New Project - 1978 Terry Sun-Sport

[Moneytalks1515]

Well couple places one sounds ridiculous but he had good reasoning. 1st he says that fiberglass itself is not water proof only resistant and can soak through over time. And the second being it can over time seep through the hull. And condensation being a third

 

[alldodge]

Well couple places one sounds ridiculous but he had good reasoning. 1st he says that fiberglass itself is not water proof only resistant and can soak through over time. And the second being it can over time seep through the hull. And condensation being a third

Your guy sounds like a rocket scientist, but to me he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Condensation happens when moist air is in an air pocket and the temp changes in one surface to another. If the air pocket is full of foam and sealed, don't see how there can be any condensation. On the outside but not in a confined seal compartment

Water can and does penetrate gelcoat, but what happens first is water gets under the gelcoat and separates the gelcoat from the fiberglass. When this happens blisters show up. This also only happens if you leave the boat in the water for long periods of time, were talking months, some take years. The way to fix this is bottom paint. Also just cause the water penetrates the gelcoat, this does not put the water inside the boat. the water has to work it's way thru the glass, into the wood and then out the other side.

 

[Moneytalks1515]

Awesome thank you that's what i wanted to confirm. The guy is very reputable around here and been working on boats for 30 years and almost always has very good information this one just kind of threw me for a loop and didn't really make sense so I didn't want to blindly follow his advice right away

 

[Woodonglass]

Hmmm, Fiberglass is NOT waterproof? I wonder why all those boats that have been sitting in those marinas for Years on end haven't SUNK!!!! Gelcoat is somewhat porous and I guess Polyester resin is too somewhat. However, it would take decades for them to absorb even a minimum amount of water. If you do a good job of glassing your stringers, transom and deck and them maintain them all properly you WON'T be getting any water under your deck barring a breach in the hull. If you see him again, Ask him to tell you specifically how water can get into a totally sealed deck? I'd be interested in his answer. Don't settle for a Generic answer. Make him give you a specific example of how it could occur. It is true that condensation will occur since it's impossible for the foam to fill every nook and cranny under the deck. However the amount of this condensation will NOT saturate the foam and will not build up to the extent that it would ever need to be drained.