Bumper Rail Installation

I have been on and off restoring my 16' Don Hill over he last 2 1/2 years.  the light is finally at the end of the tunnel but I need some more advice.  I glassed up the sides to about 10". Three extra layers of glass on the edges.  So with the reinforced edge of glass do I need to reinstall the chines? If so won't screwing through the glass add a way for water to reach the wood? 

Second the bumper rails I took off are 8'8".  This length is needed to to reach the first and last ribs in the boat. They are so gooped up with old epoxy other adhesive I am not going to try to sand them clean.   Can I cut this out of a  4x8 plywood diagonally (this is long enough, but then all the grain will be at a angle).  Will this be problematic? I was not very good at scarfing the shoe I put on and was not looking forward to doing this, on what is essentially an "accessory"

The photo is the clear coat right before I begin the varnish.  You can see the glass up the side.  The inside still needs some TLC but I should be on the water soon.

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Permalink Reply by tungsten on May 11, 2015 at 8:15am

With the glass at the chines the only way would be to glue them on with something that could still be removed in the future.Your choice,to me it looks great the way it is.

Tow it to the river and go fishing.

Permalink Reply by craig curtis on May 11, 2015 at 6:19pm

if you put the chines back on, put some 3M 5200 behind them. about 11.50 at home depot in their sealants/paint area, make sure its the removable type. the chines add protection and stiffness. the rub rail is optional but I would try stripping the old ones with a heat gun to get up the old epoxy, if you want it to still look like a don hill boat with character.

Permalink Reply by Channing Swan on May 12, 2015 at 5:47pm

Craig,

Thanks for the info.  My thought was trying to glue the chines on too.   I was thinking of ratchet straps wrapped around the boat to hold them in place.  In reading other forums I see that the 3M 5200 can be a pain to remove.  I guess my thought is it needs to adhere well enough to take the occasional blow from rocks, but at some point I will want it off.  have you worked with any other adhesive?  I am going to try to salvage the bumper rails,  the thought of  more sanding doesn't excite me, but I have to tackle the inside as well so this wont be the end of it. 

Thanks for imparting some of your knowledge to a total novice.

Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on May 12, 2015 at 6:23pm

Hey Channing,

Randy Dersham used to fiberglass the area where the chine goes. He used 5200 and bronze ring shank nails which poked through and had to be trimmed on the inside (looked cool actually). The idea was the nails would hold the chine without twisting the glass with a screw then when time came to remove it you could fairly easily cut through the nails.  

Just another option,,

Mike

Permalink Reply by craig curtis on May 12, 2015 at 10:25pm

nope I haven't tried anything else yet but on my boats they are both fiberglass up the entire side. then I clamped the rails on and predrilled the holes. fastening from the center and working towards the ends, then reversed the process to get the chines off without cracking them. then I reassembled with the adhesive underneath. if you can put a little heat on the boards while screwed downed the first time they will hold so shape. just don't let the fiberglass and epoxy get to hot, it will float.

I am restoring an old rapid Robert that was put together the same way and I didn't have any problems getting the chines off. just a little heat does wonders to release old paint, epoxy and whatever else they used. always fun taking someone else projects apart.

I also have a stainless steel rail that runs most of my chine for more protection, I have four years of beatings on my chines and all they need is a slight roundover to stop snagging my fishing line. I even place my boat sideways on concrete ramps to make it handicap accessible.

Permalink Reply by Matt K. on May 14, 2015 at 10:48am

I ended up using 3M 4200 on my chines as I've heard that it's easier to remove than the 5200.

Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on May 14, 2015 at 6:16pm

CS,

Here's another option to secure the Chine Logs with out permanent screws & screw holes for water to migrate in the plywood side panels.  It may be a little more time consuming but will "do the job"!

I epoxied the Chine Logs to the sides after glassing with thickened epoxy.  It worked great!  They are well attached and removable without doing much damage to the glassed hull.  I used # 10 x 1 1/2 SS Screws to hold them in place while epoxy cured.   After about one week I removed the screws and drilled out the holes to 1/4" dia and then a tapered drill to create a tapered hole in the chine log.  The hole ended up approx 1/4: dia on inside and approx. 5/16" dia on the outside of the chine log.  I made a few 1/4" x 2" long wood dowels from Black Locust.  With the same wood I took 1" long piece of dowel and with a sharp chisel made it tapered. Approx. 1/16 at tip and 3/16 at the big end.  Making the dowels was the most time consuming part of this activity.

Using thickened epoxy I placed the 2" dowel in the hole after using a box cutter knife blade to split the dowel approx 1/2" to 3/4" deep.  I then tapped the tapered plug(s), with more epoxy in the split dowel. They were left to set up for a few days and then the excess trimmed off flush on the outside of the Chine Log.

The actual assembling of the dowels was not time consuming as I was able to do all the dowels on one side within the working time of the epoxy.

G'Luck

Dorf

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