# Build Thread: My 1st Gheenoe, 84 Highsider



## troszel (Aug 20, 2014)

Well, it has begun. Got the rub rails, nose cap and transom plate removed yesterday afternoon. 3/16" drill bit straight through the rivet as suggested in another thread worked perfectly.

Rub rail off










I had been wondering what it's original color was..Tan! I'm a little concerned about the condition of that top edge, but I'll inquire about that later.










Transom plate off











Rub rails and stuff didn't take nearly as long as i had anticipated, so I decided to get cracking on that nasty transom. Grabbed the grinder with a cut off wheel, and very tentatively went to work. Didn't take long to cut through the glass all the way around the wood part of the transom. Popped it off to reveal this. Not nearly as bad as I expected, but after 30 years, still in desperate need of replacement.










Was able to get the rotted wood out in nearly one piece










Now for a few questions:

1. I have a very sketchy repair in the bow area, and several others around the edges of the boat. In the bow section, I am actually able to see daylight shining through the glass. It looks like a patch was slapped on right over gelcoat.










I am going to be removing the center seat entirely. I am considering just grinding out all the gelcoat in the entire floor and laying down another layer or two of glass before I install the false floor, which I saw another member do in their build. If this is a good idea, what material should I use? 

Thanks in advance for the help


----------



## troszel (Aug 20, 2014)

Made some more progress last night, and got the center seat removed



















Started grinding down the excess from removing the center seat. 










How should I grind the edges to make it easiest to build back up? Is the smooth transition from the bottom of the removed seat up to the floor of the boat correct? 

I'm getting to the point I have to make a decision regarding laying down a few layers of glass before installing the false floor to stiffen things up a bit. I'm leaning towards 1708. And really, how much gelcoat do I need to remove for a solid bond to the bottom? Should I only see glass and no gelcoat, or is a good roughing up sufficient?

Thanks again in advance for any help


----------



## gillz (May 20, 2007)

I would say you got a fair deal if that motor runs well enough and has decent compression. Looks like your off to a great start. I would take the opportunity to raise the transom so that the cavitation plate on the motor is even with the hull bottom. The boat will run better and faster that way and you can forgo having to install a jack plate, at least for a while. If the hull bottom feels solid I would not add extra weight by adding layers of glass to the inside. Instead I would make some stingers out of Divinycell to support the false floor (sole) and then fill with 6lb density foam (stiff enough for support and needed for flotation)before putting on the Air-Comb sole.


----------



## troszel (Aug 20, 2014)

Thanks for the reply. I am going to be putting on a Bobs Mini Narrow straight away, so I'm just going to replace the transom at the stock height. 

I'm not super sure about the bottom of the boat, which is why I'm leaning towards a single layer of 1708 before putting in the false floor. I found some cracks under the center seat well when I removed it










Here is a closeup of how I am grinding out the edges of that center seat. 










I would just feel better going with a fresh layer on the bottom. Maybe it's overkill, but I'll sleep better at night. 

Now, on to materials. I live in tampa, and found a supplier that can get me a full sheet of 1/2" 15lb Coosa for $165, so I'm going to be using that for my false floor, any bulkheads, and the deck. The stringers on either side of the floor, I have read that these are made of wood, likely rotted, and should be cut out and replaced. Mine feel pretty solid, but I hesitate to leave any old wood in this boat. Thoughts? Also, the transom. Would coosa be  appropriate if I am going to be using a jack plate and not clamping/bolting directly to the transom? I realize I have to bolt the jack plate to the transom in it's place, should I just use two layers of epoxied wood? It would be the only epoxy in the boat, as it seems like poly will work just fine if I'm going to the expense of using Coosa everywhere else. 


If anyone would like to see different pictures/angles, let me know and I'll throw them up here.


----------



## NoeSmyrnaBch (Aug 19, 2013)

Awesome! I love Gheenoe  builds  

I can only speak from my build but..

1. I wouldn't grind it out any more around the seat. I cut out the center of mine, ground it down a little then cut the glass out and just added layers to make it even with the rest of the floor. If you are going to cut out the front seat, make sure you make some braces before you cut it out. It'll keep the hull from warping (even more than they do already). Don't worry about adding weight with fiberglass, these things float in inches.

2. The bow definitely needs repair. You'll probably have to repair it from the outside and feather it out to match the rest of the hull (if you care what it looks like), and then lay some down inside as well.

3. I've never used Coosa, but I don't think the 15lb is rated for transom areas. I found some stuff called AquaPlas V from Piedmond Plastics. It's not cheap but its ridiculously strong. I'm running a bobs mini and 9.9 mariner and its held up well so far. I took out all the wood in the transom, got it all flat back there and then bonded it in with high density filler mixed resin, then ran tabs of glass out 6 to 8 inches onto the sides of the hull to tie it all together. 

4. Also, that 1/2" coosa is going to be too tall to match the contours of the hull for a false floor, so you'll need to be ready to build up the sides unless you are going to do the floor from side to side and not inlay between the contours. 

5. Edges under the rub rails look normal for a Gheenoe. You never see them so no need for them to be pretty  

Most important, have fun with it! Building mine was a great learning experience and I want to do another here soon. I certainly do not miss the fiberglass dust though...ugh lol


----------



## troszel (Aug 20, 2014)

Not too much excitement the last few days. Went ahead and took some advice to remove the stringers/supports. I ground two out, and then realized it was a whole lot quicker to use a cut off wheel to cut around the edge of the stringer and simply pop up the wood with the glass, and then grind the rest flush. All four supports are out, and I'm making fairly good progress on the gelcoat removal. I am trying to make the transitions from the areas that have been ground out to the surrounding surfaces as smooth as possible. Am I ok to just lay glass over these, making sure that all air bubbles are out, or do they need to be built up before I lay down the glass? If build up is required, what should I use? 

Stringers out









Gelcoat removal progress. This part isn't much fun. At all. I gave up on the tyvek suit after my third grinding session. I wear a longsleeve shirt, respirator and goggles, and just roll the boat outside. As long as there is a decent breeze, it is MUCH more comfortable, and the itching isn't too bad either.



















I should have it all out tonight ( I hope). I will put up some pics of the bad repairs that have been done. There are three on the port side. I'm going to need some advice on how to approach these, but my thinking is that when I reinforce the floor, should I just run the glass further up the gunnels to cover the area and then fill from the outside once I flip the boat? Will 10oz mat be strong enough for these repairs?

I was quoted 260 from the CG shop for a raw center box, which I will be fine paying. I don't think I could build it for that much. Does anyone know if they still sell the foam side inserts/supports mentioned in a few other threads? I would really like to use those for my gunnel reinforcement, plus they look great and don't seem to require rods to bend near as much when storing them in rod tubes.


----------



## troszel (Aug 20, 2014)

More grinding progress. I've got pretty much the entire bottom down to the glass. Here's where I'm at. I got a nice little surprise under the patch in the bow area. I knew it wasn't going to be good, but I didn't expect what I found.




























Surprise! This is where I need you guys to remind me that you can fix anything with fiberglass so I can stop freaking out.




























Full disclosure: I have this cross posted on another forum. I am trying to keep both threads active, as I am getting great advice from both. 

NoeSmyrna:

1. I kept grinding! I'm going to be adding a layer of 1208 across the entire bottom, including the bow repair. Once the inside of the boat is finished and primed and I flip it, I will build it back up from the outside. Sound like a good plan?

2. After grinding out, as you can see the bow REALLY needs repair. 

3. I'm still on the fence regarding transom material and resin type (Poly vs. Vinyl). I'm leaning towards using a few layers of marine ply for the transom to save on Coosa expense, and using epoxy resin for the entire build. Is there a better combination?

I'm starting to think about how I'm going to do the decks. I originally wanted to use the existing benches as supports, but I think they are just too low. I think I'm going to do a coosa bulkhead on either side of where the benches are now (after I cut them out), which will also serve to create some under deck compartments.

Any thoughts, ideas, whatever, are more than welcome. I've already learned a ton...just enough to realize how little I know!


----------



## NoeSmyrnaBch (Aug 19, 2013)

The hull was made with poly resin from Gheenoe, and my understanding is that epoxy won't stick to poly. The guys here or at the gheenoe forums can validate that. Not sure about the vinly resin.

The transom material is a tough call. If you don't plan on keeping the hull for more than 5 years, I'd say do the wood and be done with it, but if that's the ONLY place you're thinking about doing wood then I'd go composite.  Doesn't hurt to call around and see what some of these places have. I was lucky and got just enough from a hacked up full sheet for my transom material. If you can find something like that I'd say its a no-brainer.

If you want to get on the water quick, use the seats as bulks. If you want to build bulks, I would HIGHLY suggest picking up a contour gauge if you don't have one (tile section at home depot/lowes). Getting the curves right is a total pain in the ass and was probably the hardest part of my build. They turned out good, but I wasted a lot of time before someone told me about the contour gauge. I had about 15 cardboard templates cut before I got the gauge and got it right lol

Also, seriously consider some bracing for the hull (even if its just 2x4's cut to length and stuffed inside to give it some structural integrity). If you don't and you cut all the seats out that hull is going to be  very difficult to get back into its original shape (learned the hard way on my build after cutting the front and center seats out at one time). 

Looks like you are off to an excellent start! Keep the pics coming.


----------



## erikb85 (Jun 13, 2014)

Interesting, Noe. I was under the impression that epoxy stuck to poly, but poly didn't bond well with epoxy. You have literally flipped the script.


----------



## david_kohler (Jun 29, 2009)

Epoxy will stick to poly or vinly. poly or vinly won't stick to epoxy.


----------



## troszel (Aug 20, 2014)

I too thought the rule was epoxy sticks to everything, but only epoxy can stick to itself, not poly or vinyl. This is my first glass project, so I'm not the most reliable source.

Noe, I think I'm going to take your advice and start calling around to see if I can find a smaller piece of heavier coosa or composite for the transom. I'll post some more pics and ideas this afternoon.


----------



## NoeSmyrnaBch (Aug 19, 2013)

Whoops, guess I had it backwards. Sorry about that!
I think you'll be happy with not having any wood in it to worry about.


----------



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

I used Divynal Cell in my transom.   Ive had a 40HP tohatsu bolted to it for 18 months now with no issued or flex at all.

My hull has 1 1/2" of divynal cell core,  but for a 15HP motor you should be able to get by with 1"


----------



## troszel (Aug 20, 2014)

Well, nowhere to go but up from here. I braced the hull as Noe suggested, and gutted her.










It's flimsy for sure, but it holds its natural shape fairly well as long as it is well supported. I have a bit more grinding to do around the where the stringers and seats are, but there is light at the end of a long, dusty tunnel.

I picked up materials from Fiberglass Discount Store in Tampa this afternoon. Here is what I picked up:

1 4x8 sheet 1/2" 15lb Coosa
4 yds 6 oz cloth
4 yds 1.5 oz mat
4 yds 1708 biax
1 roll of 2" 6 oz tape
1 gallon unwaxed poly resin
1 gallon of Cabosil
1 quart of milled glass fibers (1/32")

Also grabbed a roller, a quart of acetone, some brushes and a dozen pint mixing cups.

Here's the plan:

I'm going to start in the most obvious spot, the gaping hole in the bow. Going to lay the 2" rail tape in the groove, so I have good glass to repair to when I flip the boat. Then, planning on putting down a layer of 6oz cloth across the entire bottom of the boat bow to stern. Sound like a fairly good start?


CWright, thats a pretty amazing build. A friend of my dad's rebuilt a 44 hatteras several years ago, and I think he may have a piece laying around that would work great for my transom. It would also save me from having to buy a second sheet of Coosa, which the wallet would appreciate.


----------



## NoeSmyrnaBch (Aug 19, 2013)

Lookin' good man! Now the building fun can begin!


----------

