TOPIC: Need some expert advice

We have started restoration on the Whitehouse as per my other thread under Whitehouse Polaris in this forum. We are at the stage where the deck is stipped and ready for wood. This boat does not appear to have ever had stringers and we are inclined to strengthen the bottom from the inside by putting a coat of resin and cloth before we put the wood down, then glass again on top of the wood ( 3 in strips as per the original) . Should we do this on the entire bottom interior or just the front cabin area since the walking deck area will also have a layer of 3/4 glassed plywood. Will this add too much weight? Since the hull is 54 years old we just thought it may need some structural boosting Any and all advice is appreciated....we are novices!

Well, since you asked...

3/4" marine plywood is WAY overkill. I would make stringers and install them to be dead level with the line around the inside of the boat. (Where the floor used to be.) Bed them in copious 3M 5200 and allow it to set for about five days. You will also need strips along the outside for edge support, also bedded in 5200. Hold everything in position with temporary supports and cross members, weighted with something heavy like old batteries. When the 5200 is cured, pour in foam floatation and allow it to swell to slightly above the level of the stringers. When cured, cut to stringer level. (We use a 2' piece of 1" wide band saw blade.) When that's done, install a 3/8" floor (coated on the underside with CPES) with SS screws and 5200 on all framing as well along all the edges. After that, apply two coats of CPES to the surface and when dry, apply fiberglass mat and resin so that it runs about 4" up the side. Finally, lay your marine carpet. It's a BIG job and not cheap to do when it's done right but result will be a rock-solid floor system that will be waterproof and never need replacement during your lifetime.

Here are photos to illustrate what I mean:

nautilusrestorations.com/1986CCSkiNautique.html

First off it appears to me that your hull is a balsa cored hull. It's a bit difficult to tell for sure from the pic you posted but it kinda looks like it. If in fact it is then you need to ensure it's sound and not waterlogged and then recoat it with resin and put down another coat of resin and glass. I'd like to see additional pics of the entire boat, and Know a bit more about it before I give additional restoration advice. Some hulls do not require stringers based on their design. What year is she? What's her overall length and beam width?

My Flamingo...thanks for the reply. The boat is an approximately 1961 Whitehouse Polaris from what we can determine. Centerline length is 15' 10" and forward beam says 73" maximum. Nautilus...would be nice to do it with stringers but we would lose about 4" of headroom in the little cabin and it is already tiny lol.

Nautilus...this is what i mean by tiny

As I mentioned, my idea was to reconstruct the flooring to the original height using the marks along the sides as a guide. No, you can't afford to lose 4" in height. "Stringers," in this case, would simply provide a way to attach the plywood and could be quite thin. The foam would solidify the foundation, giving the 3/8" plywood all the support it would need. Your boat looks to be the size of a Glasspar del Mar. I used the method I described to re-deck my del Mar and only raised the height by 1/2". Whatever you decide to do, good luck.

Thanks....the picture is kind of deceiving...the floor height was only 3/4" strips of plywood under the fibreglass.I am sure that it was a previous repair that didn't work too well. Most of the area was taken up by the two benches so there wasn't much flat floor area in the cabin...just a small v shape between the benches. Would love to use foam but afraid to lose any more headspace...I am short but hubby is 6'1"

No problem. Leave him home.