Replacing the Deck, questions

[Fletch170]

Hey all, since it's too damn cold to do any fiberglass work up here in PA, I've decided to start cutting out Ply for the deck of my boat. I can then at least glass the backs in my heated garage. I have 2 questions.

1. Do you guys use cardboard as a stencil to cut the correct shape for the decking?

2. When you are laying glass on the deck, how do you avoid visible seams where the sheets of glass meet, should I overlap and sand down the joint down?

Any tips for snug clean fitting?

Kind Regards,

-Christian

[gran398]

Yo Lew...where is that post with the sticks?

(This was a post regarding correct floor fit)

Cool thing...it worked perfectly.

[Capt Matt]

Take a measurement every 6 inches down the gunnel and transfer your measurement for the deck, You are going to fill the gap between the deck and the gunnel with cabasol before tabbing it in anyway. Lay a layer of biaxle first on the deck butting the cloth close together but not overlapping then tear the edge of mat for the next layer to hide the seams. The deck will need to be rough sanded before painting the deck with non skid. Kiwi grip will hide a lot though.
Capt Matt

[slvrlng]

They are called "story sticks".  Finally found the link! This is the best method to copy a curved design. Just use a piece of cardboard and mark in a location then follow canoestream's directions. This really works!

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/sto ... 29321.html

If you're not sure about his directions look down in the thread farther and he has some links to a lot of different explanations.

[Thermal]

Hey all, since it's too damn cold to do any fiberglass work up here in PA, I've decided to start cutting out Ply for the deck of my boat. I can then at least glass the backs in my heated garage. I have 2 questions.

1. Do you guys use cardboard as a stencil to cut the correct shape for the decking?

2. When you are laying glass on the deck, how do you avoid visible seams where the sheets of glass meet, should I overlap and sand down the joint down?

Any tips for snug clean fitting?

Kind Regards,

-Christian

Christian -  Here's one idea: The builder working on my boat built a wood frame to get the shape of the new deck right.  It's thin plywood.  See picture below.  New deck fit perfectly.

[Fletch170]

This is really interesting, I will have to see which one will work the best for my application.

[Capt Matt]

don't make the deck too tight a fit against the gunnels as it will push the sides of the hull out
Capt matt

[Fletch170]

The deck would be against the liner, should it be snug? the 76, unlike the earlier 17's, it has a full liner, not a cap. If it's not agianst the liner, I'm going to have a gap, which is bad, right? I'll obviously grind down 3 inches above the deck to lay glass, but if there is a gap, I can't really lay a decent filet, right?

Keep in mind guys, I'm clueless with this stuff as it's my first bottom up rebuild. Take a look at the pictures and see what you think. I HOPE, the new deck will sit on the flange on the liner left where the old deck was (I'm raising the deck). In that case, I'd like to glue and screw the edges, filet, glass the sides with 4 inch tape, then lay 2 layers of 1.5 oz mat. across the decking.

Am I speaking spanish or do I have the right idea?

http://fletch170.blogspot.com/

[Capt Matt]

So the deck will be glassed to the liner not the gunnel?
Capt Matt

[Fletch170]

Thats correct, as it was from the factory.

-Fletch

[Capt Matt]

not sure, it seems like it would be a whole lot stronger glassed to the inside of the hull as the liner is very thin
I ripped my liner out.
Capt Matt

[slvrlng]

Without the liner in Fletch's boat I think his gunwales would be very prone to flexing. I would try to tab at least 6 inches up the liner so it would help reinforce the liner and it would get a better grip to support the floor edge. Yeah I know its more grinding but 3 inches is just not enough. IMHO, 2 cents or whatever.

[slvrlng]

Fletch, are you going to have more than 2 layers of mat on top of the deck? The mat does nothing for strength you will need biaxial glass to make it strong.

[Fletch170]

Hey guys, good advice with going up 6 inches, will do.

I plan on using glass tape around the edges, perhaps foot wide 1708? Any pointers? Laying 1708 across the deck would be overkill, right? Also, without laying another later of 1.5 oz over that, the finish product would look terrible, right? you would see "Print through" of the woven material, right?

[love2fish]

I think with a "dry layout" of your glass before you wet it out, you could mark the overlap areas on the wood and use an aggressive 36-40 grit sand paper to create a small "channel or groove". could help smooth the transition where the glass will over lap.
or if you frayed the joining edges, the will blend together a little smoother.
im sure you'll sand out any high or rough spots, but starting in the stern and moving fprward, so your overlaps move towards the back will help smooth the transitions in the glass and help prevent ridges where water could hang up (think of shingles on a roof). obviously you wouldnt have 1/8" or 1/16th in ridges, but water will find a spot to collect anywhere it can.