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Brad Lyon
07-29-2003, 06:34 PM
Has anyone heard of Grayling boats from Minneapolis Minnesota? I bought this a few years ago for a couple of hundred bucks. It is about ten feet in length and has a 50hp Evenrude outboard motor. It needs some work so I thought I would pull the deck off and restore it somewhat. It will make a great little runabout for my boys in a year or two. One problem, when I started to pull the rubber rub rail off I noticed that the deck is “stapled” to the hull. Sandwiched between the deck and the hull is a “T” shaped piece of aluminum that the staples go through, this is what holds the rub rail on. If you look at the last picture real close you can see how it is all put together. You can see two staples in the picture, one goes through the T shaped alum. and the other just holds the deck to the hull.

My question is, if I remove the staples and separate the deck from the hull how can I staple them back together? I am not aware of any staple gun that will shoot trough aluminum, so I am not sure if the holes were drilled or what. Looking at the bottom of the staples they look just like the staples you would use to attach several sheets of paper together. I will have to destroy the old staples to get them out. Can I purchase new staples and a staple gun from somewhere or is there a better way to re-attach the deck to the hull when I have finished. One last little bit of information, the transom needs new wood so the deck must come off.

All of your help will be greatly appreciated. I rarely go to this section on the site so I am hoping all of you visit this area more often than I.

Sincerely,

Brad


http://www.donzi.net/photos/blyon1122.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/blyon1126.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/blyon1124.jpg

tailwind
07-29-2003, 08:33 PM
Cool looking ride!

first off: Why remove the deck - cosmetics?

We can certainly put you on the right track for rub rail replacement -most generics work well!

If deck removal is necessary for hull stability, we have the right component caulking, negating this. If you are in need of a small quantity of aluminum "T", perhaps we can help,
let us know the dimensions.

Overall, it's a great boat. Lets patch her up, seal the leaks, and have alot of fun!
We could put alot of $$ into this,but will never be reclaimed, so take the easy way -
Lets get her going with the minimal. Patch and caulk, and let your kids have fun now!

Best regards
Randy

Brad Lyon
07-29-2003, 08:53 PM
Randy,

Thanks for your response! The deck must come off in order to fix the rotted wood in the transom. No leaks though! I am really not concerned with recouping the costs, it really will not take that much mostly cosmetics and it is a really neet ride. There are two lexan windshilds that I have already removed that add to the looks of the boat.

As far as my son's using the boat now they are too young, 8 and 10. In Michigan you need to be 12 to get a boaters license, so I have a couple of years to work on her.

I can take a pair of side cutters and cut the staples and gently pull them out without damaging anything so it can be re-used but I don't want to pull all of them out without a method of putting her back together.

Brad

MOP
07-29-2003, 09:27 PM
I have seen stapling on several boats, years ago during a visit to the Bristol sail boat factory I saw the machine. It was an air operated jobby kind of big and bulky. I have seen a repair done that worked out Ok. the guy put the two halves together with 5200 and tiny sheet metal screws. after the 5200 cured he removed the screws got some S/S staples pushed them through the old holes and bent them with Channel Locks. Then glass taped it from the inside.

magnum27
07-30-2003, 09:26 AM
If I were fixing it, I would grind the lip off and glass the seem inside and out making it a solid boat. I twould also make it water tight. With a boat that small you should be able to glass it together in a day. Then after painting it, I would through bolt the rubrail onto the boat with stainlee screws and lock nuts.

Brad Lyon
08-04-2003, 08:58 PM
Well the project has begun! Thanks for everyone’s response. Sorry Scott, no pictures with the windshilds on. I removed all of the staples and removed the deck. The staples were shot straight through the tee shaped aluminum because there is a burr on the bottom side of where each staple went through.

The transom is as I expected, rotted. It is a sandwich of three layers of ½” plywood glassed together. I have some surprises though, the floor is rotted as well so I pulled it up and over the years some mice have eaten away a lot of the sprayed in foam.

Now my questions are:

1. What type of plywood should I use to replace the rotted plywood and where might it be available?

2. Where is a good place to buy fiberglass resin and cloth that would be less expensive than Murray’s?

3. Where can I get spray in foam that isn’t in little cans?

4. Is there a “J.C. Whitney” for boats so I can look at other options for a rub rail?

5. A friend of mine is one of the managers at the Mazda plant in Flatrock and he gave me a quart of “Sikkens Autobase” paint. The new bright yellow color called "Speed Yellow" (http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/handleHomeFlash.action?vehicleCode=MZ6&modelYear=2003) that they are now putting on the new Mazda 6, it is real close in color to the Donzi yellow. Is there any problems with putting this type of paint on fiberglass boats? What type of primer and color of primer should I use?

I have lots of questions, thanks in advance for everyone’s input!

Brad

Greg
08-06-2003, 06:21 PM
I have been using the polyester resin from a place in Chi. called Eager Plastics, Inc. I have been buying the lay-up resin, the stuff without the wax in it. That way you can do the lay-up without grinding between each step. They also have very good prices on fabric and the chopped strand mat. They do ship, but they complain about it. They web site isn't on the buss. card but here is the rest of the info: Jeff Grabowski 773-927-3484 e-mail: eagerjeff@aol.com. They have a good product.

mphatc
08-06-2003, 09:27 PM
Foam can be purchased in 1 quart cans, 2 part, mix and pour in IMMEDIATLY! You must provide 2" OD vent holes for the air to rush out!

Make sure you use a closed cell foam, open cell will absorb water like a sponge and can not dry out. After the foam has cured seal the top of the holes with f-glass and resin.

Plywood, marine grade, laminate the 3 layers with West System epoxy, glass in place with polyester resin and cloth.

Mario L.

CDMA
08-06-2003, 10:30 PM
Screwing or bolting doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.

Chris

Professional thru bolter...

MOP
08-07-2003, 11:42 PM
I agree with Chris, you could use real small stuff maybe #6 or 8 S/S with plain nuts then find rub rail with a groove wide enough to clear the hardware. Fill the groove about 1/4 full with 5200 just enough so it does not come squishing out during instal but enough so there is little or no void. The 5200 will hold it all together. If you glue the first short length at the transom letting it cure for a day that will give you a good anchor to finish the install the next day. Leave a foot or so extra in length make a hole in the end put wire through to hook bungees to. That way you keep it under light tension while it cures, it stops it from getting wavy. Next day trim the end to fit and glue it in place. This is assuming you will be using soft vinyl.

CDMA
08-08-2003, 09:42 PM
Just finished the 22 hull to deck joint. First the hull and deck where screwed together using 5200 in the seam. Then I crawled into the bow and engine compartment and fiberglass tabbed the hull to the deck. Then I installed the rubrail using 4200 and machine screws. I reassumed the under bow position and nyloc nutted the joint. Think that will hold up?

wink

Chris

God help the poor soul that wants to take this apart.

Brad Lyon
08-08-2003, 10:13 PM
Great stuff guy's, just one question. Where can I get 5200, marine plywood, two part mix closed cell foam and different options for a rub rail? Is this something that West Marine or US Marine would have? Sorry if I sound stupid but I have never restored a boat or had the need to look for these types of materials before.

Brad

MOP
08-08-2003, 11:18 PM
Everything should be available locally, glass, resin and foam from marine supply and call a coulpe of lumber yards one not to far should stock marine ply. I did a look on the net there are few suppliers of rub rail in about anything you could want. You need to do some yellow page and net snooping.

Brad Lyon
08-27-2003, 08:34 PM
Well I got the deck off, removed the rotted wood on the transom, floor and keel. I have purchased the marine plywood, epoxy resin and mat cloth that I will need. There are stains in the hull, anyone want to recommend how I might clean this up? I could sand it off but that will make a mess and if I use a cleaner of some sort I am concerned that the new epoxy resin might not stick as well to a cleaning agent residue. Also, should I use 5200 to glue down the keel or just glass it in place?

Here are some pictures on the trailer just getting it home, the deck is still up north:


http://www.donzi.net/photos/blyon-trailer1.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/blyon-trailer2.jpg

Most of the floor removed but with the rotted keel still in place:


http://www.donzi.net/photos/blyon-oldkeel.jpg

New keel cut, ready to be glassed (or glued) in:

http://www.donzi.net/photos/blyon-newkeel.jpg

harbormaster
08-28-2003, 03:48 AM
Brad, Glass in the keel. seal it up well so it will not rot.

Brad Lyon
08-28-2003, 06:20 PM
Scott,

The original was made from clear southern yellow pine 1 x 6, so that is what I used. It is actually just a center support for the floor board. I figured that I would coat the entire keel with epoxy resin to seal it, then glue it in place with 5200, then use epoxy resin and fiberglass mat to totaly enclose it and give it added strength. I thought I would use the same method for the floor board that goes from each side and over the keel, you can see from my last picture where the old floor board was, it is about 40 inches wide by 9 feel long that tapers in the front.

Any thoughts on using a cleaner to clean out the bilge scum that would not hinder the adhesion of the epoxy, or should I sand it out. It would be nice if I could sand blast it clean. :D :D

Brad