Homebuilt 21' cuddy cruiser hull problems -Help

[Billy Boy]

Well, this is my story on the boat. Five years ago my brother and I bought a 21 foot cabin cruiser that was built in the basement of a man named Harrold Rhinehart . I never met him or his family, but friends of the family told us that harrold build the boat in his basement. He started in 1975 and finished the boat in 1979. He used the boat until 1985 when he became ill. The boat sat in a shed until we bought it in 2005. It is powered by a Palmer 220 V8 and a Volvo Penta 250 outdrive. We removed the engine and rebuilt it. We are mechanics by trade. We replaced the boots on the outdrive and painted the whole boat. The boat is a plywood constucted with a fiberglass mat cover on exterior and hull.. The boat will jump out of the water like a bass boat and it cruises at 32 at about 60 percent power. Runs out of prop at at 75 percent power and top speed is about 38. We had it off of the Coast of North Carolina Striper fishing this Friday the 29th. When we returned to the dock we discovered a large section of the fiberglass gone from the right side of the hull exposing the plywood. We are going to repair it but want some advice which direction to go.. It seems the fiberglass is seperating from the plywood but the plywood is in good shape..Probably age. I am wanting to remove the glass on the hull and re-glass or epoxy it.. What do you think? Thanks Billy Boy in North Carolina.

[PAR]

This is a common problem of older plywood boats covered in polyester resin and mat (or cloth). Polyester just doesn't stick to wood very well and eventually lets go, as you've learned.

First lets address you prop issue. You can't run out of prop. Either your prop/gear ratio selection is correct and you can pull right up to WOT or you have the wrong prop. In fact this is the generally accepted method of determining if you do have the right prop. Your engine has a working RPM range and the right prop will let you run at WOT within that range. Anything less then this means you've got to make changes, usually the prop. If you don't, then you'll likely over rev or bog your engine to death fairly quickly, depending on how far off your RPM target you're running.

For example, my small bock Chevy powered cruiser is rated a 4,500 to 4,800 for WOT, the prop/gear ratio I use permits 4,750 RPM, meaning I'm so close that it doesn't matter. If your WOT is farther then 100 RPM out of spec, then you need a prop change.

Considering when you boat was likely sheathed, it's time to pull the sheathing off the hull (all of it) as it's done. Polyester can be used, but you'll need some serious skills to get it to stay stuck to a high speed hull, trust me. The problem is that polyester isn't waterproof and this lets moisture under the sheathing , which swells up the wood and pops off the sheathing. If you boat has taken this long to show signs, then it hasn't seen much "action".

The remedy is to remove all the sheathing and grind the hull smooth and fair again. Then re-skin it with epoxy and cloth. The epoxy and cloth is waterproof and will stick to it as if you'd been extra nice to an ugly girl once.

Log onto Epoxy by the Leading Epoxy Manufacturer | WEST SYSTEM Epoxy (http://www.westsystem.com) and Welcome to System Three.com - Epoxy Resin Products - System Three Resins, Inc. (http://www.systemthree.com) so you can download their free user's guides and product tutorials. The cheapest epoxy you'll find at Bateau.com - boat plans on line since 1993 (http://www.bateau.com)

[Darce]

stick to it as if you'd been extra nice to an ugly girl once.


Priceless :2tsup:

[Billy Boy]

thanks par I will post some pics later to get more advice as how far to go with the repair. thanks for your response G'day :U