I have been through the entire process recently and I can tell you that
everything said is right on the money. I would only add that you should
thoroughly check the transom. My keel/stringers/cross braces and deck
were totally wiped out mush and I had to completely re-engineer them. I
used CLEAR, DRY Alaskan Yellow Cedar (very resistant to mold/mildew)
and encapsulated it in epoxy I bought from US Composites (I agree it's
the best bang for the buck epoxy and worked out great for me.)

Don't forget about flotation foam! You will need closed cell foam in
between the stringers/keel - enough to satisfy Coast Guard regulations
regarding fixed hull flotation. You can buy 2-part expanding foam from
US Composites as well. It's pretty easy to do.

Keep in mind that epoxy CURES in about a week. You want to lay up epoxy
layers PRIOR to full cure [if you can] for better chemical adhesion.

I soaked _every_ piece of wood in thin epoxy (2 coats) and then placed
it in it's place in the boat. Every screw hole (where I used SS screws
to screw the keel/stringers/cross braces together) was also sealed with
epoxy. I also used epoxy to glue all the wood together. Maybe that's a
"belt & suspenders" approach, but it worked for me.

After screwing/gluing, then I wrapped everything in fiberglass
roving/mat tying everything down to the floor of the hull and to each
other. In order to do this, I used a staple gun to staple the mat to
the wood nice and tight. You could also use thumb tacks but whatever
you use, take your time to lay out the fiberglass mat is as large of
pieces as you can and there shouldn't be any air pockets. You may need
to do this in several sessions - don't try to do it in one fell swoop.

I mixed my epoxy up one small plastic cup (8 oz) at a time... that goes
a long way and if you mix too much up at a time, it will create too
much heat and start catalyzing before you use it. Buy a bag of cheap,
throw away brushes and some paint rollers (I bought the skinny foam
kind designed for painting behind the toilet) that you can toss. Use
the rollers to smooth out the epoxy, also when applying it to the
decking later.

I hope this helps.

Jeff
Bill wrote:
WOW - Great reply, thanks very much!

I was afraid of that - we're going to do as you suggested, we'll use
cribbing to bring the hull to a shape that appears close to the proper
shape.

We checked the transom with a screwdriver from the inside by poking. We
also removed a couple of bolts and looked in there and all seems well.
The motor seems VERY sturdy on the transom - can this be deceptive?

Thanks again,

Bill