DON HILL BOTTOM REPLACEMENT SORRY LONG POST!

Hello all im  new to the site lots of great information here. One reason is why i joined up and also i need some help with my bottom replacement since i never have done this before, so any information would be greatly appreciated. I bought a Don hill river boat in 1997 it had a uhmw plate on the bottom which led to its demise with dry rot. I actually started working on it this month its still in pretty good shape as far as the structural part of it. The paint is good on the outside i have a couple ribs near the back where the very ends have a little rot not much at all and it is solid where the ribs meet the sides. No rot as far as i can see on the sides and it feels pretty solid and strong im  actually amazed at the shape its in the rot was localized to the the inner chines mainly arond the screw holes with a couple of splits on one side and the other side was a little worse with some signifigant rot so it was fairly easy to remove that section as it just peeled away from the side of the boat. So heres where im at i have both inside chines removed  both outside chine battens removed one is no good the other is fine and of course i have the bottom off i even have the bottom as a template if needed the bow section was on so good i had to make cut between the 2nd and 3rd rib to seperate it from the worse part of the bottom which was fairly easy so now i have them together should give me a good idea of what i need. The sides where it meets the bottom are still solid with very litle rot only in 2 small areas near where the drain hole was is where i have maybe an inch and the other spot a half inch of loss wood there .I have all the existing srew holes open and the guy who built it had some screws inserted near the edge of the side which i couldnt take out without putting a very tiny gap on the edge of the side not many screws but the tears are probably an eigth of an inch sorry for the long post so i will get on with my question can i fill the exiting screw holes in with something and also those small gaps to make the side normal and stronger than it is now? Also i will be squareing off those bad one inch spots near where the drain hole was and routering it for a patch is that the best way or since they are so small should i do something different? Again sorry for the long post! i will try to post pics next time. Thanks everyone your input is appreciated and what a great site with all the builds and pictures. 

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Comment by Jack Rose on April 18, 2012 at 12:56pm

D Lowe, it sounds like I'm about a year ahead of you on the exact same process.  Search my posts and you might find answers to some of your questions.

And follow Robb's advice on cutting your bottom over-sized.  I think it's fairly common to screw down your scarfed pieces of plywood, then use a jigsaw to get it within an 1/8" or so.  Then take it the rest of the way with a belt sander.

I've been saying for about a year that I'll be re-launching this boat in a week.  Now, all I'm willing to say is that I'm getting really close.

Jack Rose

Comment by Robb Grubb on April 17, 2012 at 12:26pm

D Lowe, sounds like you are doing what I did a couple of years ago. Below is a link...

http://www.woodenboatpeople.com/forum/topics/new-bottom-and-chine-o...

The things I learned to be important that you do right is:

- Mark your screw placement as you go so not to drill holes where screws already are.

- Be sure to true up or flush up the rib, inside chine and side panel so when you install the new bottom, there are no gaps.

- Not sure if I would use existing holes, maybe fill all old ones with woodflour / resin and start new.

- If you use the old bottom as a template, be sure to still cut a little over size just in case and grind off excess.

- Like Rick says, wood rot has a way of hiding, be sure to do thorough probing missions with a screw driver or pick to find all of it.

Cheers, Robb

www.RiverTraining.net

P.S. - steelheading on the Wenatchee sounds like a hoot!!...

Comment by D LOWE on April 15, 2012 at 9:03pm

Thank you Rick i will look into it your advice is appreciated.

Comment by Rick Newman on April 15, 2012 at 12:46pm

I will try to answer onf of your many questions. First if there is rotten wood that you can see it is not uncommon for the organisms that cause the rot to travel further than the eye can see. So you might consider a more thorough inspection of any wood that was that had part of it rotted.

Secondly, the search function at the top of the page is a wonderful resource for information. For example you could type in replacing floors and get back every post on the subject. As floors and the lower sides where you are having your problems are some of the most common there is a wealth of knowledge, photographs and ideas. Just a thought, hope this help. I'm sure that others will chip in too.

Rick Newman

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