Yes ray it is a 18' Rebel. As far as the stringers I guess it is the sportster model because when I ripped up the floor there are 2/3 Stringers that stop at the front of the engine. I did check them when I pulled the old floor and they look and feel solid. Im super stoked about this build. Thanks for the help.
I guess I didn't explain that very well. The Sportster and Rebel are two different models, that really only share the 18' length. Different bottoms, Sporster is more of a true bubble deck and the Rebel is more of a flat deck, for the most part.
The real difference is, the Rebels stringers start at the transom, about 4" high and end completely and abruptly right in front of the engine. Nothing but fiberglass from that point forward. It is a 1/4 stringer boat.
The Sportsters stringers are, for lack of a better description, technically a full stringer boat, but the stringers are full width, the 4" or so high from the transom to just in front of the engine where about 2/3's of the wood is cut away and they continue forward to the bulkhead. Not a full stringer in the purist sense, just there for some extra rigidity given the Sportsters shallow entry and low freeboard.
Not that any of that changes what you got to do or the ingerity of the boat! I don't think for all intents and purpose, one is better than the other. They're just different and handle differently for different purposes. Just trying to get an idea what you have is all. The floors in BOTH are glassed to the insides of the outer strakes in both cases. Don't screw the floor to the stringers if it is indeed a Sportster. That's asking for trouble.
Also, just an FYI, the Rebel came factory with a doghouse engine cover and TT logs/snails, where the Sportster came with open engine and either OT pipes or headers. Thw Sporster was only mae a few years, but starting right about '73 which your boat is.
I hope that was clearer.......maybe......somewhat......
Ray
