waterboy222

Dave! I've got the floor, bulkheads and cap pulled on my Aztec project and I'm about a day away from being done with tearout..

The stringers and floor were mush with so much rotten wood, I have no idea (and no way to verify) if there were every any supports between the stringers in my floor. If there were, they weren't glassed into the stringers. Both stringers are completely smooth on the inside, where most floor supports would have been glassed in..

Is this normal? Is this too big of a gap to screw the deck to? I don't want any flex in the floor. I literally had to shovel out all the old wood so if there were ever any supports between the stringers, they are a pile of soggy leftovers now..

As a kid, I remember the floor being bouncy in it, I would like to get rid of that..

Im much further along than in this picture, It was one of the only ones I could find that showed the stringers the best.

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

Its certainly not uncommon, back then that was the norm. My old Hawaiian knock off (Omega) had the floppyiest floor ever. I swear you could feel the waves traven from the front to the raed of the boat. Was very scary and i only had it out a few times before i went through the whole thing. That was a twenty four footer and there were no cross braces and the roving was literally draped over the stringers with gigantic gaps in the laminate in all the corners. Its just the mentality back when most of this stuff was built, they really had no quality control or concern for the life of the boat. Dont be afraid to improve on all that stuff during your rebuild. Toss in a few bulkheads and extra supports. Just make sure you allow for water to be able to travel out.

waterboy222

I understand what you mean about build quality.. Where the tabbing from the floor to the hullsides is, theres wrinkles in the cloth big enough to slide your hand between. I plan on making some upgrades for sure. Other than structurally, everything will be redone back to original. Except I'd like to put in a teak floor instead of carpet.

When building the crossbracing to the stringers, should I glass the stringers first or build the whole wood subfloor/stringers as one piece (screwed together) and then glass it? Or does it really matter?

Never ate so much dust in my life! Im glad I bought the not-cheap respirator though, now if I can just find some safety glasses that will work with the respirator, I'll be set.. I finally just ordered a box of tyvek suits, there's so much grinding to do (inside and out), I don't think my skin can handle much more dust!


EDIT: One more question, when building the crossbracing, is it supposed to stay up off the hull like the stringers? Would raising it 1/4" with dowels be the right move?

c_deezy

iTrader: (1)

If your glasses are fogging up with the respirator on, I have found that these glasses with the anti-fog coating worked pretty good. They seem to scratch easier tho, I got the glass wipes to go with them.


http://www.magidglove.com/store/item...R&ItemId=14288

waterboy222

I actually have those exact glasses. We buy them buy the case for our drivers and warehouse personnel. Ive tried 4 different types of glasses and none of them will fit over the nose on my respirator. It either pulls the respirator away from my nose or pushes the glasses up too high to protect my eyes..



I'm considering going to one of these. I think I'll eventually have used it enough to feel like it paid for itself. My contacts are super sensitive to glass dust!


And here is the project, in case anyone was wondering...

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

its funny my contacts are almost un affected by anything. Paint, dust, just about anything except buffing compound. I have my contacts in for months at a time with no probs. Its when i rub out a fresh paint job they get trashed so i try and have some old ones in on those days. Other wise they are fine.

88 LS 7

Contacts rock. Ive painted cars for years and never had a problem with dust or paint, just the wool and compound that bugs me. Im usually in a down draft booth.