bertram31.com

Hey Guys,

Gas engines are out!

What is the most efficient way to get the old wooden sisters off the stringers? I’ve been wrestling with the bolts and have them removed. However, I seem to have epoxy bedding where the sister rests on the stringer. I am going to try my Fein multimaster to cut into the epoxy and free the sister from the stringer, but thought I would ask you guys first.

Thanks in advance.

JohnV8r

Well, I used sledge hammers, crow bars, grinders with cut off wheels and a sawsall. This is not easy work.

John,
I've had them where you remove the sister bolts and front and rear brackets and they fall off.

I've had other ones where pry bars, wedges and hammers were needed.

Nice thing about old polyester or epoxy used as glue, it's pretty brittle after all this time. Mostly.

Thanks Guys!

Unfortunately, my sisters are not falling off on their own. Here is what the joint between the stringer and the wooden sister - looks like cabosil to me.



Sledgehammer, Sawzall, my grinder and some wedges are going with me Saturday.

I'll tell you one thing, the amount of sediment and debris pinned against the stringers under the engines that I could not get to previously was unbelievable. I took a scraper and shoveled it out by hand before attempting to clean it up with Tide, Dawn, and water. Here's a shot just after the engines came out, but before I removed all the other stuff like the blowers, anti-freeze overflows, and holding tank.



I'll take more pictures when I'm back down on Saturday. There are some things I'd like to modify. I have always had an issue with water accumulating above the outboard stringers at rest. Not sure if it's a big deal to modify the stringers so there are better draining limber holes, but I would prefer to do that if it's not a problem.

Can't wait to get after this...

You can try an "oscillating" saw. Dewalt and other cordless brands are avail at Home Depot or Lowes. If you dont have one GET ONE. They come in 20volt and add a bigger battery. Uses the batteries as my drills and impact guns

They work great on all kinds of materials and you have pretty decent control on what and where the cuts are cutting. You can def cut your sisters off with one.

I would not try and cut the epoxy (or cabosil) directly where it rests on the stringer but maybe take 3/4 or more of it down and then evaluate and cut more closely

Thanks Frank. I have a Fein Multimaster and will use that if necessary. My grinder with a cutoff wheel works in situations like that more quickly - especially when it's something I'm not trying to save. The trade off is it's way more messy. I'll probably try the Multimaster first and then see. My bigger concern was the likely bond between the side of the stringer and the wooden sister since there is cabosil in that gap. However, after Bruce's feedback I'll whack it with a sledge hammer a couple of times and see if pops it off. If not, I'll use some wedges and drive them down until it pops.

Sawzall
Grinder


You'll be cleaning for a bit anyway, so just get it done, then clean.

Looking at your photos, I'd suggest getting the wires pulled back and tanks removed. You will need a clear space to work.

Hi Rick,

That was already done. The photo was literally just after the engines were pulled. I’ll get some more photos up tomorrow or Sunday. Today I learned my sawzall is my best friend.

Thanks,

JohnV8r

John I used pry bars, wedges,chisels,saws all,hammers and a grinder. Cut head of bolts off and drive them out with a drift pin. Somewhere Capt Pat put in a post that wood chisel took off excess epoxy of thickened resin and it did work well. Wear safety glasses or a shield it is like shrapnel flying.

Hey Guys,

Here's a quick update. I did use everything in the book to get the beds out; wedges, Multimaster, grinder w/cutoff wheel, sledgehammer, and a lot of Sawzall. My engine bed removal was impacted by these rusted bolts/nuts on the outboard side of the stringers:



What I finally decided to do was cut off the top of the old wooden sisters to about an inch above the stringers like this:



That got a lot of the mass out of the way. Then I used the Sawzall to cut at an angle so I could knock out the remaining pieces with the sledgehammer. That left me with these triangles around the rusted bolts:



I then used a heavy metal cutting blade on the Sawzall to cut those from the top down, which cut the bolt head off. I used my Fein Multimaster to cut the remaining wood off around the bolt and then the sledge hammer to drive the bolts out the outboard side so I could pull them out. It took some impact to get the bolts out, but they eventually came out.

I'm sore, but the beds are down to the stringers.

Thanks for all the feedback and recommendations!

JohnV8r

We spin the good side with a pneumatic impact, usually snaps them off. Then bang them out.
Recently out of 6 out of 8 on 2 different 31s took a lot of work, the other 2 came out in about an hour and a half

Amazing how that wood still looks good after so many years. It may be as I'm used to seeing rotted wood and ply in "new" boats in those areas.

Yes, I know our boats have issues with bulkheads and cockpit uprights rotting after 30-40 years.



The Jobs done and everyone has said how they got their bolts out...I feel compelled to share as well.



Carl: Hi, I'm Carl. I had stuck Bolts too.

Everyone: "Hi Carl"

Carl: I tried to rotate with a big wrench, then used a cutoff wheel on 4" grinder cutting head off. After that, a punch was used to push bolt through.



...i feel better now having shared.