Yea, I think underside coating is a key to longevity. The manufacturers don't do it and it leads to absorption of moisture in places that cannot be seen.
^^^^^yep, my entire deck was glassed on both sides, none of it needs to be replaced, I can even put the access cutouts I made back in...the 2 shelves in the engine bay were the only area not glassed underneath, they needed replacement....condensation I assume.
Been following along Mark, youre doing a great job
Zool, tpenfield, Kc, arch & LA, thanks for hanging in there and keeping me going. I am getting so tired of fiberglass itch and should be tired of resin stink but I cant even smell the stuff anymore. I have gone through 35 gallons so far. I think the neighbor is sneaking over at night and dumping it because he is so tired of the smell . Just kidding I am lucky he enjoys DIY projects also because my boat is parked along his privacy fence not 10' from his nice in ground pool and grill. I am hoping this will be my last 5 gallons.
Pictures of the deck being covered. Here I am precutting the CSM for the deck. About 7 feet wide by 50" on 2 pieces and the other 3 towards the back are about 20" by 50".
After putting a few liters of resin down and looking good. I just need to knock down any bad spots than cover with a layer of 1708.
Quick question. Why CSM and then 1708? Just wondering.
--What is the point of CSM; sealing deck and lower cost materials?
--Then 1708, final coat for strength, What about the texture it leaves how are you going to finish the deck off? And is that the texture you want IE anti slip.
I put CSM down to seal it and make sure the deck is flat. My father in law also gave me 100lb roll of CSM after I had already gotten 50yards of it so I have a ton of CSM I will never use. I wanted the strength of the 1708 on the deck I also and I like the texture of it. If I find it to be to rough and can cover with a layer of CSM. I want a good durable deck because I tend to abuse things, never was good at babying anything. At the police department they have me test and evaluate new items for durability. The joke that they could put me in a room for 5 minutes with a feather and anvil and when they return the anvil will be destroyed
I am playing on painting the deck with bilgekote since I have 2 more gallons of the stuff. Then I bought some interlocking plastic like floor covering that Wood suggested. Once I got them I really like them and they should work well.
Hi Mark, stumbled on to your thread last week and have the spent the last couple of day getting up to date. What a cool boat you have and with the family history makes it even cooler. Great work so farm with permission I am going come aboard. Look forward to seeing those engines come together as the project moves along. Hope to finally get some good weather up in NJ to start back up on my project. Mike
Mr300, Jump on in I have a almost finished deck you can stand on now. Finished what I could on the 1708, I ran out. Two big pieces down covering the deck all the way back to the dog house. Need less then 2 yards to finish.
Pictures of the 1708 on the deck. First piece.
Second Piece halfway done.
Ran out of 1708 with just a couple of yards left to do.
I put down CSM first because I wanted to smooth out any high or low spots and I have like 100 yards of CSM so why not. Once it hardened I sanded it down using a 5" vibrating sander with 100 grit. The CSM was wide enough (50") that it overlapped where the plywood joints were at and since I PB'd all the seams and screw holes the deck turned out flat and smooth. Then I put down the layer of 1708 which overlapped the seams of the CSM. The floor I mean the deck looks great and has that nice 1708 nonskid surface. I like it so far.
Once it hardened I use a Rotozip and cut out the hatches again. I decided to use Woods method when I put down the CSM and the 1708. Sanded the deck, cleaned it with Acetone like I always did but this time I laid down the CSM on a dry deck and put the resin on with the roller from the top letting it soak through. Took a little longer but I think I used less resin and the only thing I use is the 4" roller, no bubble buster or chip brush. On both the CSM and 1708 I did it all one after the other all at once. With a day between the CSM and the 1708. It worked out well. While I wait to get some more 1708 I will start working on the panels that are port and starboard of the hatch going into the cabin. Some of the 1/2" plywood has seen better days.
Looks really nice mark, I hope to be doing that in the near future! By the way...from the pics, it looks like you had an alien space ship hovering over you while you were working....nice green glow lol
Thanks for dropping in Arch. Yes the green tarps do give a nice soothing green glow. It was ok during the winter but with the day temps in the 80's its already getting toasty in here. I have the fan blowing full blast already and pulled the side panels off also. I hope to have this thing moved to the driveway before we start seeing 90+ days.
Well the panels that are left and right of the cabin door have 1/2 plywood on the backside. They were never covered in fiberglass and considering that they have held up very well. The one on the port side only had a 2 inch section on the bottom where the door way is from water intrusion so cut out that little corner. The starboard side had wood rot water damage top to bottom on the door way side but only about 2 inches in so I cut about 8" in top to bottom. Replaced it with a new section of 1/2" ply. I grinded the old wood and firberglass out and PB'd the new piece in. I will cover both port and starboard inside sections with CSM this time.
