'98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

[bentheredengthat]

Hi all - new guy here looking for some suggestions. Love this site & have been using it for years thanks to all who contribute.

I have a '98 Beachcat Bengal 26' x 10' beam. The deck is solid and in relatively good shape. Fiberglass over marine plywood with some sort of textured white finish painted on top of the fiberglass. Perfectly flat (bad design). The rub rail is installed on the top edge of the boat creating a +/- 3/8" dam that keeps the water from running off the edge (another bad design - see photo).

Also someone added an extra fuel tank & water tank - when they did this they cut large holes in the top of the deck & I've never been happy with how they finished them.

I'd like to resurface this deck & add a slope & get rid of the 3/8" dam around the edges.

The manufacturer is non-responsive so I can't get any info from them as to what the deck surface is.

Any suggestions?

 

[Bondo]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,... I don't see how the dead flat deck is an issue, in that most hulls don't sit level, in the water....
Most hulls sit bow up...

'n on the wagon, just run the jack up higher to create pitch...

There's several ways to build hatches,... that 1 don't look so bad...

For the rubrail, just cut drainage points at the aft end to drain the bit of standin' water...

 

[bentheredengthat]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

Thanks Bond-o,

When the furniture and rails are on the boat it creates more damns & trouble areas... I just figured out that I could re-install that rub rail upside down & it won't have the big lip at the top.

Any idea what that deck coating is & what I could paint over it with?

 

[Sea Stomper]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

I like Bond-o's suggestion. At first I was going to suggest just removing that strip and glassing or several coats of resin and sanding it down, maybe grinding and bevelling the outer area down first before doing any of that (the picture of my boat below with it's open bow deck "hatch" type cover has a rounded edge to allow water to roll off of it, but there is no strip around it obviously).

However, all of that might be a problem since removal of the strip could be a problem structurally. Maybe you could grind the top edges off while bevelling the outer inch or so down and epoxy over the bevel area. Some variation of something like that. I use a pneumatic 90 degree die grinder with 36 and 50 grit roloc discs for my fiberglass grinding because they last for a long time. That particular tool is what we use in the trucking industry to grind steel with, so it's wonderful for most other materials including plastic, aluminum, and so forth. In any event, you are going to have to bevel it over and figure out what to do with what is left after that to attain your goal.

 

[bentheredengthat]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

I took the rub rail off and the top of the deck is nice & smooth without it. I think they installed the rub rail upside down. The boat is perfectly symmetrical so I think I can reinstall the rub rail upside down.

Now I just have to find the rubber insert that I destroyed by removing it.

 

[bentheredengthat]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

wow you did a great job on that cover... did you do a thread talking about how you built it?

 

[Sea Stomper]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

I did post it. I ran it for it's first summer without paint but it was glassed. It's 18mm hydrotek marine ply, pretty much same thickness as 3/4" and can be fished of of, kind of an aircraft carrier bow deck like yours has. About the end of this month I'll be posting a thread on another tranformation of this deck into something that will like the Pacific Ocean a little better than the aluminum rimmed windshield shown here.

Don't want to jack this thread but here's the thread on the bow cover hatch:
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...ri-hull-open-bow-deck-519119.html#post3505106

 

[bentheredengthat]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

I just found out my deck is fiberglass & gelcoat. The gelcoat was rolled on to create a texture - which I like the way it is. Does anyone know if there is a thread on this forum that would talk about how to roll another layer of new gelcoat over this existing deck surface?

 

[Sea Stomper]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

I took the rub rail off and the top of the deck is nice & smooth without it. I think they installed the rub rail upside down. The boat is perfectly symmetrical so I think I can reinstall the rub rail upside down.

Now I just have to find the rubber insert that I destroyed by removing it.

Fantastic solution! Simple is always the best way! Nice job.

 

[bentheredengthat]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

Oh I found a great thread on the site about refinishing a gelcoat deck... just in case anyone else needs it:

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/regelcoating-catwalk-engine-covers-530016-2.html

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

I got your PM. I think your rub rail solution should work just fine. I would run a bead of 1 hour silicone around the top edge after it is installed to keep water shedding over the top and not behind it where it can weep into screw holes etc.

As far as the gel coat goes, You can coat over the top of the existing with more gel coat. That being said, with the old gel coat was applied with a roller, it will be hard to prep it without sanding down smooth to get a good bond with new gel..

If it were mine, I would sand/grind the top deck smooth and apply a couple or three new layers of gel coat with non skid additive in the second to last coat or apply kiwi grip non skid over the gel once it has been applied and is cured. The non skid additive or the kiwi will give you a much better look and will be a much better non skid. I will say, if you decided to use the kiwi grip, apply two coats. To clean kiwi grip, use a mild detergent and scrub brush after applied when it gets dirty. The kiwi was specifically designed for use on sailboats originally. It is a little pricy, but worth it imo. Sorry for the delayed response. Good luck and happy boating.

 

[bentheredengthat]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

Thanks Chriscraft. Sand down the whole deck flat <gulp>. I might just take up the challenge - I agree that deck would look nice with a more traditional non-slip. The gel coat sure does clean up easily though & is so indestructible - that surface had 6 years of dogs jumping off an on & no significant damage besides wear.

When you roll your gelcoat decks it doesn't look as rough as my boat does it?

I thought todo lists were supposed to get shorter as you go along! Not so on boats I take it.

 

[bentheredengthat]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

This site needs a tip jar. I'd love to be able to send beer money in exchange for all the free help around here!

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

Thanks Chriscraft. Sand down the whole deck flat <gulp>. I might just take up the challenge - I agree that deck would look nice with a more traditional non-slip. The gel coat sure does clean up easily though & is so indestructible - that surface had 6 years of dogs jumping off an on & no significant damage besides wear.

When you roll your gelcoat decks it doesn't look as rough as my boat does it?

I thought todo lists were supposed to get shorter as you go along! Not so on boats I take it.

Yeah, it would be a big job and you don't have to do it. You can clean what is there with a good detergent and wipe down with acetone, then apply new coats of gel and hope for the best. The reason I said I would grind it down flat is so you insure a good bond. Its really the only way I see with the rough surface that is there now. And yes, gel coating is second to non when it comes to durability.

When I roll a deck it is after lots and lots of prep work, grinding, sanding etc before new layers of gel is applied. Always wipe the surface with acetone before recoating anything, this will remove any fine particles left from sanding etc. Its quik and easy.

Sanding those decks down might be a lot of work, but atleast its a flat area and should be easy to work on. Good luck.

 

[bentheredengthat]

Re: '98 Beachcat aircraft carrier deck

Got the bulk of the sanding done! Took my right angle grinder to the roller texture - now it's relatively nice & flat. Now gonna hit it with my orbital sander & some 60 or 80 grit to smooth it out.

Just got to figure out how to do deck repairs because I'm going to eliminate the two big access panels while I'm at it.