2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

[4runneradam]

I have a 1985 Bayliner Capri 1600 that a large majority of the floor and the middle section of the transom is rotted. Stringers are OK. The rotted sections of floor have been cut back until good wood was spotted. My plan is to lay in a new floor in sections, and add a stringer brace where the ski locker was. Transom repair will be done by removing the middle section of wood and adding new wood, possibly sandwiching a sheet of metal for extra rigidity.

For the wood, I was planning on using some plywood from the local home improvement store, and using some resin to coat both top and bottom. Question, do I NEED to lay fiberglass down too? This is a cheap, small, starter boat, but I do want it to be safe, if it lasts a few years I'll be happy. I need this to be cheap, funds are EXTREMELY tight.

I planned on getting this completed during the winter to have it ready for this coming season. Right now its in my garage, which is attached to the house. I have heaters in the garage that make it nice and toasty, but they only get used as needed.

I'm concerned about 2 things. Number one, the smell getting in the house, and the temperature it needs to cure. I've never worked with fiberglass before, but I am going to read everything I can in order to learn. I understand it has a very strong smell, and can be dangerouse to inhale. I have the proper respirator and eye protection. What I was planning on doing was to go outside and apply the fiberglass, and then bring it the garage to cure. It wil be anywhere from 40 to 0 degrees outside, but I can keep it at 70 degrees or so in the garage. How bad is the smell during curing? I'm sure I cant keep it outside to cure, correct?


And my next question. The boat was outside and the cover ripped, so now the vinyl seats are dirty with what looks like mildew or mold. Its black. It doesnt wipe off easily. What would be the best cleaner to use?

Thanks! Hopefully I can work out a plan to get this done. I'll start a thread if I do.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

Hi 4runneradam !!

Well to start for some good reading , the completed projects forum is great !!

Second you need to take a core sample of all your stringers , if your transom and floor is rotted the more then likely you stringers are gone also , sorry

on your transom I dont understand , your saying the center of your transom ??? most transoms are one solid piece !! and if its rotted it all needs to come out !! thats the only way to be safe !! If you could get some pics up it would help a lot !! we could see whats going on !!!

The good news is it all can be fixed and we all will help walk you threw it !!

It shouldnt be more the a grand it do all the stringer and the transom and the deck !! I just got done doing my 15,6 tri-hull and it was about that !!

So for now read , read , read !! and post any questions and we will get back to you asap !! John

 

[gcboat]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

If you do add new wood to your transom then yes, it should be glassed in using cloth. Fiberglass resin in its own right has no stability - the strength is in the wedding of both products. You will notice that the support board around the transom opening has also been glassed on. That particular center board will be a bear to get off. You're going to need to use a chisel (careful ) and a 60 or 80 # flapper pad to remove the stuck on wood and resin. The less gouges the better.
The odor is not permanent but depending on your choice of resins there is some difference. Since we're on a budget here I would stick with polyester resin. Most, if not all boats are made with it. Do your reading and you'll be fine. I won't get into the details of it all - .
Concerning the seats. Buy a bottle - or two - of Clorox Clean Up. Spray it on, let it sit and scrub a little. Works wonders for me. Do remember that straight bleach will destroy the threads holding it all together so be very careful going that route. Just make sure it gets flushed really good with a lot of water.

 

[4runneradam]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

Second you need to take a core sample of all your stringers ,

I drilled through in a few spots and good dry wood came out, so I think its OK. The problem with the boat was the original floor was fiberglassed only on the top. Water got underneath and rotted the wood from the bottom up. The transom probably rotted from poor sealant on the engine mounting holes.

most transoms are one solid piece !!

Mines not. Its 3 pieces. Middle section is completely separate from the rest. I cut the top part of the fiberglass off and verified this.

It shouldnt be more the a grand it do all the stringer and the transom and the deck !!

A grand?!? I sure hope not. All i should have to buy is a few sheets of plywood, a bunch of resin, and a few rolls of mat. I have the tools.

So for now read , read , read !!

I have read for hours here already. That was back a few months ago. I will re-read a few more hours before I do anything.


Can anyone answer the questions about curing time?

And from my reading a while back, I could have sworn a lot of people said just plain resin was OK. I don't think I need to add any strength, I just need to waterproof the wood.

 

[4runneradam]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

. You will notice that the support board around the transom opening has also been glassed on. That particular center board will be a bear to get off.

OH YEA, I already spend a few hours with a pry bar and a hammer and really diddnt get anywhere. Someone mentioned a small electric chainsaw. I might go that route. Cant have too many tools huh?

Thanks for the tip on the vinyl. I'll give it a shot.

 

[oops!]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

hi.....welcome to i boats........all of the above posts are totally correct.

re-read the part about resin being brittle with out glass.

for basic to very advanced fiberglass info....read the sticky at the top of the forum......then read the hull ext thread.....all of it....each post....the glassing info in that one will fill a book.


as far as cure times......do not glass out side in the cold.....dont worry about the fumes too much.....(they wont go inside the house very much unless there is a open vent)....the glass dangers are mostly in the gringind and inhaleing the dust......the fumes from glassing can knock you out....but for the amount you are doing....i wouldnot worry about it ....just use a resporator.

ok....glass in 75 degree temps....keep the resin and glass at that temp and you will be good.....dont take cold resin and use it.....it wont go very far. the resin needs to be at room temp for adiquate coverage.

and im sorry.....the grand figure mentioned is correct with the foam....there may be different ways to do it cheaper....but you are a long way from being at that point.....the budget doesnt hurt very much when you get a little materials here and a little there.

dont forget ....each time you glass....you will use 10 dollars worh of items....
you will need a plastic mixing bucket...1.99......a roller....2.50....acietone....5.00....rags...and thats before we count the mekp...glass and the resin.

its not cheap.....but well worth it.

read lots here....it will save you time and money.

cheers
oops

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

Ok cool, on the stringers !!
you dont need the metal in there but if you want to you can do what ever you want !!

when you do the transom in poly you need more then just matt , you need glass in there also !! matt glass matt glass , at least !!

on the dry time in 70 dregee it is 6 or 7 hours !! if i rember right and that not a full cure think it 24 hour for that !!

Ok sounds like you got a good handle on her keep us posted and post some pics for us !!! john

 

[oops!]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

gee, after that long post i forgot to answer the main question......my crs must be acting up.

poly resin is a wonderful thing....you can vary the gell and cure times by manipulating the amount of mekp you add.....bet 1.5 and 2.5%
2.5% is considered a hot mix...and can gell in 20 mins or so...(this depends on a lot of factors...

but as john said ......at least a 24 hr full cure time, even tho it will get rock hard in an hour in correct conditions

 

[BillP]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

The good news is you could lay down regular ply, paint it well and it would last a couple of yrs anyway. If you want to extend that longer...thin the poly resin with acetone and flood the edges and faces of the ply first. Do it several times but don't build a resin surface...apply just enough to barely get a shine. Yes, it will seal better than paint and last at least a "couple" yrs. The only time it flakes is when you put a thick coat on the surface. I've done this on boats to give me some extra life before doing the full blown rebuild on them.

 

[4runneradam]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

Thanks. ill be honest, my budget is slim to none. its either fix it my way, or sell it for a couple hundred bucks. ill use just resin on the floor, but ill glass the transom.

 

[jonesg]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

OH YEA, I already spend a few hours with a pry bar and a hammer and really diddnt get anywhere. Someone mentioned a small electric chainsaw. I might go that route. Cant have too many tools huh?

Thanks for the tip on the vinyl. I'll give it a shot.

Go to home depot, get a 1 1/4 inch spade wood drill bit, they have 24" long shank drill bits for wood. Drill all the way down from the top of the transom, you'll hear it when you reach the glass . Connect the holes by inserting an elec chainsaw, you need at least 16inch chain length. The neat thing is the chainsaw throws all the old wood out, blow the rest out and vacuum, then splash with acetone and let dry. The chainsaw will not damage the glass, they don't cut sideways at all.

Your project might be a good candidate for seacast if you only want to remove the center section. I've seen that done with perfect results.
A single 5 gal bucket batch would be more than enough.

watch the video.
http://www.transomrepair.com/zk/how-to-pour-seacast-video.shtml

The good transom wood on either side can be drilled into to create teeth for the seacast to grab.

I would double check those stringers, just to be certain they're good to go.

 

[jonesg]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

"dont worry about the fumes too much.....(they wont go inside the house very much unless there is a open vent)...."

I was doing some molding work one night in the basement, the laundromat next door called the fire dept for what they thought was a gas leak.

Fire dept showed up and thought I was building bombs, I was making drop tanks for aircraft.

 

[4runneradam]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

My garage must not be sealed very well, because one day I spray painted something and stunk up the whole house.

Compared to, lets say, spray paint, how bad are the fumes?

How long does it take for the fumes to dissapate after you apply the resin?

If its too bad, I'll go to my parents's house and do the work in the barn, or maybe even take it in to work. How long do I need to maintain 70 degrees?

 

[oops!]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

resin is 10 times what ever spray paint it..........there is no way the fumes should get inside the house.....so look for an open vent somewhere

 

[jonesg]

Re: 2 questions...fiberglassing and cleaning vinyl

My garage must not be sealed very well, because one day I spray painted something and stunk up the whole house.

Compared to, lets say, spray paint, how bad are the fumes?

How long does it take for the fumes to dissapate after you apply the resin?

If its too bad, I'll go to my parents's house and do the work in the barn, or maybe even take it in to work. How long do I need to maintain 70 degrees?

Compared to paint spray, it REEKS, I kinda like the smell but its offensive to most normal people. With a fan the smell is gone within an hr, it should set within 20 minutes in cool weather. If its slow just hit it with a heat gun or hair dryer, halogens are good on big areas.

I was glassing an 8 foot plywood sheet in 50 degs F , once it was all done I moved it into the sunlight and it went off in 20 minutes.