General Restoration Questions

[onesubdrvr]

As I sit here and just peruse the boards for hours, a couple of questions come to mind regarding restorations - and no, I'm not going to bring up paint vs gel :popcorn::wink:

Alot of talk is made about deck off restorations,.. separating from the hull from the deck; is there anything that should be done to maintain the hull shape before removing the deck? vice-verca? Does it just make the job of reinstalling the deck easier, or is it mandatory in order to stop any kind of warpage when the two are apart? If it's mandatory (or even just best practice), what methods are recommended?

When replacing stringers / tramsoms, are there different types of materials that could / should be used that avoid the rot problems? Like the high density foam, or the honeycomb stuff that is out there? Just seems to me that if you are taking the time to reconstruct the stringers or transom, it would be a good time to replace the original wood with some synthetic no rot material.

Well, those are the two biggies, maybe I'll add some more as I go along. It is not my desire to find a big project as my next donzi, but you never know when you (one) may find the perfect boat.

Thanks
Wayne

[gcarter]

My opinion.....
There's no problem seperating the hull and deck. The Minx's deck hung for more than four months from two points; the fuel fill hole and the front of the engine hatch with no problems. The hull stayed on the trailer.
My TR will be seperated a year soon and I don't foresee any problems. This time the hull is on dollies and the deck is on some small scaffolds.

Wood may be cheaper than some of the other materials and available from most any lumber yard. There's no problem w/wood if it's treated properly. For instance, if after forming the wood stringers to size and shape, if they are saturated with a thin penetrating epoxy resin, there will be no rot. Then do your 'glass layup w/epoxy instead of polyester resin.....you win all around.
One thing to watch w/many foam type cores is that they don't stand up well in compression, like engine mounts. So in those areas, usually a piece of wood is planted in where bolts go through the core.