Hull Strength??

[workinpr0gress]

Originally Posted by Bushwacker

Can't comprehend why a "professional glass guy" would go to all the trouble to replace a transom and not raise it to 25", but maybe he already had a 20" motor for it!

That was my initial thought and possible explanation, funny.

[workinpr0gress]

Originally Posted by bly

I am a strong advocate of no wood or wood products in boats. Especially balsa wood. Thats just my opinion tho.

Jay does that mean you don't have a soft spot in your heart for SOME cold-moldeds........j/k

I hear what your saying about using wood, I could go either way depending the situation. I do believe if their were SeaCraft's being built this minute and they were trying to stay in the boating heirchy like they were in their heyday the boats wouldn't have any wood in them.

[bly]

Originally Posted by workinpr0gress

Jay does that mean you don't have a soft spot in your heart for SOME cold-moldeds........j/k

I hear what your saying about using wood, I could go either way depending the situation. I do believe if their were SeaCraft's being built this minute and they were trying to stay in the boating heirchy like they were in their heyday the boats wouldn't have any wood in them.

maybe 25 or more years ago when jim Smith built a 50 ft+ hull that weighed in at 5,000 lbs and a glass boat hull would weigh almost twice as much. But they were custom boats and anyone that has the money today to have any custom boat built can have it made of pasta noodles if they want. Me, No wood or balsa wood except for teak floors and helm pods. Any hull today can be built with ATC corecel foam core with carbon fiber and many high tech resins and be lighter and stronger. I will take it all back bruce. In reflecting in my old age. I guess I could accept a juniper built boat. I have never seen any sign of rot in a juniper planked boat. And it is light. So I stand corrected by myself. Thanks for making me correct and prove my self wrong bruce.

[workinpr0gress]

Originally Posted by bly

maybe 25 or more years ago when jim Smith built a 50 ft+ hull that weighed in at 5,000 lbs and a glass boat hull would weigh almost twice as much. But they were custom boats and anyone that has the money today to have any custom boat built can have it made of pasta noodles if they want. Me, No wood or balsa wood except for teak floors and helm pods. Any hull today can be built with ATC corecel foam core with carbon fiber and many high tech resins and be lighter and stronger. I will take it all back bruce. In reflecting in my old age. I guess I could accept a juniper built boat. I have never seen any sign of rot in a juniper planked boat. And it is light. So I stand corrected by myself. Thanks for making me correct and prove my self wrong bruce.

I just talked to my buddy who built that early 57' Monterey I use to run on and he said the day it launched with 12 cyl Mercedes, it weighed 33,000 with 200 gallons of fuel and no tower. The tower only weighed 300-350 lbs believe it or not. The tower legs bolted through the side of the bridge and above the false windshield. The old Jim Smiths and "Jim Smith" era Montereys were crazy how forward thinking they were and risky in a lot of people's minds. How Ballsy and dedicated is it to screw things together let everything set up, then take out all of the screws and fill them with epoxy and sawdust or cabosil.

I remember when my buddy was building that Spencer too, to call it a wood boat would be unfair, the hull is wood laminate but the bulkhead and stringers were composite, the sole was wood if I remember correctly, but the house was mostly coosa, foam in everything that wasn't structural, single layers of S-glass, 45's of penske at every 90 deg. corner to stiffen up the thin wood or composite and so the glass won't try to break away.

Heck look at Buddy boats and Merritts, tons of people think they are wood. Most of the people who know they aren't mostly wood don't realize how long they've been doing that.

Your pasta comment jogged my memory about something. Wasn't it a major one-off Florida boat builder who used to cover their wood boats in epoxy and burlap. I know they used natural resins and tars with burlap way way way way way back when but I want to say this was 30- 40 years ago.

[Skink]

Thanks for the insight so far guys.

If I wanted to increase the height to 25", would I need to replace the entire transom? Or could the glass be ground down, plywood put in the space and then glassed? I'm not sure if that would be strong enough. Thanks!

[strick]

Originally Posted by Skink

If I wanted to increase the height to 25", would I need to replace the entire transom? Or could the glass be ground down, plywood put in the space and then glassed? I'm not sure if that would be strong enough. Thanks!

I like to do things the hard way....but that's just me. While fishing I have found that I can concentrate better on catching fish if there are no distractions running through my mind such as....... "is my transom strong enough" or "is that joint that I glassed going to hold my motor on the boat"

I'm sure through proper joinery you can add to the top of your transom to raise it but if it is the original transom or an otherwise unhealthy one I would replace the whole thing and then you will not have that worried feeling while out fishing.

strick