CVX18 Redeux

[Glastronjohn18]

Thanks for the input. I thought that's what was done by what looked like remnants of plywood in the 'glass. I figured on putting plywood under the seats to give the screws more bite. Unlike you I'll be keeping the seats at the lower stock height due to my already tall frame.

[Rosscoe]

Glad you're finding time to get back to your resto.
Does the new GF like boating?
Grinding fiberglass?

[Glastronjohn18]

I know she likes boating 'cause she keeps asking if I'm working on the boat. As far as grinding fiberglass our relationship hasn't gotten that far yet, but we shall find out very soon.

[Glastronjohn18]

Time to get some more work done. Today the temp. is 66 with 45% humidity, just perfect for an outdoor grinding job. Not 94 and 120% humidity like poor Doug has to deal with.
I remember someone posted about grinding fiberglass in their garage then spent 3 weeks cleaning up, so I pushed the boat outside to eliminate the extra cleanup.
I started by removing the center stringer. I must have missed cutting a few spots as it wouldn't come out when I removed the others.




Next on to the grinding. I also remember someone posting about using a leaf blower to blow the dust into the neighbor's yard.










I really like my neighbors so I need some thing a little  bigger to get the dust past his house.
With this I should be able to blow the dust into the next county!









Attired in my painters suit and mask I'm ready to get to work. 



I managed to get everything under the deck ground away but now it's time to get cleaned up and head to the racetrack as some race cars are just waiting to be towed to the pits. I shall continue tomorrow after work.

[V153]

Looks familiar John. Just keep tellin yerself "this is the hardest part" ...

Btw it was only 93 here today 'fore the rain started. Which reminds me if ya really wanna keep the dust down? Work in the rain ...

[Rosscoe]

Leaf blower.....good idea. Maybe you can blow the dust out when your neighbor is up wind.

[Glastronjohn18]

Ross look below the leaf blower at the fan I found.  29 feet in diameter powered by a 9000 HP GE motor, now that will get the job done!

[Glastronjohn18]

After work today  I pushed the boat out to the driveway and was ready to start grinding when I noticed my neighbors grilling burgers and hotdogs. I just didn't have the heart to fire up the grinder and send a cloud of fiberglass dust and all that grinding noise  their way.
Sooo... on to plan "B". I brought out the original stringers and cut some new ones. When I pulled them out of the boat they were wet but not rotten, except for one area on the forward part of one stringer, this makes for an excellent pattern.



Here is the original stringer flanked by the new ones.






The center stringer seems to have a curve in the top side with the center of the stringer about 1/2 inch lower than the rear section.
This looks to make the passenger compartment floor 1/2 inch lower than the floor behind the rear seat. This doesn't seem right as water would pool between the seats. Has anyone seen this curve on their own stringer?


Here I lined up the front of the stringer and the bottom of the stringer with the replacement board. You can see the dip in the center and how the rear of the stringer rises above the replacement.




On the back edge you can see the replacement board stick out about a 1/2 inch beyond the stringer. This corresponds with at least a 1/2 inch of peanut butter in the channel that the stringer rests in.




At the bottom of the picture you can see the channel bottom ( green in color ) at the center you can see a 1/2in. X 1/2in. plywood filler (brown in color) and at the top you can see the 1/2in. of PB ( white in color ) that the stringer was sitting on.

My thought is to cut the stinger as I have it laid out in the picture leaving the extra wood at the bottom rear and than level it with the 2 outside stringers.
Any other ideas?

[Rosscoe]

Ross look below the leaf blower at the fan I found.  29 feet in diameter powered by a 9000 HP GE motor, now that will get the job done!

I saw that but didnt realize it was that large. It could suck squirrels right out of the trees.

[Rosscoe]

I wonder if its just warped. Its old plywood but you never know. I removed the back seat back rest on my 67 Bayflite to make a new one and it was not symmetrical at all. You'd think if you had a template, you'd be able to flip it over and match,  but mine did not. They just hacked it out with a saber saw.

[Glastronjohn18]

Yeah... it's the fan for  Lockheed's  low speed wind tunnel in Marietta, GA. Low speed means 200 MPH or less.
You might be on track with the warped.   Leveling it with the outside stringers in place should account for any warping or mistakes at the factory.

[Rosscoe]

BTW, that is a heck of a nice dolly you built under the CVX.

[CVX Fever]

John I can't explain the bend in the center stringer but as I'm sure you probably figured out already  it should sit level with the port & starboard outer stringers. The starboard stringer in my boat was literally mulch from the kick panel back to the flotation box.

[Glastronjohn18]

BTW, that is a heck of a nice dolly you built under the CVX.

Thanks Ross.  I knew this was going to be a long term project so I built the dolly for maximum support.

John I can't explain the bend in the center stringer but as I'm sure you probably figured out already  it should sit level with the port & starboard outer stringers. The starboard stringer in my boat was literally mulch from the kick panel back to the flotation box.

I was lucky in that the stringers were wet but not rotten. There was 1 small rotten spot at the front edge where the stringer was not capped but left open. The fiberglass skin was completely intact.
My latest thought is that the wood warped after is was cut but installed anyway. Looking at the center stringer you can see the back bottom edge is about 1/2in. above the same area of the new wood. This corresponds to the copious amount of peanut butter (1/2in.), in the valley where the stringer sits, needed to fill that large gap.
Call me crazy but I can't imagine any other scenario.