[eblox04]

Hey everyone! I'm new to this forum but the rebuilds and fixes I've seen are awesome! A friend gave me this 15'4" Gheenoe as a project and I decided to tackle it. These are the photos I've taken along the way, with the first being how I got it and the last being from today. Still not done with it, but was wondering everybody's thoughts on what l've done so far and what to work on from here? The transom is needing to be completely rebuilt and I'll paint everything once it's done. This is my first time doing a boat restoration and working with fiberglass in general, so l'm sure l've done plenty of things wrong, but just looking for some constructive criticism and advice on where to go next from here. Thanks!

Initial Condition:

Phase 1 - Removing Old Fiberglass and Getting Holes Prepped for Patch

Phase 2 - Patching Holes and Sanding Patches to Blend in with the Rest of the Hull

Will be posting a Part 2 for the rest of the pictures.

 

[eblox04]

Here's the rest of Phase 2:

Phase 3 - Rebuild Transom - Still a Work in Progress

 

[Sightcast]

Looking great so far!! Be careful not to go too far with the sander/flap wheel as these hulls are thin as I’m sure you know at this point. If you feel any thin spots beside the patches made from prep sanding or feathering the new repairs, you might throw some more glass on any spots like that to get them to around the same thickness as the rest of the hull to be safe. Don’t worry about getting her perfect, these hulls like to warp a little bit with age sometimes, especially on the sides.

if you are able to get some locally, I would highly recommend coosa/Penske board for the transom and recore it such that it covers the entire area of the transom as opposed to the factory transom core that stops short of the hull bottom a bit. If you’re not doing a deck or false floor, you can probably order a 2’x2’ square of coosa online for pretty cheap and not much shipping cost. Marine ply well saturated with resin will work too, just make sure your motor mounting holes are sealed well with resin and/or 4200/5200. Tab the new transom core into the hull sides and bottom at least 3 inches if not more, especially if you’re putting a heavy 4 stroke 9.9hp+ on it and/or jackplate.

Are you keeping the original interior configuration with benches or planning any decks/false floor?

Keep it up!

 

[eblox04]

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking about applying Bondo Glass-Reinforced filler to the areas around the patches, and to where the flap wheel was a little aggresive. That way I can sand it smooth and get a nicer finish. I'm thinking that will also reinforce the area and make it a little stronger since Bondo Glass has fiberglass in it. What are your thoughts on that?

I'm keeping the original configuration with the benches for now. One of the benches has a pretty big crack that I'll have to repair, but other than that, they're in good shape. The top of the benches had some type of adhesive with fragments of wood on it from where the previous owner had wood for seating. I was able to sand it smooth and now they look pretty good. May do a big square of fiberglass on top of the bench to reinforce them, but not sure yet.

I had heard of Coosa board, but thought it was bit too expensive for me right now. Was going more the marine plywood route. Was debating whether or not to keep the original shape of the wood from the transom (which was about half the length of the fiberglass backing) but will probably extend it all the way down and glass it in as you suggested. Is marine plywood necessary or will exterior grade plywood work as well? Had seen some people on Youtube use exterior plywood but wasn't sure if that was advisable or not.

 

[david.riina]

i would not use exterior plywood. you have spent a ton of time already, and will be spending more time going forward, just to have your crappy plywood delaminate from the inside out because the crappy cheap glue holding together to the crappy cheap wood together all rotted out.

get a sheet of BS-1088 okume marine plywood. its certified and guaranteed to be free from voids and uses a water and boil proof adhesive to hold the plywood together. when used properly it will last for decades.

you can order full sheets or 1/2 sheets off the internet, or try your local lumber place. If i can get okume locally here on cape cod im sure you'll be able to find some local to you.

when you drills holes in okume for your transom, just overdrill the hole size, then fill it with thickened epoxy. once it dries redrill the hole the proper smaller size dead centered into the thickened resin. this way if water ever gets past your 5200 i just hits thickened resin, not the wood itself.

or you can go the total OCD route that i did. overdrill your transom holes, fill with thickened epoxy and line them with a CF tube.

good job so far! keep it up and you'll have a boat soon!

 

[eblox04]

Ok, thanks! I'll start looking around locally and see who has it. Any thoughts on the Bondo Glass-Reinforced filler? I've used normal Bondo body filler on other projects and it's done really well on giving a smooth finish. Has anybody used the fibeglass-reinforced stuff before? If I apply it to the spine of the boat where the old patch was, and around the new patches, that should reinforce the strength of the fiberglass and give a smooth finish, correct?

 

[david.riina]

the bondo won't add strength in any which way at all. this isn't a car, i wouldn't suggest bondo.

if you need more structural support aka strength you need to add more layers of fiberglass. sand what you got to a rough finish to help the next layer stick, and add more glass and resin if you want to make it stronger.

to get a nice smooth finish people use a fairing compound after the glass/cloth work is down. you can mix your own, or buy premade stuff. just google it.

 

[eblox04]

Ok. Here are some pictures of the inside of the Gheenoe. (The cutouts on the floor and seat are what I still need to patch.) In your opinion, do you think it would be a good idea to add maybe 2 layers of Fiberglass Cloth to the floor to give some extra strength? It wouldn't really hurt anything if I decided to, right?

 

[TxSalt]

When in doubt, add an extra layer of fiberglass. Regarding your bondo question, I recommend using fairing compound. I just completed work on a Boston Whaler 17 Montauk using TotalBoat TotalFair. Mixing to color made it easy to mix and was easy to sand smooth.

 

[eblox04]

Ok, I probably will add an extra layer or two then. Since I'm adding it to the inside, probably no need to add it to the outside then, right? By adding it to the inside, that strengthens the integrity of the whole hull, correct?

 

[TxSalt]

If you are patching a hole and can access both sides (inside and outside), add fiberglass to both sides. If creates a stronger repair. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing how to do repair work.

 

[eblox04]

Thanks! I've repaired all the holes on both sides like you mentioned. I'm talking about solely for the purpose of strengthening the hull of the Gheenoe. Is it worth it to apply an extra layer of fiberglass to the outside, or is doing it on the inside enough?

 

[Republic_Fishing]

You took on quite the project. Looking forward to the end product

 

[TxSalt]

I am not familiar with the Gheenoe, but it looks like doing the inside would be enough if you think you need to strengthen it. Trying to add fiberglass to the exterior would be a lot of work and most likely unnecessary.

 

[eblox04]

You took on quite the project. Looking forward to the end product

Me too 😂

 

[eblox04]

Thanks for all the help so far! An additional question: The paint on the boat is cracking and not smooth at all. It's not the fiberglass that's cracking/peeling, but it's the paint. I've heard some people talk about using paint remover. Is paint remover the best way to do this, or is there a better way?

 

[Siteseven]

excited to see this come together - definitely a significant amount of work!

 

[MikeCockman]

That’s a heckuva project for sure. To answer a few of your questions.

Bondo glass will not add strength but it does work well as a filler.

Wood: Absolutely get Marine grade. The glues may be the same between MG and Exterior but the MG is Zero void and a better finish grade. Usually in A/B range. You essentially have Okume, Meranti and Douglas fir to choose from. Okume is the lightest and most expensive. Doug fir is the most common. Locally for me it’s about 100$ a sheet.
Either is fine, so long as you saturate them with epoxy.

Adding strength: If you want to add extra glass for overall strength, just do it internally at this point. Just keep in mind that you are also adding weight, so don’t get too carried away.

Removing the old paint: A DA sander will get it done. I’m not a big fan of chemical strippers, although sometimes they are necessary.

Teansom: I’m not all that familiar with the GN configuration, but I’d take it from floor to top edge. Make an epoxy pnut butter and put it on the floor and in between the transom and outer skin, press the new transom into the floor. Then turn the excess that squeezes out into a filet. Clamp it altogether and allow to dry. Then glass and tab all together.

A pretty good resource is the gougeon bros book on boat construction. It’s free, and although it’s all west system’s products, the information is pretty universal across all products.

 

[eblox04]

Thanks so much! I'll definitely be getting the marine plywood for the transom. By "epoxy peanut butter" do you mean slightly thickened resin or something else? I saw one guy on Youtube actually use the Bondo Glass between the plywood and the outer skin. Not sure if that's a good idea or if the "epoxy peanut butter" is more the way to go.

Removing the old paint: A DA sander will get it done. I’m not a big fan of chemical strippers, although sometimes they are necessary.

I have an orbital sander that I slapped a 60-grit disc on and tried to sand down the rough spots, but the paint/gel coat that is on it is super tough. The sander doesn't seem to do too much. It definitely takes off some layers, but not enough. Any tips or tricks to be more effective with it?

Bondo glass will not add strength but it does work well as a filler.

So in your opinion, is the Bondo Glass comparable to fairing compound or is fairing compound the way I want to go for a smooth finish?

Thanks for the suggestion on the Gougeon Brothers book. I'll check that out.

 

[MikeCockman]

Thanks so much! I'll definitely be getting the marine plywood for the transom. By "epoxy peanut butter" do you mean slightly thickened resin or something else? I saw one guy on Youtube actually use the Bondo Glass between the plywood and the outer skin. Not sure if that's a good idea or if the "epoxy peanut butter" is more the way to go.


I have an orbital sander that I slapped a 60-grit disc on and tried to sand down the rough spots, but the paint/gel coat that is on it is super tough. The sander doesn't seem to do too much. It definitely takes off some layers, but not enough. Any tips or tricks to be more effective with it?


So in your opinion, is the Bondo Glass comparable to fairing compound or is fairing compound the way I want to go for a smooth finish?

Thanks for the suggestion on the Gougeon Brothers book. I'll check that out.

Do not use the Bondo glass anywhere structural. It adds no strength, it’s 100%, just an alternative to fairing compound.

Orbital sanders and DAs are different beast altogether. DA stands for dual action and is what is used for body work.

Epoxy pnut butter is just thickened epoxy with your choice of thickener. I like cotton flock and wood flour personally. But there are many options.

The book I suggested has a lot of useful information on using epoxy to build boats.