Looks Like Its Gonna Be A Complete Gut-Out

[LgMouthGambler]

So as I reassess the floors in the boat, it looks like im gonna have to rip the stringers out and replace them too. Any advice on a good way to go about it. Reminder its a '76 Check Mate Bassmate 16.5ft, Fiberglass hull, with fiberglass all on the inside.

[Fishing Rhino]

One piece at a time. If you clear out all the punky wood, there will be nothing left to ensure that the hull keeps its shape.

[LgMouthGambler]

So as long as I do one stringer at a time, I should be ok? This is gonna all be done while the boat is on the trailer.

[Fishing Rhino]

Do you have cross members, or just stringers?

In any case, get some jacks and support the hull at the chine. If it's just stringers, when you cut out the old pieces, the loss of stiffness could allow the hull to sag around the bunk. Use something like a scissors jack that cannol leak down like a hydraulic jack. Don't lift the area off the bunks. All you want to do is take most of the weight off the hull in that area where you will be replacing the stringer.

[LgMouthGambler]

So basically, provide some outside support and stabilization as to not let the hull move in any direction.

[Fishing Rhino]

Correct. If you see the hull start to lift off the bunks when you take up some strain at the chine, back off until the hull sets back on the bunk.

[Way2slow]

I would not try doing it on the trailer,it's not stable enough and willl not support the hull the way it needs to be. I do mine on the ground and make me a sand bed to support the hull. Getting the sand firmly packed under the whole bottom. Then I would bury two 4x4's set with quickcreet so they are just below the gunwall/cap seam, the first about 1/3 back and the other about 2/3 back and then using whatever it takes to get the hull firmly support by the 4x's.

Stingers are tough to replace because of their length and getting boards long enough to make them. My last set, I made out of 7 ply, 3/4" plywood. I did 14" overlap, taking one ply at the time, leaving 2"s of each ply so when they are glued together, it looks like the orignal ply. I pressed the joints in a hyd press to make sure they were like a German virgin, good'n tight

I assume you are up on your fiberglass skills

Getting the cap off can be fun. I have same metal frames I made to use from A-frames above the hull to hook into the sides of the cap and lift it off. Most likely, you will not get it cut loose good enough to lift it off by hand. I have lift the whole hull trying to get the cap to turn loose.

On piece of advice you really need to pay attention to. After you get the wood cut floor, lay it in the floor and fit the cap back on to make sure the pieces are propely cut. Once satisfied, take the cap back off and seal the bottom sides. Normally it will bond to the top of the stringers, if so make sure you mark the stringer on the plywood so you get it in the proper position, but DO NOT bond it to the sides, this will be done when you lay the glass mat on top. The reason you don't want to bond the sides, you will be extremely wise to fit the cap back on before bonding the floor to the sides. If you bond the floor to the sides and the sides are open any, you may not get the cap back on.

This may be a lot of old useless info but just trying to keep you from getting in trouble.

[Fishing Rhino]

I would not try doing it on the trailer,it's not stable enough and willl not support the hull the way it needs to be. I do mine on the ground and make me a sand bed to support the hull. Getting the sand firmly packed under the whole bottom. Then I would bury two 4x4's set with quickcreet so they are just below the gunwall/cap seam, the first about 1/3 back and the other about 2/3 back and then using whatever it takes to get the hull firmly support by the 4x's.

Stingers are tough to replace because of their length and getting boards long enough to make them. My last set, I made out of 7 ply, 3/4" plywood. I did 14" overlap, taking one ply at the time, leaving 2"s of each ply so when they are glued together, it looks like the orignal ply. I pressed the joints in a hyd press to make sure they were like a German virgin, good'n tight

I assume you are up on your fiberglass skills

Getting the cap off can be fun. I have same metal frames I made to use from A-frames above the hull to hook into the sides of the cap and lift it off. Most likely, you will not get it cut loose good enough to lift it off by hand. I have lift the whole hull trying to get the cap to turn loose.

On piece of advice you really need to pay attention to. After you get the wood cut floor, lay it in the floor and fit the cap back on to make sure the pieces are propely cut. Once satisfied, take the cap back off and seal the bottom sides. Normally it will bond to the top of the stringers, if so make sure you mark the stringer on the plywood so you get it in the proper position, but DO NOT bond it to the sides, this will be done when you lay the glass mat on top. The reason you don't want to bond the sides, you will be extremely wise to fit the cap back on before bonding the floor to the sides. If you bond the floor to the sides and the sides are open any, you may not get the cap back on.

This may be a lot of old useless info but just trying to keep you from getting in trouble.

The sand is a great idea. The trailer could also be blocked up so it's not resting on the suspension, then the chines could be supported by blocks between the frame and the chines.

One thing I know for sure. I'm glad I don't have to do it. In my younger, and poorer days, I might have eagerly tackled the project. The key word being "might".

[LgMouthGambler]

Well the cap doesnt come off. A buddy of mine at the firehouse said you dont have to replace the whole stringer if you dont have to. He also gave me the name of a great supply company to get all my fiberglass and resin and bonding products. Im gonna start getting the livewell and side storage out that are glassed into the back deck. Then I can remove the gas tank. Once all that is clear, I can start taking the floor away to see what Im looking at with the stringer set up. The ideas of stabilizing are great. I may just take the boat off the trailer. Good thing itbweighs nothing, just the motor.

[Way2slow]

Piecing together a stringer???? It's your boat, you can do it anyway you please, but there is no way in he** I would want to ride with you in it. That's no different than having broken stringer and if you catch a wave/wake just right and you can split the bottom of the hull

If you don't take the cap off, you don't have to worry about supporting the sides. Set it in a bed of sand to support the bottom, that way you don't have to worry about bunk boards etc pressing it up or letting it sag when you take the stringer loose. The bottom only has to bet out of shape a minute amount to affect how it goes through the water. Let it convex an 1/8" and it could have an uncontrollable porpose, let it concave 1/8" and it can create a lot of extra drag.

That's why I flip every bass boat I get over and blueprint the hull. I want it straight, with a 320 grit finish on it. Now, with that said, if you think you want to do yours, understand some hulls have a hook built into pad right at the transome, know what you are doing before screwing with it. You take that hook out of an Allison hull, and you just ruined it.

[J Francho]

I have you fix right here:

1991 Forrester 17.5' 70HP Yamaha

1991 17.5' Forrester

Aluminum/Gel Coat Hull

1989 Yamaha 70 HTLH HP New Controls and cables (Runs Great)

Motorguide Pro Series 54lb Trolling Motor

1992 Lo/Ride Trailer new Bunks and some rollers

Plenty of storage

Livewells

Ship to Shore radio

AM/FM CD player with built-in speakers

Asking $3500/BO

Seriously, I think you bit off more than you can chew here. Let me know, I'll fw you the contact info.

[LgMouthGambler]

I have you fix right here:

Seriously, I think you bit off more than you can chew here. Let me know, I'll fw you the contact info.

Thanks, but no thanks buddy. This was a wedding present from my wife, and after talking to Check Mate, I have quite the collectable on my hands. Nothing is impossible, I built my first car when I was in high school, no reason I cant build my first boat. I think the info Ive gooten from people here is going to help me big time, and this thing is gonna be just the way I want it.

[LgMouthGambler]

Piecing together a stringer???? It's your boat, you can do it anyway you please, but there is no way in he** I would want to ride with you in it. That's no different than having broken stringer and if you catch a wave/wake just right and you can split the bottom of the hull

If you don't take the cap off, you don't have to worry about supporting the sides. Set it in a bed of sand to support the bottom, that way you don't have to worry about bunk boards etc pressing it up or letting it sag when you take the stringer loose. The bottom only has to bet out of shape a minute amount to affect how it goes through the water. Let it convex an 1/8" and it could have an uncontrollable porpose, let it concave 1/8" and it can create a lot of extra drag.

That's why I flip every bass boat I get over and blueprint the hull. I want it straight, with a 320 grit finish on it. Now, with that said, if you think you want to do yours, understand some hulls have a hook built into pad right at the transome, know what you are doing before screwing with it. You take that hook out of an Allison hull, and you just ruined it.

OK, dont piece a stringer, thanks for that, I thought myself that it was a weird idea. Just to further that info he told me, he said that as long as its a small section, when you glue it in and glass over it, its solid. I still thought it was not a good idea myself. I really want to do this just to be able to say I built my first boat.

[J Francho]

No problem - good luck! Post pics when she's done.

[LgMouthGambler]

No problem - good luck! Post pics when she's done.

Im sure its gonna be a while, but I will. lol

[J Francho]

Well, at least post some progress reports. Others have done some similar rebuilds.

[LgMouthGambler]

Well, at least post some progress reports. Others have done some similar rebuilds.

Good idea.

[tomustang]

Nice name in the boat, Mr Compulsive

[Way2slow]

Actually, if its the one of the Checkmates that has the riser hull and not smooth curved bottom, it's a project well worth doing. I would do it in a heartbeat on the riser hull. I would not do it if it was one of the first Checkmate hulls with the smooth, rounded bottom they use for the first couple of years they made them. When they went to the riser hull, they became very sought after boats and if he does the work right, it will be worth way more than he will have in it.

One more word of advise, go ahead and start saving your money as you can, so when you get ready to paint it, you can afford to do it right, and to do that, the coatings you will be using are very expensive. The pretty finish will probably cost more than the whole project up to that point.

Gel coat is nice, but gel is not designed to air cure (it goes in the mold first then everything else goes in on top of it) and you have to put a wax additive in it to seal if from the air so it will cure. Unless you have done some gel work, I would not recommend that being your practice project. Way too many things can go wrong, even with experienced guys. It may not grip the original surface, it may not even cure to start with, it takes a very large orfice gun to spray it and if it has metal flake, it can be splotchy. You open up a whole new can of worms when you start using gel coat to air cure. Plus, you have a ton of finish sanding a work to do to get it smooth. It doesn't lay down like paint. Some people will actually brush or roll it on the top, clear coat on because it's going to take a ton of work either way.

[Fishing Rhino]

Imron or Awlgrip if you want the best in marine paint. It ain't cheap, but done correctly, nothing can match it for finish and durability. Way too slow is correct about gel coat. In most cases it won't have orange peel, it will have grapefruit peel. The only cure is a lot of water sanding followed by a lot of buffing, something that you do not want to do on metalflake finshes.

[Way2slow]

Awlgrip was the one I was refering to when I said start saving. I would recommend and use it when not doing gel coat. I've never tried Imron,simply because I saw a boat a friend did years ago with a two year old Imron job and it was not holding very well at all.

[LgMouthGambler]

Actually, if its the one of the Checkmates that has the riser hull and not smooth curved bottom, it's a project well worth doing. I would do it in a heartbeat on the riser hull. I would not do it if it was one of the first Checkmate hulls with the smooth, rounded bottom they use for the first couple of years they made them. When they went to the riser hull, they became very sought after boats and if he does the work right, it will be worth way more than he will have in it.

One more word of advise, go ahead and start saving your money as you can, so when you get ready to paint it, you can afford to do it right, and to do that, the coatings you will be using are very expensive. The pretty finish will probably cost more than the whole project up to that point.

Gel coat is nice, but gel is not designed to air cure (it goes in the mold first then everything else goes in on top of it) and you have to put a wax additive in it to seal if from the air so it will cure. Unless you have done some gel work, I would not recommend that being your practice project. Way too many things can go wrong, even with experienced guys. It may not grip the original surface, it may not even cure to start with, it takes a very large orfice gun to spray it and if it has metal flake, it can be splotchy. You open up a whole new can of worms when you start using gel coat to air cure. Plus, you have a ton of finish sanding a work to do to get it smooth. It doesn't lay down like paint. Some people will actually brush or roll it on the top, clear coat on because it's going to take a ton of work either way.

Riser hull, yes. When I called Check Mate, they said I have a rare bird, and they want pictures. They said they will also be able to replicate the original decals for me. Im not going to be doing the painting. I have a few people that are in mind to do that once im done with the flooring/glassing. Im not going to be putting that very sparkley paint like most bass boats. I want a dark grey bottom with a light grey top, similar to a car style paint. A nice red pinstripe around it, and some dark grey carpet. Im not a "sparkle" kind of guy, lol.