Old bottom, rapair or new?

[sho305]

I have a 19' 1967 Chris Craft that is an I/O and fiberglass. It appears to have a double hull thing going. It had a crack in the bottom from the trailer bunk that I repaired to finish the season about 2 years ago, not run since. In there I could see the outside was a skin of maybe 3/8" glass, with a formed frame molded inside under the floor. There were endgrain slats between the two. The slats are rotted some and the skin flexes everywhere.

I have been told they made it that way and just re-skinned it when needed as they knew not how to do it right yet, and make a solid bottom with stringers. I want to fix it.

Should I split the boat, take up the molded floor and support and repair the skin. Then re-slat it and re-assemble? Or, should I figure out how to just put a whole new bottom in there with stringers the way it is done now? I am considering changing the bottom too if done this way as it is rounded like a wood boat and handles like it too. It has a vee at the bow then works into a flat/rounded shape at the stern with no vee. Also has a round at the side so the water splashes up the sides when turning. It will be a large project when I have a place for it to happen, over the winter I think. I suppose it is no speed demon, so changing the bottom may not be worthit.

Any opinions would be great. It is a neat old boat, and the v-8 just bellows since I removed the baffles in the mufflers.

[vector mike]

I would try to keep it original. Those old boats are cool the way they were. If you go to a new style hull, you would definately be more efficent but would loose the whole reason for having one of those boats, to be all wood. :)

[sho305]

I think it is one of the first glass boats they made. The only wood is the 1" slats every foot or so. The inner floor, from the bottom is egg crated like it has stringers in it from above in a square pattern. Like it was molded, dropped in the skin over the slats, then wood stringers(or not maybe) were fit into it from above, then a molded floor like a bathtub bottom was glassed over the whole thing around and 6" up the sides. The floor must have plywood under it to secure the seats. Not knowing what is in that frame under there. Have to pull motor to get it out.

I think maybe I should leave it stock, but maybe put stringers on the skin in stead of the slats and frame thing.

[vector mike]

That is probably the easiest way to go. Plus they have been used for years.

[sho305]

My only other problem is if I put real stringers in there I am betting I need to core it with something as the bottom is so flat. Not up to speed on that yet. Plywood probably ok for this old thing. Also the motor mounts to this frame so it needs to be in the right spot.

[sho305]

If I core this with plywood and epoxy, can I use smaller pieces of wood or overlap the wood for the short pot life time? I think I will make a support rack to hold the skin, then do the core and stringers, best I can find out so far. Unless I use more stringers and no core? Can see no point in putting those slat things back in there as it is trashing the skin with all the flexing.