wood to fiberglass glue?

[72charger]

I've recently acquired a 22ft marquis fishing boat with small cabin in the bow .... the wood everywhere is rotten!!!! i do not intend to restore this boat to motor able conditions...however...i would like to turn it into a cabin or houseboat for the camp... it will be a little small apartment i can float from the dock and others can stay there while we are raising a sinking foundation on the camp...lol.....lots of work ahead i know....

but... this is my question here... and realize that i'm not EVER going to put a motor on this boat..... when i replace the wood stringers and or beams in the boat to give me a dry and solid foundation to build a floor on, can i use a product like liquid nails or 3m 5200 to glue the wood to the fiberglass?...will this hold up to the minimal ammount of use it will get? i really didnt want to play with fiberglass and resin and all that stuff....

i plan on boxing it all in with a frame and laying plywood on top of that frame for a sub floor and then gluing carpet or maybe sticky back tile on top of that....


i plan to floor it out and then see how she floats to make sure how much weight i can add before i decide what ammenities i can include in it....
maybe a porta pottie , maybe a small fridge...definetely an a/c window unit...
maybe a light and microwave etc...

if any of you can help with this i would appreciate it...or if there are any other options that i should consider that would be great also...

thanks
anthony

 

[thrillhouse700]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

3m 5200 or PL premium. Also you may wanna just take a look at the coast gaurd placard somewhere on the boat, should tell you how much weight is safe. Take into account if your not going to rebuild then add a few hundred pounds for water logged foam, wood etc.

We have pulled prob 3-400 pounds worth of water logged crap out of our restore.

If it pans out we would love to see pics of the build regardless of what your using it for.

 

[72charger]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

i am going to gut the boat...remove the old crappy wood and foam and then rebuild the floor to hold 2 adults...and a few other misc weight related items....

i have to take out everything under the bottom so it will float correctly...

so in a sense i am rebuilding it...just not rebuilding it to put a motor back on it and drive it like a boat...it will either be towed to its final floating spot or we will push it like a barge......

 

[thrillhouse700]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

Sweet I def wanna see pics when its done. Its diff but I like the idea. Did you check the coast guard placard for weight limitations?

 

[redfury]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

@ 22 ft, I think it'll hold 2 adults with the stuff he plans to put in there since it will be minus the motor, which gains him 300lbs +.

I'd use any subfloor adhesive that is designed for indoor/outdoor use. Keep in mind that it takes a while for it to set up properly, and some of them REALLY smell.

Heck, if all you are planning to do is float the boat, you could run screws through the hull from the outside to hold anything in the boat as long as anything below the waterline had a good amount of PL surrounding it. I doubt exterior looks are what you are going for anyway.

I think it'd be a fun on the lake "club house". What I would do is make some kind of weather enclosure and absolutely have a bilge wired to shore power on an automatic float.

 

[thrillhouse700]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

Haha yeah sure would suck to sink while sleeping.

 

[72charger]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

you are correct....not totally worried about beauty but it has to be kinda decent looking....im figureing only haveing to build short walls...maybe 4-5 foot taller than the sides of the boat...with some sort of shack built on top...i will start a thread when i have pictures of progress...

 

[Mark42]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

Why not save the time and just buy a second hand camper? Then you can get to working on the cabin and not have an over weight houseboat that has no motor.

 

[72charger]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

the camp is water access only...you cant get there in a car...thats out but thanks for your opinion......if it was as simple as just hauling a junker camper out there trust me i would....but i cant...im not stupid...i have my reasons for doing this.... i live in louisiana and we do what we can to be resourceful..this is the most logical source for extra space aside of me building a full fledged floating cabin...

 

[drewpster]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

A floating boat has the same problems with water intrusion as any other boat regardless of whether there is an engine on board. I would make every effort to make the hull sound and watertite. Unless you want that floaty feeling, you may want to sink some pilings and set the boat on top of them at the shore. Or consider simply building it back up on dry land near the shore? It would be easy to make it look like a wreck! Then modernize the interior. Either way, you have a cool idea. Please post some pics as you progress.

 

[72charger]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

it will be floating in a bayou and not really a high traffic area....so that floating feeling wont be bad if any....i did think of making some sort of outriggers to keep it stable during rough weather... another idea to stabalize it was to attach it to a floating dock and moor it up so each side absorbs the waves or any boat waves while inside...you would reall yonly use this for shelter in weather and when sleeing.......i have a gazillion ideas..i've been wanting to do this for years...

 

[Mark42]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

the camp is water access only...you cant get there in a car...thats out but thanks for your opinion......if it was as simple as just hauling a junker camper out there trust me i would....but i cant...im not stupid...i have my reasons for doing this.... i live in louisiana and we do what we can to be resourceful..this is the most logical source for extra space aside of me building a full fledged floating cabin...

A pontoon would suit your needs better. Maybe one can be found cheap. Then build the cabin in it. If you plan things right, after the house is built, the cabin could be removed from the toon and used as an extension to the house or a shed, boat storage, etc.


Just a thought.​

 

[redfury]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

A pontoon would suit your needs better. Maybe one can be found cheap. Then build the cabin in it. If you plan things right, after the house is built, the cabin could be removed from the toon and used as an extension to the house or a shed, boat storage, etc.


Just a thought.​

I think he's pretty much stuck with what he has...we can all fantasize about the ideal situation.

 

[robbankston]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

Sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[72charger]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

the boat i have was free...the hull is solid...this is what i have to work with....enough said about that.....buying something else is not an option...it seems like you are trying to discourage me for some reason but you cant buddy....

float it or go home
ant

 

[72charger]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

and thanks everyone else for your support....

i think you all understand where im coming from...

float it or go home
ant

 

[Mark42]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

the boat i have was free...the hull is solid...this is what i have to work with....enough said about that.....buying something else is not an option...it seems like you are trying to discourage me for some reason but you cant buddy....

float it or go home
ant

I don't see anyone here trying to discourage you. What I do see is members giving you suggestions and options because given the info you provided, quite frankly, the choice you made seems to be a poor one.


Good luck! And don't forget to post pics.

 

[72charger]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

I don't see anyone here trying to discourage you. What I do see is members giving you suggestions and options because given the info you provided, quite frankly, the choice you made seems to be a poor one.


Good luck! And don't forget to post pics.

you must be a yankee! this boat was free...and it came with a nice solid trailer..

and i'll entertain your thoughts...why is this a poor choice for a once in a while place to crash while the camp is being repaired.. im being resourceful here..i have the materials...no money put in it....float it and its done..

just because its not what you would do doesnt make it a poor choice!

ant

 

[reelfishin]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

I've been considering something similar myself, I had a 28' cabin cruiser offered to me for free with a bad motor, I thought about tossing the motor and drive, filling the out drive hole and just parking it in a marina for a summer place to stay when I go down the shore fishing. For nothing more than a slip fee for the year, I'd have a place to stay. I'd hang a small outboard just to move it around if needed. When the idea got old, I'd just give it away to someone else. The best part with that boat is it's already like a floating camper. I could add a full enclosure and have a pretty nice place to spend a weekend.

If you build it solid enough to float, why couldn't you maybe one day add a small kicker motor to move it around?

Was it an outboard, an inboard, or I/O boat?

I would keep the center of gravity low, you don't want something that capsizes do to too much upper weight. Figure out the maximum sized deck area to be safe, install your stringers and deck, be sure that the transom also still has some structure to keep the hull structurally sound, then build a cabin on the deck, sort of like a big pilot house boat.

Another thought, it maybe easier though to build a pontoon style deck boat though, you could probably use a pressure treated wood frame and some barrels for flotation. It would then be basically a barge with a cabin on it. Keep the size withing transportable limits if you ever intend to move it on the road.

 

[Mark42]

Re: wood to fiberglass glue?

you must be a yankee! this boat was free...and it came with a nice solid trailer..

and i'll entertain your thoughts...why is this a poor choice for a once in a while place to crash while the camp is being repaired.. im being resourceful here..i have the materials...no money put in it....float it and its done..

just because its not what you would do doesnt make it a poor choice!

ant

My advice has nothing to do with what I would do. I am looking out for you. I am making decisions based solely on the information you provided. The conclusion that what you are doing is a poor choice is based solely on the information you provided. My personal preferences have nothing to do with it. Its all you.

If you re-read my posts you will find it doesn't say "I would do this..." or "I would do it this way..." . All my responses are directed to your specific request for help and I give the most non biased suggestions I could given the info you supplied at that time. At no time did I suggest you do things my way.

Remember that the more info you supply up front, the better the feedback you will get on these forums. Info and photos are everything here.

That being said, have fun!