here - one is you can drill several 1/2 inch holes along the bottom egde to allow the moisture escape, one it has all drained use a heat gun to finish drying it out. You can seal the holes with some fiberglass cloth and drill several smaller holes along the top edge, and use something like git-rot. Thats a penetrating resin that is very thin - it could take several bottles to fill up that void.
Or once you get tha tank out you can take a grinder and cut open the side of the stringer and pull out the damaged wood core and splice in new plywood - you can bevel the edge so the to pieces over lap ( scarf joint) to add some strength. I'd rough up the inside surface of the fiberglass so the new stuff will have something to bite into. After you fit the pieces ( close is good) cut a piece of fiberglass cloth 6oz I thing about 8 inches longer the the plywood - wet the existing fiberglass and the new core with resin ( old paint brush works fine) lay the cloth on the new wood and wet it again with resin and put it in place - the cloth will fill gaps between the two pieces and add some strength. The hard part is clamping it together - You gotta have the clamping figured out first and dry fit everything prior to using resin. After it is all glassed on that side wet the exposed side, put on new roven - the heave stupp and over lap the edges. Call me if you want and we can talk, I know you got the number.

willy · #3 08-30-2005, 10:04 PM

Thanks Bud ;D the location is about two feet from motor well wall on starboard side of tank, about six inches away from the tank / hatch seam that is caulked. Is that what you mean by thin stringer. From what I remember seeing on this site somewhere there are two main beams, one on each side of the gas tank running stern to bow bulkhead and there are smaller ones that run off of that to the sides of the hull. Are those side ones the thin stringer floor support you mean.

Franco · #4 08-30-2005, 10:09 PM

Cant get it straight in my head, can you get a digital pic possibly - or look thru the gallery and tell me which pis to look at

willy · #5 08-30-2005, 10:37 PM

I've been going thru gallery and can't find that shot i know i saw with floor removed

phatdaddy · #6 08-30-2005, 11:00 PM

willy, Look in the V-20 gallery under vics site.

willy · #7 08-31-2005, 12:37 AM

Thanks Phat Daddy, is that how they all look as far as stringers are concerned. The main runs from stern to bow look thinner than I remember seeing. The soft spot i felt on the floor looks to me that it would be where one of those side running floor supports intersects with the stern to bow stringer about two feet up from the fiberglass wall that forms the inside of the outboard motor well

jaysea · #8 08-31-2005, 12:59 AM

willy ,i belive the boat you are looking at was on ebay a few months ago an had no bids,it mite still be in one of the topics under for sale on this site just found it,look at may 24 post by parrot,bay side boats was selling for $1000,no bids

willy · #9 08-31-2005, 01:30 AM

Thats the one Jaysea, you got a mind like a steel trap brother, makes me wonder if I missed anything else ??? I don't think so, at least there I found out there is a bad powerhead on the motor. They are right about the hull though except the aformentioned stringer. For $1000 though i'm wondering about the stringer fix whether I can do something like that, repower the boat with a new yamaha motor for 6-8 gs or just wait for Franco to get that dang boat up and running in FLA. so I can check it out ;D

Franco · #10 08-31-2005, 01:33 AM

Hey Willy, I'll cut mine loose for less than the 8 g's your gonna spend on that new outboard!!!!