1984 Regal 190 Empress XL- Fiberglass boat constuction - moisture question

[luger9mm]

Hello:

I have the above boat, and it has a number of open screw holes, and cracking / spider webbing on the deck. So much in fact that it will need either stripped of gel coat and painted or have a new layer of fiberglass installed on top of the deck.

However, before doing any of that, I need to somehow figure out if there is any moisture trapped in the boat at all. I have read about everything from drilling holes to moisture meter methods.

What I can not seem to uncover in my research, is the exact construction of this boat, and if I really need to be worried about the moisture being trapped in side the hull/ under the deck in the first place. It is my understanding that some boats of this era were almost if not totally fiberglass, therefore there is nothing to rot or that can saturate. Additionally, how would I know if the boat was built in such a way that the interior of the hull, as well as the deck all drain to the bilge area? If that was the case, then I probably do not have a saturation issue, correct? My attempt to contact the original manufacturer did not yield me any specific useful information.

I guess a good starting point is my asking for the input of some veteran boat restorers/ repair folks as to what the actual construction of this boat is or is not.

Any and all advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

Chris.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1984 Regal 190 Empress XL- Fiberglass boat constuction - moisture question

Ok, your boat may or may not have engineered fiberglass stringers without any wood in them... but more than likely they're wood laminated with fiberglass and epoxy resin.

Your boat will have expanding urethane foam below deck for both floatation foam and deck and hull support.

Your decking is somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4" marine plywood laminated with fiberglass cloth and polyester resin.


It sounds like your plywood decking is rotting/rotten because of water intrusion, this may also mean your floatation foam is saturated, and your stringers could be rotten if they're made out of wood.

Fiberglass boats of that era are all pretty much made the same way so the manufacturers could stay competitive.

Take a visit to the restoration forum and have a look at some of the projects going on in there to give you an idea as to what will need to be done to your boat to make it nice and new again:
Boat Restoration, Building, and Hull Repair