help a rookie

[bobder41]

going to replace deck in a 95 206 open bow monterey,(first time i've ever worked with fiberglass or renovated a boat) it has carpet covering the deck, i would like to replace the carpet with fiberglass like the newer boats. I have purchase the fiberglass boat repair manual,runabout renovation and fiber glass repair books, but have not found as of yet how to do this. any help would be great<br />thanks bob

 

[Boomyal]

Re: help a rookie

I think what you may be refering to is newer boats that have interior gunwales and flooring that are made in molds just like the hull. You'd be hard pressed to duplicate that. I'd settle for a well constructed floor, covered in glass cloth with a final finish of vinyl flooring or some other spray on coating.

 

[tengals123]

Re: help a rookie

boom is right. I really wanted to do the same thing with my walkthru. No way can you ever get it to look nice. That's why ive carpeted the walkthru.<br /><br />cheers

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: help a rookie

I didn't get that far with the last one, but I would think that you could get it to look nice if you got it smooth and even enough, followed by a good topside paint and then non-skid finish for the walking area. Like I said, I didn't get that far, but I know my floor was really smooth after glassing it and sanding it out. I thought it might work out, but then I sold the boat to buy the next one.

 

[tengals123]

Re: help a rookie

mmmm......it waould take alot of time to get it close to a moulded factory look, even if that's possible.<br />no harm in trying thou, if you have the cash and the time.<br />keep us posted, i'd love to see the outcome.<br /><br /> <br />cheers

 

[JustMrWill]

Re: help a rookie

You want something like this?<br /><br /> http://www.epoxyworks.com/22/pdf/Ew22_Nonskid.pdf <br /><br />-JustMrWill<br /><br />Never used..but was thinking the same thing for my renovation project. (I don't like carpet)

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: help a rookie

If you pick up a copy of the video, "fiberglass repair with Bruce McDougul" he does just that during a complete rehab. Basically, glass in the floor, paint with gelcoat (with a roller and tip method as I recall). He made it non-skid by adding very fine sand (says he's tried everything on the planet and fine sand is best). I used Rustoleum's brand of non-skid additive and it worked just fine. If you wanted it smooth you just have to wet sand and buff after the gelcoat dries. If you wanted a molded looking non-skid, I'd try letting the gelcoat flash off a bit till it thickens, lay it down thick and use a metal screen to imprint a pattern.

 

[bobder41]

Re: help a rookie

thanks to of you, i will keep everyone posted, this is going to be a fall/winter project<br />bob

 

[ondarvr]

Re: help a rookie

There is a product you can buy that comes in a roll, it's used for replacing in mold noneskid finishes. It comes in different patterns to match the noneskid of different boats, they use it when making the molds. you can brush or roll down a layer of gel coat then place it on top and press it down. When the gel coat is hard you pull it up and the pattern is in the gel coat. It works well in small areas, but may be more difficult to do an a larger surface.<br /><br />I will see if I can find where to get it.<br /><br />I normally use sand though, it's easy and works well.

 

[bobder41]

Re: help a rookie

thanks, <br />bob