1966 22.2 Rebuild questions

[Mad Dog]

Brien,  Check the rebuild galleries.  Most of us have documented the enhancements we added.  Most improvements though centered on towers and livewells.

MD  

[compcrasher86]

I have seen a lot of cool ideas, like rod racks underneath the deck with hatches and under-deck livewells, etc. All are very good ideas to put in when you are rebuilding if your a die-hard fishing guy. You could also consider adding a wash down system so you can spray down the deck/fish when things get messy. Also consider integrating a filet board on deck so you can get them cleaned up and ready before you even get in. and obviously a cooler is a must if you plan on fileting your fish on board.

[Bhard]

'66 Stringers; layout HELP.

We pulled the floor yesterday and are in the process of taking the transom out (pictures to follow).  The stringers appear to be original and without close inspection appear to be in surprisingly good shape.  (The last owner replaced the floor and added some cross stringers, but did not remove the original stringers). I was very surprised to find that the stringer configuration is very different from those posted for other older flatbacks; e.g. it has one very tall stringer down the very center of the hull, with two shorter ones running down each side.

It's, at this point, a little difficult to see how the cross stringers were configured (they appear to be more random then specifically spaced), and we're trying to figure out which cross stringers were added verses original.  I'm still hopeful that some out there has information on the how the stringers are configured in a 1966 Flatback.  Anyone?

[RickK]

Is it imperative that it goes back in exactly like original?  I think the old FBs had the fuel tank above the sole under the console.  If you've got the sole out and are going to redo the stringers, you can plan the tank below the sole, freeing up a bunch of room in the console for batteries, etc.  You can shift the console a little farther forward to compensate for the new heavier engines too.
There are many topics in the rebuild forum about restorations that show making stringers out of wood (in trapazoid form or straight up) through using the new composites to do the same.

[Bhard]

Yes, the '66 had the tanks under the console.  We're considering putting the new tank under the floor ...  I'm just surprised that I haven't been able to get anything on the original boat (aside from the one article posted on this site).  The stringers are so different then even the '69 version.  I planned on posting pictures, but the gallery doesn't appear to be working.

[RickK]

You have to use photobucket to host your pix and then you copy the IMG Code and paste it into your topic here and the pix show up.  Look at the LAST post in this topic to see how to post pix from photobucket - piece of cake.

[Bhard]

Photo's of project, thus far.  As you see the center stringer is much taller than the other stringers.  It had small cross stringers that sat on top of the smaller stringers, running from the center to the sides; they all came out with the demolition.

[RickK]

Now we see what you're talking about  
"Diver" boats are pretty rare - only know of one or 2 others on this board.

[GoneFission]

Wow - there is not much support there!  I bet that boat was very flexible over waves.  I can see why Coburn went to the bigger stringers on later models, and think you will want a lot more struture under the deck with the rebuild.  Early fiberglass boats had heavy hulls and not much else for structure; modern boats tie all the parts together into a much stronger matrix.  A mix of stringers and bulkheads tied together with decking connected at the top makes a very strong structure.  

You've got a early and rare model there - good luck with the rebuild!

[RickK]

I think, because the sole is so low in the boat, that I would consider building a jig for making trapzoid stringers, glass them in and then fill them with foam.  There are a couple example rebuilds here that show those type and I remember one member building a mold to make them.  Have to do a search.

[Bhard]

20 years ago it was fairly firm in the water, however when the floor degraded it definitely became "flexible" in the waves.  We've looked through through the website and researched the various ways to do the stringers....now it's just decision time.

[RickK]

I think Aquasport went with the trapazoid for a reason - lighter, a place to attach the sole and more contact area to tie in with.  Plus the foam added stability and strength.  Something to think about.
BTW - seems a lot of our "history" - anything past a year - is not available in the searches. I've alerted IT and I'd wait until we get this back before you make your final decision.

[LilRichard]

I have seen that setup before, one of the boats at Hammerhead was like that.  You NEED to build additional stringers.  Leave what you have there, and add two new longitudinal stringers the full length of the hull.  The originals are not enough.  See pics here:

http://hammerheadlivewell.com/flatback-fishing-boat.htm



That is your exact configuration, and how to build additional support.  I would build foam stringers just like he did (and I did).  The trapezoidal ones are fine, but these are easy and plenty strong.

[Bhard]

Thanks LilRichard.  I've checked the hammerhead website and reached out to them to see if they can send any more photo's of the stringer rebuilds.

Hey, could you weigh in on my fuel tank question in the next post?  I obviously can't start the stringer work until I decide what to do about the gas tank!!!

[LilRichard]

They rebuilt their stringers the same way I did mine (because I went and looked at theirs).  Take a look at my '71 rebuild, they are almost identical.  I'll check out your other post now...