New to me sneakbox build project.

Interesting looking hull, is it rated/setup for a motor?
Looks like it would be one heck of a sheltered water layout, just need a spray dodger and some grass mats.
 
Yes it does have a small lip to mount a transom. When I spoke to the builder he didn?t seem to think it would take more than a 10hp engine and that a 15 would be too much. I haven?t put it in the water yet to see how it rides but it sure seems like it?s built robust enough to handle a 15. It has very similar dimensions to the 14? Arthur Armstrong Bost and its rated for a 20hp.
 
Pulled a tape on it tonight and it?s 14? 2? long by 5? 5? wide. Transom is right at 15? tall. That puts it really close to the Broadbill. It?s heavy too. It has a false bottom with drains to keep the water off the floor you would be sitting on. Best I can tell, by sticking my phone in the access hole and taking pictures, is that the floor is glassed over plywood and that needs removing. The floor has some soft spots. I really dread cutting the floor out.
 
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So I'm trying to come up with a game plan on fixing this thing up. I need all the advice I can get. I'd like to keep it as simple as possible. I don't want to pop the cap off if I don't have to. What I think it needs is the floor cut out and plywood removed and replaced with new wood or other option. This boat has a unique set of drains that take the water under the floor to keep you dry. So I can't fill the bottom with foam and glass over it as others have done in AA boats. I'm not sure what's under the floor as far as braces go. I stuck my phone down in the hole and tried to get a photo but you can't see far. So I may need to add some bracing for the floor underneath. Next, the deck has no bracing and someone cut the original coaming off and affixed a poor wood coaming around the cockpit. I suspect that this has attributed to the deck sloping inward instead of outward. First I want to build new fiberglass coaming. I figure that it will need to be built out of foam and glassed over. The deck will also need to be braced up and most likely some glass braces added.

So with all that said, I can use any and all advice that you have on what materials, techniques and placement of bracing that you all can add. I have a west marine store within an hour drive and figured on using west systems epoxy. I don't know what type of matting or roving I need to use. And I don't know what to do about the wood vs other materials for the floor. I really value all your opinions and thoughts and greatly appreciate any help. I have been watching YouTube videos and trying to learn a few things but there is still a lot of unknown to me.

Thanks!!!




View attachment BC5B0953-AD29-4038-BCD9-9C42E2829D1A.jpegView attachment A52AC678-C49E-422B-94C9-4E4CFC535E00.jpeg
 
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David~


Just a few quick thoughts:


1) W.E.S.T. is good stuff but very pricey. I buy all my 'glassing materials on-line - resins, fillers, fabrics, foams, etc - from US Composites. I have used their products for several years on boats and decoys and have been very satisfied. Prices are half or less.


2) Re existing coamings and see if you can flex the decks upward at all. New knees and maybe a forward bulkhead - cut from half-inch plywood - might be able to restore a bit of crown to the decks to shed water. Even an inch of crown is much better than no (or negative) crown.



3) Take it slow on replacing the floorboard - but always with an eye toward making installation of a new one easier. Lay out your cut lines very carefully - perfect rectangles or whatever makes sense. I might do some exploratory surgery and cut a hole in the middle of the area so that you can see how it has been built and then inform how you might want to repair or replace. I would mark out a nice regular shape on the centerline (or surrounding a known soft spot) - perhaps 12' x 24" - then cut to the line with a circular saw set to shallow depth.



Further discussions can follow. For example, you could decide to replace the existing floorboard with a removable one.



4) Regarding materials, most new fibreglass boats use no wood for structure. Experience has shown that moisture penetrates the polyester resin used in 'glass layups and ultimately saturates any wood. On the other hand, some of the modern plastic boards (Star Board, for example) are also very expensive. So, you will need to make decisions about how far you want to go. Good fir plywood sealed with epoxy can last a long time.


5) Sketch your vision for the finished vessel. It can be rough but drawing it to scale is best - so you will know what can work and what cannot. It is also helpful to know every feature you might want to add so that you can build in a sequence that makes the most sense.



Hope this helps!


SJS

 
Steve, thanks for the info on US Composites. I don't need to sped no more than I have to on this project. As far as the deck goes, yes I can lift it up some.
 
Good morning, David~


Here are some images for framing the deck - with full bulkheads and quarter knees - a conversion of a Sunfish hull:





View attachment 3a Sunfish conversion notes - Page 1.jpg



The bulkheads and knees are sawn from half-inch AC plywood sealed with 2 coats of epoxy.



View attachment 3b Sunfish conversion notes - Page 2.jpg



Forward bulkhead installation - with first step of the fillet. I was able to spring the deck upward about an inch.



View attachment 18 Aft bulkhead installed.JPG



This shows both the forward bulkhead and a removable floorboard.



View attachment 20 Gilgo Gunboat - coamings and floorboard - small.jpg



Here are the cockpit details:


View attachment 3c Sunfish conversion notes - Page 3.jpg



These images are from this post on my website:


https://stevenjaysanford.com/sunfish-to-gunning-boat/





All the best,


SJS



 
Put bearings in the trailer last night. Just a small piece of the puzzle. I gotta start on the boat asap. I'm a bit nervous about making those initial cuts into it!
 
David~


I understand your anxiety about that first cut - whatever you do, just don't close your eyes!


All the best,


SJS

 
Steve Sanford said:
David~


I understand your anxiety about that first cut - whatever you do, just don't close your eyes!


All the best,


SJS
Click to expand...

Steve,
I will make sure not to do that! I was going to ask you if you had any suggestions on how to figure cloth and resin amounts I will need? I assume I will need a couple of different types of cloth and several layers in some places. Any wood I use I want to make sure that I encapsulate it in glass and resin. I really want to do this right the first time and make sure that it will last as well. I have been looking over the deck and how it bows in and I believe that it either has been apart before or that bond had loosened up. The joint area has been filled with a white caulk of some kind and I do not believe it to be original work. I feel like the separation is partly responsible for the sag or vice versa. So with that said I am pretty sure that I am going to need to pop the deck off. I believe that will make the floor work easier in some regards.

Today I spent the day with the family visiting my mom. But I did manage to swing into a Harbor Freight and pick a swinging jack for the trailer. Small steps but it helps to keep the project progressing on!

Thanks for all your help Steve and all the great things you have shared with us on this site! I really appreciate your comments and advice!

David
 
Good morning, David~


Having the deck off will make lots of jobs much easier - because of the increased access to many areas. However, taking it off will also allow the hull to move in ways that it cannot now.


So, I always make fitted chocks to support the hull BEFORE removing the deck. The chocks can be just scrap plywood or 2x4 (or 2x6) screwed to a pair of saw horses. Here is one a made for a Sneakbox. You typically need only a pair, more or less beneath each end of the cockpit. (The pool noodles provide chafe protection for finished hulls....)





View attachment sm BBSB 02 forward Chock.JPG



Next, again BEFORE removing the deck, measure the widths of the hull. I would measure the beam every 24 inches or so along its length just to have a record. You are not married to these widths - and may wish to make the hull wider or narrower when you refasten the deck. I will describe cross spalls in a later note.....


re quantities of 'glass and resin: You might as well wait until you know what work is ahead of you before getting any materials. Once you decide exactly what you want to add or reinforce will determine your needs. As an example, though, if you plan to replace much of the existing floor with good AC plywood (or even marine ply), you would need to seal both sides of the panel with 2 or 3 coats of epoxy resin (applied with a foam roller). If the existing frames are sound, you probably want to seal them as well. Once installed, the surface (your new floor) would likely get sheathed with a layer of 6 or 7.5 ounce cloth - which will need a saturating coat of resin and then at least one sealing/filling coat. I like to sprinkle some anti-skid into the top coat (after neatly masking a perimeter).



Make sense?


All the best,


SJS





 
Been chipping away (literally) at some caulking that had been added to the outside perimeter of the hull and cap joint. After removing this, I can see that it looks like the boat was turned upside down and the area where the cap hangs down(when in the upright position) was filled with a resin. In places this resin has cracked and is what I had previously mentioned when discussing the sagging deck. On the inside area where the two join it looks like a semi-soft black caulk was used to join the two. In a few places there is some hard white stuff. I?m guessing the white was added by previous repairer. I?m finding that this boat has had a bunch of work done to it in the past and most looks to be not the neatest job. I have also placed some blocks under the deck to get some lift and have a little bit of crown at this point. These are just temporary to figure out where I want it to be. On a side note I have added pictures that show the drain system that is to help keep the floor dry. Pretty good idea in a way I think as no one wants to sit or lay in a wet boat. In the two corners at the transom there is a piece of pvc pipe that is glasses around to catch water and drain it to the bottom under the floor. There is also one in the bow under the deck. I like this idea and would be great with a bulge pump in place to keep it pumped out. Also of note is that the floor sits on the hull and was glasses in with it being slightly higher than the hull bottom giving the water a channel to run down toward the drains. I just find this feature quite neat and interesting. My concern is though that this boat has no flotation and I?m not sure if I should seal the floor off and add flotation doing away with the drains or keep this system so I don?t end up sitting in water. I know I can add some to the bow area. Also, looking at the joint of the deck and hull, how do y?all suggest separation of the two? I have chipped some of the resin filler out in one area a little and I think it will come out with a little work. I don?t want to go sawing them apart if I don?t have to.

Thanks for all the comments and coaching along. Your help makes this project possible.


Under the lip of the deck on the outside:

View attachment C19FA88A-2F28-45A0-9EE1-89A28F8E7C45.jpegView attachment 4ED7EB86-1EDF-4121-B0D9-7EB44A128154.jpeg
 
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