Stringer/Floors rebuild - DIY

[bljones]

Admit it, you're patting yourself on the back and wearing a self-satisfied grin everytime you step aboard right now, aintcha?
If not, you should- it's well deserved.

I understand the "okay, tearing it apart was easy, now it looks like we should do this, okay, let's try this, that worked, okay now let's filet it and glass it and fair it and paitn it and ohmyfreakin'god is it every gonna be done and now we can start reassembling, and wow this looks great" peaks and valleys of the project. My favourite day of any project is what Peter Egan (yeah he writes about old cars, not old boats, but it is interesting how much of the satisfaction, pain and philosophy is shared) calls "ratchet flipping day" - that day when you start TIGHTENING bolts screws and clamps instead of LOOSENING them.

[capttb]

I spent the weekend sanding the hatchboards and had just convinced myself that "Maybe a cabinet shop could do a better job on that huge pile of floorboards" when I read your post. I may still pay someone else to refinish the floorboards, but now I'll feel guilty about it.
Even with power tools I'm getting really slow compared to a few decades ago.

[Faster]

Originally Posted by bljones

Admit it, you're patting yourself on the back and wearing a self-satisfied grin everytime you step aboard right now, aintcha?
If not, you should- it's well deserved.

.....

Thanks for that, BL.. and yes, kinda... the boat looks exactly the same as before, of course, but it seems to feel better just walking about but I'm sure that just because I know what's down there.

So it feels pretty good.. but really the test is going to be how it looks/feels after another season.

Varnishing now, cushions back on next week, re-tuning the rig will be last.

[tdw]

Well done old man. Yes indeed, you should be pretty chuffed. Even St Malo's wiring is not as conduited as yours. Truly impressive.

[rugosa]

Originally Posted by Faster

Rugosa, are you referring to the auto bilge pump discharge hose? It was the existing hose and I need a real flexible setup because the 'basket' that holds the pump and the switch lifts out for servicing, and the wires have quick disconnects up higher in the bilge... but it is the only part I didn't change in that area.

Certainly get the logic, but I would add some more of that hose to my spares inventory, just in case ;-)

[Faster]

Originally Posted by rugosa

Certainly get the logic, but I would add some more of that hose to my spares inventory, just in case ;-)

Point taken!..

[jrd22]

Nice job Ron! I've found the hardest part of big jobs like that is actually starting them:-)) Very nicely done, and you'll feel great every time you look in the bilge.

ps. yeah, when did clear fir get so expensive?

[Faster]

Originally Posted by jrd22

....ps. yeah, when did clear fir get so expensive?

thanks John.. the fir.. expensive is relative, I guess.. we're not talking Teak prices, but $130 for a 16 foot 2x8 surprised me a bit!

[Faster]

So just to wrap this.. We've got the boat all back together.

To recap, after a few days of disassembly and destruction, we went from this:



To this:



Then this:



And now this; back to 'normal'..



I was glad to see all of the jobs on the list get crossed off!!

[MarkSF]

Looks fantastic and I'm sure it'll prove to be incredibly strong.