I am slipping my boat for antifouling and to do some work on it.
One thing I have found is that at least one of the old Gal tube ribs has rusted away at the bilge end, leaving an empty cocoon of FB.

I have been warned that if the ribs get too bad the keel can come loose due to the excess flex in the hull!

I want to replace this with wood and glass over it. Thought this would be easier and quicker. But maybe not as stiff as gal pipe.

Given the shape it has to be. I am thinking marine ply. I would laminate 2, 16mm pieces together and then cut the shape out of it. Maybe 50mm high. Round the top edges. Then a heap of glass for added strength.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Valo what design is it ?

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jbear said..
Valo what design is it ?

Endeavour 26

You have to be kidding. Steel ribs in an Endeavour 26!!!!

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cisco said..
You have to be kidding. Steel ribs in an Endeavour 26!!!!

That's what a boat builder has told me.
They do look round like pipe.
What would you think they would be made from?
The other framing is gal pipe.
It is exposed and rusting in some areas.

I should imagine your talking about a rib that passes down the hull from the chain plates to the keel. Probably only has the one rib with the steel encapsulated. This is quite common in that era production boat. The fibreglass thickness in an Endeavour 26 would be way thicker than necessary. There would be ribs glassed in to stop oil canning in a seaway.
I would just grind out the steel pipe till you get clean metal and grind out an area about 150mm wide in a strip down to the bilge in the flowcoat till you have exposed the fibreglass. I would then glue in an inverted U shape "Hat" same size as the original rib and "glass" it in with epoxy and cloth of your choice. The core could be plastic pipe or foam or cardboard or plywood. I would not use plywood personally as it would rot eventually if you get moisture inside the pipe again. Closed cell foam cut into strips and faired in with body filler and then shaped would be the easiest probably if you have some offcuts laying about. The strength is in the hat shaped rib not the core.

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Ramona said..
I should imagine your talking about a rib that passes down the hull from the chain plates to the keel. Probably only has the one rib with the steel encapsulated. This is quite common in that era production boat. The fibreglass thickness in an Endeavour 26 would be way thicker than necessary. There would be ribs glassed in to stop oil canning in a seaway.
I would just grind out the steel pipe till you get clean metal and grind out an area about 150mm wide in a strip down to the bilge in the flowcoat till you have exposed the fibreglass. I would then glue in an inverted U shape "Hat" same size as the original rib and "glass" it in with epoxy and cloth of your choice. The core could be plastic pipe or foam or cardboard or plywood. I would not use plywood personally as it would rot eventually if you get moisture inside the pipe again. Closed cell foam cut into strips and faired in with body filler and then shaped would be the easiest probably if you have some offcuts laying about. The strength is in the hat shaped rib not the core.

i agree with 98 % of what ramona says but i would do the layup in carbon and if you use the same thickness of carbon as the original steel you will have the same strength though its always nice to go a little thicker for peace of mind

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Ramona said..
I should imagine your talking about a rib that passes down the hull from the chain plates to the keel. Probably only has the one rib with the steel encapsulated. This is quite common in that era production boat. The fibreglass thickness in an Endeavour 26 would be way thicker than necessary. There would be ribs glassed in to stop oil canning in a seaway.
I would just grind out the steel pipe till you get clean metal and grind out an area about 150mm wide in a strip down to the bilge in the flowcoat till you have exposed the fibreglass. I would then glue in an inverted U shape "Hat" same size as the original rib and "glass" it in with epoxy and cloth of your choice. The core could be plastic pipe or foam or cardboard or plywood. I would not use plywood personally as it would rot eventually if you get moisture inside the pipe again. Closed cell foam cut into strips and faired in with body filler and then shaped would be the easiest probably if you have some offcuts laying about. The strength is in the hat shaped rib not the core.

Spot on Ramona
Cardboard tube (marine grade of course ) glassed over with csm then a cap of unidirectional is the way to go

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Ramona said..
I should imagine your talking about a rib that passes down the hull from the chain plates to the keel. Probably only has the one rib with the steel encapsulated. This is quite common in that era production boat. The fibreglass thickness in an Endeavour 26 would be way thicker than necessary. There would be ribs glassed in to stop oil canning in a seaway.
I would just grind out the steel pipe till you get clean metal and grind out an area about 150mm wide in a strip down to the bilge in the flowcoat till you have exposed the fibreglass. I would then glue in an inverted U shape "Hat" same size as the original rib and "glass" it in with epoxy and cloth of your choice. The core could be plastic pipe or foam or cardboard or plywood. I would not use plywood personally as it would rot eventually if you get moisture inside the pipe again. Closed cell foam cut into strips and faired in with body filler and then shaped would be the easiest probably if you have some offcuts laying about. The strength is in the hat shaped rib not the core.

Sorry. I'm trying to understand this.
So I lay something like a 1/2 pipe where the rib was, then glass over it? The strength being in the glass not the pipe?

Ditto trying to understand it valo.....I need someone to draw me a picture.

valo where are you moored ?

Valentine

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valo said..


Sorry. I'm trying to understand this.
So I lay something like a 1/2 pipe where the rib was, then glass over it? The strength being in the glass not the pipe?

Yes. All the strength is in the hat shaped bit your laying up. Use epoxy though to ensure you get a good bond to the old 'glass. I would use woven cloth myself and just lay it on wet on wet till I got bored. You can use carbon fibre in the layup if you want as boty suggests and give it a clear coat for appearance sakes just to show your mates!

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Ramona said..

valo said..


Sorry. I'm trying to understand this.
So I lay something like a 1/2 pipe where the rib was, then glass over it? The strength being in the glass not the pipe?

Yes. All the strength is in the hat shaped bit your laying up. Use epoxy though to ensure you get a good bond to the old 'glass. I would use woven cloth myself and just lay it on wet on wet till I got bored. You can use carbon fibre in the layup if you want as boty suggests and give it a clear coat for appearance sakes just to show your mates!

Thanks Romana.
Got it now.
Carbon on a 47yr old bucket! Don't think so :-)

carbon isn't that expensive and just as easy to use as glass just twice as strong

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dialdan said..


Spot on Ramona
Cardboard tube (marine grade of course ) glassed over with csm then a cap of unidirectional is the way to go

Just don't use csm if your using epoxy.

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boty said..
carbon isn't that expensive and just as easy to use as glass just twice as strong

On an old boiler like mine. The Double Bias Mat will do just fine.

The carbon fibre I buy locally is twice as wide as the woven mat. This makes it only 3 times the price of mat. If your repairing a lightweight racing dinghy carbon fibre is the go, even if you use the 50/50 tape. Save all your offcuts of fibreglass mats/cloth etc and use them for jobs like this.
I saw somewhere locally in NSW someone is giving away an Endeavour 26 hull!

Actually the Endeavour hull is $300 on eBay.

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valo said..

boty said..
carbon isn't that expensive and just as easy to use as glass just twice as strong

On an old boiler like mine. The Double Bias Mat will do just fine.

those prices seem ridiculous we use cg composites in brisbane but i don't know who to use in sydney

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Ramona said..
Actually the Endeavour hull is $300 on eBay.

It's probably worse than mine.
Long way away too.