1968 bryant wood hull fiberglass top.

[flypaper2323]

I have a 19 foot bryant that has a mahogany plywood hull manufactured by Morris INC in Everett WA. Bryant bought a bunch of these hulls and put their fiberglass tops on them.

I am doing a mild restore. I will be repainting, putting in new decking, rewireing, and new deck hardware.

The owner before me fiberglassed the very bottom of the boat because he beached it alot.

Right now I have the decking pulled and am cutting new decking. Now that i have the decking up should I seal the plywood hull? I am sealing the decking with Interlux wood sealer. So if I seal the plywood hull will it effect its ability to breath? I am trying to figuer out if this is over kill, or if it will help or hurt the hull it self.

Thanks for your help.

[Tim McCrain]

Trapper,

I'll let someone more experienced with wood boats answer your question, just wanted to welcome you to the forum. We'd love to see some photos of your project when you have a chance to post some.

Tim

[flypaper2323]

I intend to. As soon as I take the big blue tarp off I will post some good pics so everyone gets a good idea of what it looks like. I have it so I can open one side of the tarp so I can get inside to work on the interior of the boat. I dont have access to covered parking for the boat yet so it may stay wrapped in the tarp for a few months.

[flypaper2323]

bryant

Um.... Has any of you ever even heard of a 1968 Bryant with a wood hull and fiberglass top? I am having a hard time finding any information about this boat so any help is good help.

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Your Bryant Cruiser

I'm going to guess, without seeing photos, that your Bryant was built earlier than 1968. (As you may know, it's common to find mistakes on the titles of old boats...especially the year.)

The Morris Brothers built a line of their own Morris boats at one time, and produced a lot of runabouts and small cruisers that bore the Bryant name. Most of the Morris-built Bryants we see were produced in the late 1950's, not the late '60's, which is why you may have an earlier model than the title suggests.

Interlux wood sealer wouldn't be a bad idea for any bare-wood surfaces, new or old, but it's probably more important to seal the new decking since it's otherwise a sponge for moisture. The old bottom planks are okay to seal as long as they're dry, but the biggest concern there is the fiberglass skin applied by the previous owner, in terms of its potential to trap water that eventually triggers rot in bottom framing or the bottom itself. (If the boat is going to spend 99% of its life sitting dry and protected on a trailer, you're fine with glass under the ply bottom, but if it's left out in the rain at some point, and freshwater is allowed to stand trapped in bilge areas, you could develop pockets of rot over a period of time. With old plywood boats, the first thing to go--usually--would be transom framing, followed by chines and bottom frames and/or stringers. If your frame members are okay throughout the boat, consider yourself lucky and carry on!)

Look forward to seeing photos, and welcome to the forum...

- Marty

[flypaper2323]

pics

Wow thanks Marty! So far I havn't been able to find any information about this boat. I would like to see how they had things set up inside so I can keep it as close to original as possible.

Yeah this boat is going to be trailered and under cover most of the time. I am not sure yet if i want to set it up for fishing but I will be cruising with the family as soon as I finish my restore.

I put three coats of the interlux sealer on the new decking and I plan on putting three coats of interprime followed by two or three coats of interlux's non-skid deck paint. I plan on doing the same to all the interior surfaces as the paint it falling off everywhere. There are two areas that are a little soft, so I plan on using a git rot type of epoxy resin and then a bilge coat to protect those soft spaces as well as traditional problem areas in the transom.

[flypaper2323]

Here are some more.

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Bryant Soft Spots

Can you please describe in more detail the few places that are soft...? (Are we talking about sections of plywood floor, or frames, or...?)

I'm asking because the Git-Rot approach may not solve any problems--just camoflage them for awhile. Generally, it's better to eliminate rot than temporarily disguise it with wonder products...but it all depends on what we're talking about (structural vs. cosmetic).

Photos of the rotted areas might help, too...

Great old Bryant--I've always loved them!

- Marty

[flypaper2323]

Sure thing Marty. I will take some more pics on tomorrow. Its not plywood but outer supports on either side of the boat midships. Sorry I dont know what you call them. Sounds like its not good though. I want to do this right so I am glad I have you guys as a sounding board.

Trapper

[Dave C]

Sure thing Marty. I will take some more pics on tomorrow. Its not plywood but outer supports on either side of the boat midships. Sorry I dont know what you call them. Sounds like its not good though. I want to do this right so I am glad I have you guys as a sounding board.

Trapper

Frames ?

[flypaper2323]

Well yeah they are part of the frame. I just dont know the name for that specific part.

The first two pictures are on the port side. 53 is the close up of the rot. It seems to be three inches long a quarter of an inch deep and wide.

The last three pictures (54, 55, 56) are of the starbaord side. It looks worse than it is. I took an ice pick to either side to see where exactly the rot is and the pick barely went in on this side.

I am on the fence about replacing these because they are what hold the sides of the hull to the bottom. Im not sure I am equiped to do this job. On the other hand if its worse than I think it could all fall apart in the middle of the sound.

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Surface Rot....

Sounds like the rot is only near the surface of what appear to be inner chine logs. I'd let the wood thoroughly dry out (if it isn't already), then maybe chisel away any of the softest patches of rot and apply 2-3 coats of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES), made by Smiths. If you can't find CPES, you can use System Three Clear Coat or even Git-Rot...although I have no direct experience with the latter product and am suspicious of all products that claim miracle cures.

CPES is watery-thin and gets deep into the cellular structure of the wood...but only if the wood is dry. It'll do a good job of sealing the wood, which will help prevent (or at least slow) the spread of rot.

From what you're describing, the rot hasn't become a structural issue--at least not yet. After sealing the wood I'd put everything back together, finish your paint work and enjoy the boat this coming season. After that, take another close look at the areas that are soft today and see if anything's changed. (Chances are you're making a good, early catch and the boat will be fine for at least a few or several years.)

- Marty

[flypaper2323]

Thanks again Marty. I did get some CPES from JamesTown Distributers a while back when I first noticed the rot. I will take your advice a chisel the soft wood away and soak the rest in smiths.

The "inner chine logs" look like they would be a pain to replace.

-Trapper

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Good to Go....

Sounds like a plan...and, yes, the chine logs would be a bear to replace without tearing the whole boat apart. (There are things you could do from the inside to buttress their strength, should rot creep farther into the chines, but let's not go there until--or unless--it's necessary.)

Hope to see your boat on the water this summer, perhaps at some of our club events? (You should become a member, too!)

- Marty

[mthuirer]

Here is picture of my Bryant Runabout that I have been working on. I also found a tag "Morris LLC" but really have not seen many Bryants around and or know anything about them. If you are interested you can see mine on following attachment

[ame="http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=410402"]Anyone Know on this one? - iboats Boating Forums[/ame]