TOPIC: Rescuing my poor Skagit

A few years ago my Skagit Skimaster hardtop was badly damaged by sulphuric acid that spilled from an overturned battery. The battery was in a plastic Attwood battery box, but the box was not fastened to the floor. I normally clear the boat out of everything upon storing it, but I forgot about the battery this one time. Upon storing the boat, somehow the battery rolled over and the electrolyte drained onto the floor, eating the fiberglass floor covering, and badly damaging parts of the floor plywood.

I did not discover this until I uncovered the boat many weeks later. I removed the now then drained battery, and flushed the boat out with water & many boxes of baking soda. I spent quite a bit of time beating myself up over this, but the boat didn't appear to have been damaged, except for some minor bleaching of the floor gelcoat. This was a well preserved, all original boat, mind, you.

Last fall, the gelcoat on the floor started to to sluff off like dandruff. To my dismay, discovered that the battery acid had completely oxidized portions of the fiberglass on the flooring, turning the glass fibers into powder. Underneath the fiberglass skin, The acid ruined parts of the plywood flooring too. I was extremely bummed. I don't have much time to work on my own stuff right now, but was faced with the fact; repair it, or sell it for peanuts.

Being a complete sucker for a project (like I need anymore of them) I started removing the remaining fiberglass on the floor. It easily came off in sheets & I soon realized that if I wanted to do the job correctly, the hull would have to be split.

I bit the bullet & started to remove all of the hardware necessary to get the job going. Supporting the seperated deck of any boat is extremely important, and is never easy. In previous boat deck removals, I have used lateral deck supports by slipping 2X4 studs between the deck and the hull. These extend out the sides beyond the rim of the deck. Thes provide lift points for people to assist with the deck removal. This time I had a better and more simple idea. I got two 20 foot green DF 2X4s, and with the help of just one person, slipped them between the hull and the deck. We then carefully pulled the ends of the lumber inward to bend them to the contour of the deck. Green 20ft 2X4 bend very easily. Cross braces were screwed to the ends of the lumber to maintain the shape & to provide a stable lift point. This method was very effective in keeping the deck of the boat supported and flat, and it also allows four people to easily and safely remove the deck from the boat. The deck will be removed this weekend, and the ends of the frame will be placed on sawhorses. I'll place a 2X4 leg at the mid points of the long pieces to keep them from sagging in the middle. This is the 1st time I've done a support like this, and it is by far the most simple and effective way of getting the job done. Hindsight is 20/20.

So, here are the latest pictures, with a couple old ones tossed in first - so people can get a perspective on how the boat once looked. I'll try to document all the phases of repair with pictures and commentary, though this will hopefully be the longest rambling entry.

Bruce

I'm getting this one as soon as owner gets paperwork right. Can't wait to start re-doing it. Doesn't have the hard top though. I think I'm going to go with the red/white paint scheme also.

That looks like a nice find. The gelcoat may rub out very well. Skagit used the finest materials at the time & the gelcoat rarely cracks or fails the way it did on most classic boats. I personally would rather have a boat with decent original gelcoat than a new perfect paint job. But of course, that's me.

It would be a lot easier for sure. I like this color also and will see how it buffs out. I would like to 2 tone bow for added contrast.

Really too bad as you have a beautiful Skimaster. The floor in the 59 Skimaster is completely different than my older Skagit express 17 and offshore 20. I have had 2 Skimasters and the first one with the fiberglass insert for stringers was paper thin. you could not step on the stringers. I have been in other 16ft Skagits where the floor was very strong. Curious as to how strong are your stringers. I am not saying this very well as I can't remember the explanation and name you gave for the Skimaster floor aand stringer system. Will send a couple pictures of my first and present Skimaster. Clint

Hi Clint,

Is that how your Skimaster looks at the present, or is that previous work. I've never seen the '58 & earlier boats stringers, but everyone has told me that they are solid beef. The 59 & 60 models had what I like to refer to as a stringer "tray" . As you know, this was a seperately molded unit that was then dropped into the boat & glassed in place. The bow flotation chamber is part of the tray. All the others (and mine) that I've seen are just like yours. Very thin structure, & I don't see any roving or biaxial cloth. I believe it was pressure molded, like an outboard motor hood would be. Step on a naked stringer channel, and you're likely to crack it. However, when the floor is installed, the load is distributed evenly over the channels, and they are surprisingly strong. When my boat was in use, I never got a sense of any softness or "give" in the flooring. It was very strong. That original floor was only 3/8" plywood too. I thought about filling the voids of the tray with 2 part poly foam, but I keep reading bad things about it. I've also considered puting a layer of mat & roving over the channels, to beef them uo, but I'm thinking that it isn't necessary. Not sure what to do yet. I do know this; The new floor will be 5/8" MDO and I have already bought it. The wood will be bonded to the stringer tops with a big fat bead of 5200, then I'll weight the flooring down with bricks for a couple weeks while the goop cures. I won't use any screws like the original floor had - as they won't be needed, and they didn't do much good, in the first place. I'll cover the floor with biax glass & gelcoat it as close to original as I can.

The picture of the floor is from mym first Skimaster. I kept the hardtop and sold the boat. Lucky enough that the hardtop was the same color as the second Skimaster. Haven't ever had the floor up on my present Skimaster as it is solid and always stored inside when not in use. It was a one family owned boat until I bought it. The floor will flex in moderate chop at speed. Sounds like a good deal to beef up the floor with MDO. Tell me what you are going to use to paint the floor as some has worn on my skimaster. Covered the worn areas with clear resin but would like to paint over that. Clint