Thread: Cabin/Pilothouse Rebuild Advice?

....I think.

It's always difficult to "attach" to ferro builds. The best method is creating a flange in the concrete, then bedding a mating structure to the flange, using through bolts.

Don't even think about Liquid Nails. It has no business on a boat. For that matter, most of the stuff you're used to working with (PT, OSB, etc.) have little use on a boat.

Considering the size of the areas you'll be replacing, you will not need much plywood, so opting for a quality marine grade is just good business sense.

Yellow pine and oak (the whites, not the reds) are good lumber choices. You could do everything in SYP which is as good as many hardwoods and more rot resistant.

Eventually you'll get to a point where it'll need to be sheathed in something to protect it from abrasion and waterproof it. Epoxy and 'glass are really the only choices you have if you want resale value and durability.

In the end, much more without an idea what you're working with will be difficult.

If it was me, I'd cut the current pilothouse and cabin roof off. Leaving a ferro lip at the cut line. This lip would need to be sealed and I'd use epoxy for this. I'd then build a "shoe box" (cabin roof) or other style of flanged attachment for the new structure. The new structure would be all plywood, maybe with a few roof beams tossed in, particularly at the mast partners, fore and aft ends of the cabin, bulkheads, etc.

The pilothouse looks simple enough, some sticks in the corners, with a plywood skin. Maybe a real stud wall system, insulation, wiring, plumbing, etc. An exterior skin of 1/2" with an interior of 1/4", maybe painted bead board for a special look.

Are the cabin and pilothouse ferro?

Par --

Thanks for the lead-off advice. I have not seen this boat first hand, and I'm trying to gain as much knowledge as I can to make significant progress when I go to see her this Friday. (Sounds like a blind date - should I bring candy or flowers?)

There are cabin roof beams in place, supposedly in good condition. I'll probably use 3/4" plywood since there will be a certain amount of traffic on the cabin top, and the sides can be the scraps, maybe. I plan on gluing all joints between wood/wood and wood/cement to make the structure extra strong - we're talking about a transoceanic boat here. SS screws to hold ply to beams, then several boats of epoxy to seal out water and several coats of PLU paint for UV protection and looks.

What's a good source for or alternative to brass portholes in the cabin sides? Fixed glass or plexy would be OK (and may have to do for awhile) but I'd like to get more air in there if I can. I'll probably look for a used hatch to put up front on top, as well.

For the PH, yes SYP 2 x 4's on edge (1.5") might be enough, especially cross-braced with plywood inside and out. I'd like those large windows to be openable yet watertight in a blow. Any ideas there?

I know epoxy is the best sealer, but is there anything I can load into my sprayer and leave in there, to coat pieces as they are cut to fit, to seal against moisture? I can spray both sides of a complex cut of plywood in about 3 minutes, the I'd let it dry, respray, let dry and install. Is PU paint or varnish good for this, or is epoxy the ONLY way to go? Oil based enamel? Obviously, I can't whip up a batch of epoxy and use throughout the day, except as a paperweight.

Thanks for enduring a ton of newbie questions. You know what they say - If there's not time or money to do it right, there's not time or money to do it twice!

John

The PH and cabin top are all wood - FC stops at the hull and side decks, plus foredeck is FC and there's a small stern deck (3') in FC. Boat was built in South Africa and the beams that are still there are supposedly made from some exotic wood with properties similar to fiberglass, only better.

Try not to over engineer things, 2x4 roof beams, with 3/4" ply sheathing is what you do for a shed roof next to your garage, not a boat. In other words, this is way too much material, unless you expect to have dancing contests on top of the pilothouse.

In the USA, you'll find ferro doesn't hold resale value very well, so the price, especially in these economic times will be very favorable for you.

Before plopping down any money on her, have the boat surveyed out of the water.

Don't glue the ferro to wood contact surfaces. These need to be bedded. The expansion and contraction qualities, of these two dissimilar materials will be sufficiently different, that insuring a good glue line will be problematic at best.

No, there isn't sealer you can just leave in the gun, while you work. You'll find you'll have a bunch of pieces that need to be sealed, then you'll gear up for this aspect of the project. You can also pre-seal sheets of plywood, saving a fair bit of time too. Unless you plan on making a career out of this project, then nothing is going to rot instantly, at least not before you get a chance to epoxy coat it.

On a scale of one to ten, with epoxy being a 10 at waterproofing, the next best thing is vinylester resin at about an 8.5, polyester resin about 8, shellac 7.5, varnish and polyurethanes a 7 and everything else in the 3's or lower. Considering the small quantities we're talking about here, not much of an investment compared to the yacht as a whole. In other words, do you want to save 20 to 40 bucks in resin costs and have the potential for rot and leaks in a few years, or are your efforts to fix the pilothouse and cabin worth these extra costs.

Wait until you see the boat. Ferro boats aren't known for their excellent fit and finish, especially the hulls. Look for rust stains under the paint on the ferro portions. If you see any, then you might be best advised to run. The basic problem with ferro construction is the difficulty accessing the structure to evaluate repairs, damage, original build quality, etc. Personally, I wouldn't touch a ferro build, unless the build process was well documented by a very respected yard and built to a high standard, designed by a ferro experienced NA. This is all because you can't see the "mesh" or grid used as an armature to "plaster" the boat with.

As I'm sure you know from land based construction, steel reinforcement, inside concrete rusts, some times so much, it swells up enough to burst open the concrete. If you can't inspect the mesh, then you have no idea what state of deterioration it's in. You can x-ray the hull, but this is an expense saved for only the most costly of yachts. Sometimes, "spot" x-rays will be taken, to get an idea of what's up with the mesh. If the cage shows signs, then more x-rays are taken. This is fairly common on well founded yachts and the only real way of accessing the condition of the wire cage. Don't let anyone try to talk you into ultrasound, because it doesn't work on ferro. Also don't let anyone talk you out of a "on the hard" survey.

Honestly, again considering the present economic environment, you have thousands of yachts to choose from. Don't get married to this one until you've seen what's out there in the same size and price range. Given the current market, you are at a distinct advantage and can have the "pick of the litter" instead of the boat that they can't sell, which is typical of most ferro yachts in the USA.