seat box ply waterproofing

[johnzonh]

hi guys, I have a marathon runabout that eventually will need a new ply floor / glass / foaming but that is a project i wont have time or money for until next season...for now..this season I am reburbishing vinyl seat, replacing plywood seat boxes (back to back seats) and replacing various bits of rotten ply. Until I get to the floor next year, I want to keep any soaking from the soft floor to get up into the seat boxes and other ply parts I am replacing that contact the floor. In other words... I am looking for solid end grain seal. That's about it until I get to the floor.

I am keeping the carpeting for the seat boxes...for now it is in good shape. When I pull the floor next year I will probably replace it to match the new flooring. Now I have heard everything under the sun for protecting the wood from epoxy, to latex paint, to polyester / acetone mix, to you name it. I am really not interested in spending a lot just to keep the wood dry for 3 months , since I will just pull the seats up off the floor again before next winter. What do you suggest?

 

[gm280]

Okay, I read your situation and have an opinion. But mind you this is only MY opinion! I would wait until you can do everything at the same time. Reason? Because make shift seat work is asking for problems. I'd wait until you make your decision to do the entire project at one time and save the time and money trying to do seats now and floor later on. But that is just my opinion. If you presently have rotted floor that you know for certain, you probably also have rotted stringers and transom therefore making the boat suspect to keep boating with it in compromising condition. And you are also carrying around much water weight from the rotted wood and foam for flotation that is not doing the job anymore! I am equally sure others will chime in here shortly with their recommendations....

 

[robert graham]

Slap a couple of coats of polyurethane on it......

 

[johnzonh]

I would like to clarify that the rotten area is probably no bigger than a 1 x 1 area that resulted from pooling ice from a year ago... I rebuilt the engine, redid all the wiring, now working on the transom and lower unit., and the area in question is surrounding the ski locker.. So until I get to the floor, and just to keep on topic... looking for ways to keep the seat wood sealed for now. Even if I have a solid floor I still am just looking for ways to keep the wood contacting the floor protected so any water will not do a capillary action and soak up any thing for now.

 

[jbcurt00]

I would like to clarify that the rotten area is probably no bigger than a 1 x 1 area that resulted from pooling ice from a year ago... I rebuilt the engine, redid all the wiring, now working on the transom and lower unit., and the area in question is surrounding the ski locker.. So until I get to the floor, and just to keep on topic.....

What are you doing to the transom?

Epoxy will seal the end grain

If you havent pulled it apart, you really dont know whats going on below decks, IMO.

There are more examples of small areas turning out to be much more involved then the owner thought then there are small areas that ARE JUST a small affected area.

 

[Woodonglass]

Here's an inexpensive "Home Brew" wood sealer, but...as others have stated, I'm about 99.99999% certain you have a lot more issues to be concerned with than just sealing your seat bases. Your boat may NOT be in seaworthy condition. Have you done a Transom Flex Check? That's the FIRST thing I'd HIGHLY recommend.



Since there won't be a lot of UV exposure you can use the cheaper plain Polyurethane and not the Marine Varnish and you DON'T have you use Yacht Varnish or the same product brands illustrated. Any BLO, MS, and Marine Varnish will be OK and like I said if it's not gunna be exposed to the sun Plain Polyurethane will be fine!!!! Adjust your volumes according to the amount needed. Cups instead of Quarts will yield a Quart of sealer.

 

[johnzonh]

thank you for the input. that is all I needed for now. As for not being in seaworthy condition... well that is just a bridge I will cross when I get to it. it has been well maintained for the last 20 years and run every year. I will post my findings in the spring.