gel coat floor or not

[tfret]

I'm replacing the floor in our boat and some of the videos and links I've looked at have gone back with a couple of coats of gel coat on top of the fiberclass. I'm wondering, is this vital to the floor restoration, or just cosmetic? This is my first floor job and just want to be sure I get it right. We plan on keeping the boat many more years and I don't want any regrets about "how I should have done it." Thanks.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: gel coat floor or not

What's your final covering going to be? If you are going to keep it bare, then Gelcoat is a great surface but can be very slick when wet. You can ad some non slip to the final coat that will help. If you are goint to apply carpet then You can either gelcoat or apply wax to the final coat of Poly resin. Or if you want to go on the Cheap you can Paint with Oil Based Rustoleum and add sand to the final coat for some texturing non slip. Lot's of choices an all work well. Gel coat is prolly the best long term solution and will allow you to put down just about any other surface after the fact. You can roll it on with a roller and acheive very good results.

 

[BWT]

Re: gel coat floor or not

Like Wood said, it really depends on what you want for a finished surface. I guess before I type too much, I would like a little more info.. What kind of boat are we talking about?, what is the extent of the floor restoration? Pics are WONDERFUL!! More the better. Until we can see what you're working with it's hard to give any solid advice...

Thanks!

~BWT

 

[oops!]

Re: gel coat floor or not

vital......no.....is it the right product/tool for the job.....yes.

under carpet or bare gellcoat.....it will add years and years and years to a deck job,

 

[tfret]

Re: gel coat floor or not

The boat is a 19' I/O ski boat with open bow. Unfortunately, I have to store it outdoors year round and moisture is a persistant enemy. I haven't decided yet, but I'm leaning toward not replacing the carpet since it tends to hold moisture and once the boat cover is on, it takes forever to dry. Overton's sells a product called "Tuff Coat" which is a rubberized texture coating that you roll on. I'm thinking of using that. It will allow water to drain to the bilge or simply evaporate much faster than with carpet. I do have some concerns about how that will feel on our feet however. I'm sure it won't be as comfy. I've seen people use truck bed liner products before too. It's our family boat that gets used every weekend all summer and I hope to continue that for many years to come. So a good water proof and durable finish is what I'm after.

 

[Me1stBoat]

I'm doing a similar project and hope once I get to the finishing part. I'm going with durabak. Sounds similar to the ******** stuff.

There's a thread here somewhere that he used the durabak to cover the entire floor and used snap in carpet. I'll see if I can find the thread for you!!

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: gel coat floor or not

I used durabak on my deck. The link is below my signature.

 

[Me1stBoat]

Ah. There ya go!! Thnx cuda!! Had your thread saved but hadn't had a chance to get on a computer yet to grab the link!!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: gel coat floor or not

A friend of mine went to a Rhino lining company, did the inside of his boat in 3 different colors with bed liner. didnt cost that much either

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: gel coat floor or not

If you are going to use a vinyl deck product then I'd defeinelty recommend that you finish the deck eith Gelcoat.