All fiberglass floor and stringers

Pontoon24

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I need to redo floors on 2 boats and would like to do away with any wood. Is there anything people use for stringers that is made of fiberglass or otherwise lightweight and rot proof?

Also to glass on top of stringers do they sell fiberglass in sheets like 4 X 8 that is already stiff with resin? I'm wondering if those shower panels would be usable. I'm thinking lay one panel down and attach to the stringers, then a layer of mat and resin and then finish with another panel set in the resin finished side up. That should make for a 1/4" to 3/8" thick floor that wont rot.

Any help is appreciated.
 

Beefer

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

These are prefab stringers (and other components) that are pre-glassed, very lightweght, won't rot, and are easy easy easy to work with. http://www.preforms.com/products.php They are very reasonably priced. I'm getting ready to order the planks to re-do the core of my coffin cover. My total cost including resin will be less then $100.
 

Pontoon24

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

Very good Mr. Beefer, how about the sheets?
 

oldman570

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

If there is a metal fab shop near, you can have them get 80ths. alummiun sheets and cut, bend them as angle for added support and add them as needed between stringers. Then use sheets of allummiun the same thickness poprivited for the deck. Cover with truck bed liner and it will last a very long time. The most you have to do is sand , clean,and sinc chromate the deck sheets before applying the bed liner. I use Duro Coat nonskid poly bed liner, deck coating, which is a poly rubber paint, and can be recoated anytime ware spots need. It takes a little work but the extra cost will be alot less than other work down the road. You will have a totally rust and rot proof deck that will last for years. The deck will need to be of 1/8" or thicker depending on stringer placement. If you want carpeting just glue it down. You will also be lighter weight than anything else.
Best of Luck,

Oldman 570
 
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zopperman

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

coosa board. 4x8 panels
 

zopperman

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

Holy C-notes batman! That stuff's expensive!

Probably cheaper than making a 4x8x1-1/2 solid 'glass board of 24 layers of 1708 and CSM... ;)
Still crazy $$, I'll stick with plywood.
 

Tahorover

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Mar 7, 2011
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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

I need to redo floors on 2 boats and would like to do away with any wood. Is there anything people use for stringers that is made of fiberglass or otherwise lightweight and rot proof?

Also to glass on top of stringers do they sell fiberglass in sheets like 4 X 8 that is already stiff with resin? I'm wondering if those shower panels would be usable. I'm thinking lay one panel down and attach to the stringers, then a layer of mat and resin and then finish with another panel set in the resin finished side up. That should make for a 1/4" to 3/8" thick floor that wont rot.
Any help is appreciated.


Sheet FRP:http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Fi...Pultruded-Fiberglass-Profile-500SHT-250X48X96
 

ondarvr

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

There are many options for a wood free rebuild, most of the options are rather pricy though.

For stringers you can just make them hollow, make a shape from cardboard and glass over it in place, or make them on a cheap wood mold and set them in place, then glass over it.

For the floor there are several honeycomb panel suppliers, or the products like Coosa, which needs to be glassed, they all cost a great deal more than plywood though.

If you plan to own the boat for a very long time (20+ years) it may pay to use one of these products, short term it won't a difference which product is used if rot is your concern.

Glass sheets can be purchased, but a laminate will weight about one lb per 1/8" per square foot. So the panel linked above would weight around 50 lbs.
 

sasto

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

Build the grid out of styrofoam and hot glue them together. Lay-up your glass over the foam. Remove the styrofoam. You can cut it out fairly easy. (Don't tell OSHA, 'cause we removed all the foam with gasoline, just melts it away) Tab the grid in place.

We made many one-off parts using this method in building boat and airplane parts.

Good Luck!
 

marioc

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

Build the grid out of styrofoam and hot glue them together. Lay-up your glass over the foam. Remove the styrofoam. You can cut it out fairly easy. (Don't tell OSHA, 'cause we removed all the foam with gasoline, just melts it away) Tab the grid in place.

We made many one-off parts using this method in building boat and airplane parts.

Good Luck!

Very clever... will have to give this method a shot for my floor re-build!!!
 

sasto

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

Very clever... will have to give this method a shot for my floor re-build!!!

HMMMMM. Never made sole (floor) with this method....yet. Maybe a sheet of waxed Formica would be sufficient. Lay-up your glass on the Mica...release the Mica. You can make hollow ribs to be glassed underside....between stringers and bulkheads if necessary... for support and strength using the foam.

Nidacore a.k.a honeycomb

Yup, I Mike, Nidacore makes a very good honeycomb. We were trying out a cheaper core made by a company I thought was called Wes-core. I Googled awhile back and can't find them. I may have the name wrong, but I tried different versions

Buenos Dias, Amigo Mia!
 

Pontoon24

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

Thanks everyone, you are a wealth of information.

What I'm getting is that the least expensive way would be to get fiberglass and resin. form my own stringers using foam or cardboard then make my own panels, maybe 2' X the width of the sole using mat & resin, place the panels on the stringers and cover with additional mat or cloth to the desired strength/ thickness.

Oh, and by the way I'm not looking for a gelcoat type finish, a rough texture would be preferred.

Sound like a plan?
 

zopperman

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

how about gelcoat+sand?
 

ondarvr

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

I wouldn't use panels for the floor unless they are cored with foam or something, To make them stiff enough with out a core requires them to be rather heavy and costly. It's easy to do with foam sheets, then you don't need a bunch of extra supports under it either.
 

Me1stBoat

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

I wouldn't use panels for the floor unless they are cored with foam or something, To make them stiff enough with out a core requires them to be rather heavy and costly. It's easy to do with foam sheets, then you don't need a bunch of extra supports under it either.

Could i rough fit the floor with say the closed cell house insulation sheets then coat them in glass for a floor?? I think thats what you were saying but wanted to make sure. I have my boat gutted right now, almost ready to start grinding but always on the lookout for ideas to take wood out of the equation!!

Like i'm replacing my transom as well while i'm there, gonna pour it back in seacast!! NO WOOD if i can help it.

To the op, there's a thread on here where the guy used durabak on the whole floor, turned out awesome!!

Good luck!!
 

ondarvr

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

Could i rough fit the floor with say the closed cell house insulation sheets then coat them in glass for a floor?? I think thats what you were saying but wanted to make sure. I have my boat gutted right now, almost ready to start grinding but always on the lookout for ideas to take wood out of the equation!!

Like i'm replacing my transom as well while i'm there, gonna pour it back in seacast!! NO WOOD if i can help it.

To the op, there's a thread on here where the guy used durabak on the whole floor, turned out awesome!!

Good luck!!

Not really, the panels need to be pre-made, set in place and then tabbed in, the foam is a core, it needs glass on both sides for it to work. Most types of foam will disolve in polyester resin, so unless you use epoxy, you either need to buy the correct foam core designed to be used with polyester resin, or buy a special resin for use with EPS or other types of foam.
 

V153

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

Tuff Stuff & biax. And/or Coosa Board, Plascore, etc.
 

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Beefer

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Re: All fiberglass floor and stringers

While coosa and nidacore a great products, they are expensive, and, you still need to buy all the glass for them. The Compsys Prima preforms require only resin, as they are pre-glassed. This stuff also can be cut & shaped with a steak knife.

Here is a little video I made to show you what the stuff looks like, how it is installed, and a little more. Bear with me, as it's my first ever internet video, and my 11 year old daughter was the camera person. Be sure to catch the cameo by my kitten. :)

 
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