Hello all,
Please don't be too hard on me here
I am getting ready to replace the floor on my 18' fiberglass fishing boat. I know my issues may not stop with the floor since I have a soft spot (I have been reading the forums for hours) but I want to get an idea of the materials I should use if I do just need to replace the floor. Here's what I have figured out I should do after looking at posts and a couple of vendor sites. Let me know what I am missing or have misunderstood here:
1. Remove my old floor.
2. Hope and pray to God that my stringers are not rotten.
3. If they are not, have a beer.
4. If they are, have a six-pack.
5. Assuming no other rot, check out the foam to see if it's waterlogged and needs to be replaced. Replace as needed.
6. Sand surface of stringers and inside of hull for tabbing (about 6 inches) to provide good contact for new epoxy.
7. Cut new floor pieces out of plywood. What kind shall I use here? Doug Fir is pretty easy to find here in Oregon. Shall I look for something else????
8. Coat all sides of plywood with Epoxy. 2-3 coats.
9. Use epoxy/adhesive/filler mix on top of stringers and lay new plywood floor down. If I use stainless steel screws, fill pre-drilled screw holes with epoxy before setting screws.
10. Make fillets using "PB" mix for floor to hull joint to round out.
11. Tab floor to hull using 4'' wide biaxial fiberglass tape and epoxy.
12. Cover floor with layer of 6 oz woven fiberglass fabric and epoxy.
13. Finish coat with appropriate paint.
How is this for a reasonable battle plan?
Please don't be too hard on me here
I am getting ready to replace the floor on my 18' fiberglass fishing boat. I know my issues may not stop with the floor since I have a soft spot (I have been reading the forums for hours) but I want to get an idea of the materials I should use if I do just need to replace the floor. Here's what I have figured out I should do after looking at posts and a couple of vendor sites. Let me know what I am missing or have misunderstood here:
1. Remove my old floor.
2. Hope and pray to God that my stringers are not rotten.
3. If they are not, have a beer.
4. If they are, have a six-pack.
5. Assuming no other rot, check out the foam to see if it's waterlogged and needs to be replaced. Replace as needed.
6. Sand surface of stringers and inside of hull for tabbing (about 6 inches) to provide good contact for new epoxy.
7. Cut new floor pieces out of plywood. What kind shall I use here? Doug Fir is pretty easy to find here in Oregon. Shall I look for something else????
8. Coat all sides of plywood with Epoxy. 2-3 coats.
9. Use epoxy/adhesive/filler mix on top of stringers and lay new plywood floor down. If I use stainless steel screws, fill pre-drilled screw holes with epoxy before setting screws.
10. Make fillets using "PB" mix for floor to hull joint to round out.
11. Tab floor to hull using 4'' wide biaxial fiberglass tape and epoxy.
12. Cover floor with layer of 6 oz woven fiberglass fabric and epoxy.
13. Finish coat with appropriate paint.
How is this for a reasonable battle plan?
