Commander 26 Re Build

[Sttr]

So I put the stringer installation on hold to put some thought into the new plan. The resin coat is still not sticking to the spruce confirming everyone’s concerns about the quality of the wood. On a positive note I do have a awesome template for the stringers LoL.
Did a bit of prep work for the deck today. Made sure everything is straight and propped up some ply, fit into place, and ended with a coat of resin. The bow will be put together from 3 main pieces and beefed up upfront

 

[dmurph]

Would yellow cedar work for the stringers, yellow cedar is very strong and rot resistant.

 

[Sttr]

The boat is looking cleaner everyday. Little more work on the gel coat today. Installed the port side deck on the bow today. Little work to keep it straight but after Ron worked his magic it was perfect with no lumps up top. Decided to go 2X 3/4 marine ply for the stringers, I have some waiting to be cut and laminated tomorrow. I’m excited for the stringers with the marine ply idea because I’m a bit more familiar now with the process and feel like I can tackle it myself… with some quality control LoL. Here’s some pics of todays work. The last pic I got from someone the other day. 316 stainless emblems for the commander custom made, I had no clue about them! I haven’t seen them or even know the size or where I’m going to put them but they look sharp! Thanks Seann!

 

[Rain City]

The boat is looking cleaner everyday. Little more work on the gel coat today. Installed the port side deck on the bow today. Little work to keep it straight but after Ron worked his magic it was perfect with no lumps up top. Decided to go 2X 3/4 marine ply for the stringers, I have some waiting to be cut and laminated tomorrow. I’m excited for the stringers with the marine ply idea because I’m a bit more familiar now with the process and feel like I can tackle it myself… with some quality control LoL. Here’s some pics of todays work. The last pic I got from someone the other day. 316 stainless emblems for the commander custom made, I had no clue about them! I haven’t seen them or even know the size or where I’m going to put them but they look sharp! Thanks Seann!View attachment 78080View attachment 78079View attachment 78081View attachment 78082View attachment 78083View attachment 78084View attachment 78085View attachment 78086View attachment 78087

I want some

 

[Sttr]

I want some

Me too, it looks sick, they did a phenomenal job.
I had to post a pic
Getting me more excited for the boat… if that’s even possible LoL

 

[chris73]

Good choice on the revised stringer plan. I also did the laminated plywood version years ago and still believe this is the best wood containing option. To plasticize even more I soaked the plywood in warmed up epoxy (I think the product was called Rot Fix). The stringers became like steel beams. Bulletproof and unrottable.

 

[Corey_lax]

Good choice on the revised stringer plan. I also did the laminated plywood version years ago and still believe this is the best wood containing option. To plasticize even more I soaked the plywood in warmed up epoxy (I think the product was called Rot Fix). The stringers became like steel beams. Bulletproof and unrottable.

There’s a product called Git Rot that is super thin penetrating epoxy.

 

[Sttr]

Here’s a few pictures of what I’m dealing with removing the bottom paint.
Tried 3 different ways. Paint remover, sander, and sandblaster. Sanding and the paint remover definitely gave it a nicer finish. Sandblasting was the quickest but left a bunch of pinholes. The pinholes don’t seem to bother Ron. I’m leaning towards sandblasting it and fill her back up with a gel coat paste. Going to try some finer sand.

 

[Brando]

Sandblast with glass bead. The pin holes can be filled with interlux watertight it’s an epoxy putty designed for that then barrier coat with interprotect and re bottom paint. Don’t bother with the gel coat below the waterline epoxy products will stand up better over time.

 

[Fisher_dude]

I’m not sure if you e gone over this or not but do you have a name picked out?

 

[Sttr]

I’m not sure if you e gone over this or not but do you have a name picked out?

The name of the boat is The Great Escape!
We all love it, kids even named the dinghy
The Grape Escape LoL, even though it’s not going on the boat

 

[Sttr]

Today we started preparing one stringer. Started by stripping the ply into 12” strips. The original stringer is a few inches over 18 feet. We made this one 19 feet and will cut to length. I thought about git rot on the ply but Ron doesn’t have any experience with this and how it bonds to poly resin would be an experiment for us. I’m very happy with the marine ply.
Coated the ply with resin/acetone mix and sandwiched 1 1/2 oz mat in between. Still going to wrap the stringer to fully seal it before it goes on. Installed the other side of the deck today, everything looks straight,One more piece left and the deck is done!

 

[walleyes]

Would be time saving and material saving to make your stringers 24” wide or what ever is double (+ 1” for saw width and a slight mistake ) of your required width. That way you’re making 2 at once then rip them to the proper width. I believe you are making 4 am I right ?

 

[Sttr]

Would be time saving and material saving to make your stringers 24” wide or what ever is double (+ 1” for saw width and a slight mistake ) of your required width. That way you’re making 2 at once then rip them to the proper width. I believe you are making 4 am I right ?

Yes, making 4. The outter ones are 6” and will most likely be build like you are suggesting to save some time. Didn’t really put much thought into saving time , although it makes sense, right now I’m thinking more of how to curve the stringer into place and wrap it. The second stringer should be a piece of cake,
Plus I have to let Ron do his way sometimes!

 

[chris73]

I went full epoxy when re-stringered. Mean epoxy soaked the wood and then epoxy glassed in - makes it impervious to water. Polyester glass is not impervious. Ron is right, can't put polyester on top of epoxy. Only epoxy sticks to epoxy.

 

[Sttr]

Well I hoped to have this report in last night but glad I called it yesterday because I would of been working all night. Fitting and propping the last piece of the deck was the most time consuming. The piece itself was pretty heavy and awkward to handle especially upside in the front of the bow by myself. Everything turned out pretty straight after stomping on top of the deck for half hour and some batteries for added weight. I want to say that’s it for the deck but there might be a couple small pieces left above the transom

 

[mikep]

Stringers should not actually come in contact with the bottom of the hull as it will cause stress concentrations. You want the Stringers to float off the hull like .250" to .5". You can accomplish this by placing foam stips under the Stringers or some core bond mix. Then glast over it all and tie it into the hull. Make sure you put some generous fillets on either side of the stringer for easy glassing.

As for core.....

#1 would be coosa 26#
#2 would be laminated fir plywood becuase it is stable
#3 would be fir lumber
#4 would be the spruce that you have going in there.

Just my opinion but I would go buy some 3/4" sheets of exterior grade fir plywood....

BTW talk about a super full send build.....right down to nothing and back again. Good job looks great.

 

[Sttr]

Stringers should not actually come in contact with the bottom of the hull as it will cause stress concentrations. You want the Stringers to float off the hull like .250" to .5". You can accomplish this by placing foam stips under the Stringers or some core bond mix. Then glast over it all and tie it into the hull. Make sure you put some generous fillets on either side of the stringer for easy glassing.

As for core.....

#1 would be coosa 26#
#2 would be laminated fir plywood becuase it is stable
#3 would be fir lumber
#4 would be the spruce that you have going in there.

Just my opinion but I would go buy some 3/4" sheets of exterior grade fir plywood....

BTW talk about a super full send build.....right down to nothing and back again. Good job looks great.

Thanks Mike,
I dumped the spruce idea and have 3/4 marine fir ply. I’m trying to figure out why in production they had a bit of foam under the stringers and a wedge up front. The front few inches of the stringer was curved up away from the hull and not sealed. I been told that most like they did not cut it right and nobody would see. The original stringer was pressed against the hull with no visible clearance, except the front. I personally think there is a reason for that wedge, It seems it would eliminate the “stress concentrations” up front.

 

[Sttr]

Spent some time cleaning her up today, gel coat paste to make her look pretty, prepared the bow deck for glassing and filled up the screw holes on the stringer

 

[Sttr]

Also tried to figure out why the deck looks crooked from the inside only. The floor to deck heights are equal on both sides and everything was fitted and propped equally. I ended up taking measurements of the chain locker divider and found it was off centre over a inch. I will have to repair this as it’s making my eye twitch