Not sure what happened with the other two topics being started? Don't know if I did something wrong of if it was just an error. I have read pretty extensively the last few weeks through multiple tri hull restorations (My wife keeps giving me the evil eye through my 2-3 hour evening reads after the girls have been put to bed). The biggest thing I am running into is whether to epoxy or glass and resin the new deck. I plan on just using a good exterior grade plywood for the new flooring (it seems a universal thought on here that marine grade is a waste of money and treated ply tends to be "wet" and not allow proper adherence of a top coat), but I am torn between fully wrapping the ply in resin and chopped strand or simply just coating the underside of the ply with several coats of something like Thompson's Watershield to make sure that any water that comes into contact with the bottom just drips off and drains and then top coating the ply with epoxy. I have read a lot of threads using both ways with the topcoat (epoxy or resin/chopped strand) but haven't seen any good posts on the pros/cons between the two. The transom feels solid as all get out, but I plan on doing some good core samples on that and the stringers as soon as I get the old floor off. From what i see of the original ply, it looks almost like they just put OSB down and laid carpet on top. I am hoping to find good things underneath, but ready to deal with the worst. The boat was never kept in the water for extended periods to my knowledge and was always kept plug open with heavy tilt on the trailer when out of the water. There are two holes in the hull (Ill add those pictures) from when the floor gave out and the lags from the drivers seat went through. Other than that the exterior visible structure looks really good. The two holes are between 1/4" and 3/8" wide. From everything I've read, I think it will be fine with just chamfering out interior and exterior, cleaning the area, and filling with Marine Tex. Hoping to get the holes fixed and a new floor on (plus any structural fixes with the stringers and transom if necessary) this season and then just put a little $ into it each off season. Going to try a two stage sanding (320 grit, then 1000 grit) to clear the heavy oxidization of the original gel coat. The boat was waxed shortly before it was set up so we shall see... The motor is an absolute gem! Cleanest motor of that age I have seen in a while. Had the cover off but did not get any additional photos. Some cobwebs and a few hornets/hornet nests, but the lines (electrical and gas) are still in great condition with no weather cracking. My buddy ran it dry before it was laid up and heavily fogged the cylinders. A lot of patch work that needs to be done throughout the boat as well as evidenced by the original photos. Obviously, my first steps once i get the boat here are going to be gutting and repairing the holes in the bottom. That is going to be interesting this time of year in Michigan. I have a 14' deep by 16' wide garage with a wood stove that I put in a few years ago so I am planning on backing it in to a workable depth and then tarping off the front area. Between the wood stove and a temp controlled ceramic heater, I am hoping to do the hull patch fairly quickly. I can keep the garage at about 80 degrees with the wood stove cranking. I wish there were more threads with my particular boat type and more photos, but I am not complaining by any means. This site is a treasure trove of information. May be a couple weeks depending on weather until I get the boat here and get started, but I will post details and photos once I start. As stated before I am open to all help and suggestions. They don't have to be constructive either
I've got thick skin and I'm a newbie to boat restoration. I've got a decent amount of framing, electrical, and fiberglass/epoxy experience so it should be a lot of fun (knock on wood). I found this thread the other day for a sweet fishing deck for a tri hull and am thinking about doing it in a modified manner that would allow it to be pulled in and out to kind of morph the boat between fishing boat and family run around. Thoughts?
http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/topi...n-project-for-older-tri-hull-fiberglass-boat/
Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice you guys have to offer.
