F14CRAZY
Ensign
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
- Messages
- 945
So, I've got all my deck down...1/2'' five ply MARINE grade
I plan on coating it all with a layer of epoxy, then a layer of like 1.5 oz fabric, then another coating of epoxy. Then off white paint with snap in carpet. I've used peanut butter to attach it to the stringers and hull along with counter sunk screws (along with overdrilling into the stringers, filling with epoxy, predrilling again). I'll be using 4'' tape to tab it in too. I've "caulked" it along the edge where it meets the hull with yet more peanut butter.
I will not be installing foam.
My belief is that all must be done to keep water from getting through to the actual wood of the deck and that the stringer's encapsulation must be excellent, and with my work, including 3 layers of 18 oz, I feel it's pretty good.
I've done a lot of reading and searching here and heard various different arguments on coating the deck, both on the top and bottom. I decided to NOT coat the bottom side citing the theory that it can "breath" and i take on a crapload of water, I shouldn't have anything to worry about because rain, boarding water, etc will be kept off of the top. As you can notice though I did coat the edge of the deck where it's cut out for the fuel tank fittings and for the not-pictured 4'' inspection port for the floor in the cabin (porta potti floor).
Might be a little late to post this, but what do you guys usually go with? To me, preventing water from getting in the hull is the most important thing. Pull the bilge plug (don't leave it in, and the boat outside over winter, like the previous owners did
...stringers were wet but not like mulch so it was probably okay until then), keep indoors when possible, keep the cover on when possible, don't allow for much leakage, that kind of thing. Then again aside from the "main" part of the bilge, water won't be able to get into any other compartments below the deck.
And aside from being attacked from water from above, the original deck held up okay with no coating on the bottom side
I plan on coating it all with a layer of epoxy, then a layer of like 1.5 oz fabric, then another coating of epoxy. Then off white paint with snap in carpet. I've used peanut butter to attach it to the stringers and hull along with counter sunk screws (along with overdrilling into the stringers, filling with epoxy, predrilling again). I'll be using 4'' tape to tab it in too. I've "caulked" it along the edge where it meets the hull with yet more peanut butter.
I will not be installing foam.
My belief is that all must be done to keep water from getting through to the actual wood of the deck and that the stringer's encapsulation must be excellent, and with my work, including 3 layers of 18 oz, I feel it's pretty good.
I've done a lot of reading and searching here and heard various different arguments on coating the deck, both on the top and bottom. I decided to NOT coat the bottom side citing the theory that it can "breath" and i take on a crapload of water, I shouldn't have anything to worry about because rain, boarding water, etc will be kept off of the top. As you can notice though I did coat the edge of the deck where it's cut out for the fuel tank fittings and for the not-pictured 4'' inspection port for the floor in the cabin (porta potti floor).
Might be a little late to post this, but what do you guys usually go with? To me, preventing water from getting in the hull is the most important thing. Pull the bilge plug (don't leave it in, and the boat outside over winter, like the previous owners did
...stringers were wet but not like mulch so it was probably okay until then), keep indoors when possible, keep the cover on when possible, don't allow for much leakage, that kind of thing. Then again aside from the "main" part of the bilge, water won't be able to get into any other compartments below the deck.And aside from being attacked from water from above, the original deck held up okay with no coating on the bottom side
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