I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

[handymanac]

I was recently given a '73 Glastron v156 from a "friend". The seats were completely rotted, the gelcoat has small cracks in it, the carpet was long gone, and the floor was not only rotten but had a small oak tree growing out of it! I've discarded the seats, carpet, and floor. I'm going to use the urethane foam and cover it with treated ply. I was thinking of coating the plywood with an elastomeric coating (normally reserved for RV roofs) and then fiberglassing it in. Now to the question... How do you apply the resin? Do you roll it on?, do you brush it on?, please help this rookie before my family totally loses face.<br />P.S. Any tips on restoration from this point foward would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rml]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

Getting a rotten boat from someone is like getting the flu from someone - not really a "gift". Actually, if you like the boat and plan on keeping it and have the budget to undertake the project, it can be a lot of fun - granted hard work, but fun. From your brief description it sounds like you have a lot of redundancy with the treated ply, elastomeric coating, then encapsulating in 'glass. I would suggest reading up in this forum on floor replacement and you'll probably soon find that resin (epoxy) coated A-B exterior doug fir covered in 'glass mat is good. Where you are doing the whole deck, you would be likely be rolling it on, the consistency of the resin would be akin to ketchup...cheap ketchup, not that thick expensive kind It rolls good with a foam roller. Get ready for lots of reading, there's a lot of info here and the more you know, the less of rookie you will be. Search and read, search and read, search and read. And just when you think that you're done....search and read some more. Good luck and have fun.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />rml

 

[timbo1963]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

Originally posted by handymanac:<br /> I was recently given a '73 Glastron v156 from a "friend". The seats were completely rotted, the gelcoat has small cracks in it, the carpet was long gone, and the floor was not only rotten but had a small oak tree growing out of it! I've discarded the seats, carpet, and floor. <br />

But what will you do with the oak tree?? <br /><br />I thought it sounded like you might need some humor.

 

[Bass Runner]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

I would use Douglas fir plywood and resin and glass mat, it works great. and is strong, I don't think i would mess with the roof coating unless you want to coat the topside with it after the resin cures for a floor coating, be sure to check the transom and stringers they are more than likely gone too. Take the top off by drilling all the rivits out of the rub rail and brace the hull so it won't deform while you are working on the floor, otherwise you will have hell getting the top back on.

 

[quantumleap]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

I would skip the roof coating as you may have problems with it bonding. If done properly, a glassed in floor will outlast the rest of the boat that age.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

I would skip the roofing stuff. You won't get an adequate bond to it. If the wood is thoroughly covered and soaked in resin (be it epoxy or poly-epoxy is best, poly works fine) and evreything is glassed together properly as well as a good drainage plan in place it will be fine. Once completed, there are a number of ideal products you can coat the floor with, ranging from Durabak truck bed liner to marine specific floor coatings that all hold up very well. I can never emphasize it enough, once you are done keep the thing covered. A cheap Wal-mart boat cover will do you more good than a bunch of wild coating techniques and products not intended for the purpose. Good luck with it and post some pics....

 

[handymanac]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

Thank all ya'll for the great info. I will be skipping the roofing stuff. <br />Now on to questions... <br /> 2 part foam - any tips/hints?<br /> Poly resin - HOW DO I APPLY IT?<br /> Will poly resin damage the 2-part foam when applying the floor?<br /> Painting over gelcoat?<br /><br />Amazingly enough the transom is in very good shape .<br />I'm far from being done with ya'll (think I'll hang out with you guys, ya'll seem pretty cool). please don't leave me now!!!

 

[handymanac]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

Sorry, just noticed something else. JasonJ brought up the subject of having a good drainage plan . Keep the help coming.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Handyman

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

Basically make sure that nay water that gets on or under the floor in the front of the boat can easily drain out to the back of the boat. <br /><br />

 

[CTD]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

Do foaming when it is warm 75-85 for best expansion, don't put too much in a closed space. I did mine in a series of small pours. Poly and epoxy won't hurt it. The resin you can brush or roll, I use a brush, the cheep throwaway kind, use less hardener than the can says if the weather is at all warm, you can adjust the cure to suit your speed to a certin extent. Use the kind that stays tacky until your ready to sand or the last coat.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

i just gave a 73 glasstron to a "freind" with the same problems as you describe, exactly and it was even the same model.....you didnt say where you are from, but was it me? where are you?

 

[JasonJ]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

When I layed my glass, I applied the poly liberally to the wood, layed the mat/cloth/roving/whatever, then applied more liberally. I made sure the wood wasn't going to suck too much of the resin out of the fabric. I used throwaway brushes but I have seen small paint rollers used. Make sure you have proper fiberglassing rollers. They look like a long stack of dimes, with grooves between each element. You roll out the saturated material with these glassing rollers to fully work the resin into the fabric and to force air bubbles out. I used a 6 inch one for large areas and a small 1 inch one for tight places. Good luck...

 

[handymanac]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

Thanks again for all ya'll and your advice. I woudn't be this far along without ya'll. I'll keep updating as things progress.<br /><br />Any helpful hints on seats. Buying new, upolstering home made, etc.?<br /><br />How about using automotive paint over gelcoat?<br /><br />Any tips to avoid problems further along in the process?

 

[JasonJ]

Re: I'm sinking fast. HELP!!

Before I decided to convert my rig to a center console, my original plan was just refurbishing it. I was going to re-upholster the seats and decided it would be easier to just buy a set of back-to-backs that lay out flat. I think the set I was going to get was around $300 with shipping or something like that.<br /><br />I would use a marine specific paint if you are going to paint the boat. Most of them can be brushed, rolled, or sprayed, and give excellent results. Auto paint should stay on autos, my opinion....