stephentyler20
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2008
- Messages
- 117
Hi all... Summer's over, the boat is back home, and I'm planning round 2 of overhaul, modification, and upgrade. Last winter, I replaced the carpeting in my boat - a very intensive project considering EVERYTHING in the cockpit is wrapped in carpet. It came out great!
So of course, now I want to do it all over again! No actually, my plan this winter is to remove the carpeting altogether, and rebuild the cockpit from the floorboards up. My primary goal is to convert the carpeted sole to a gel coat surface, as seen in most newer boats, since the carpet is 1) not too modern a look, 2) impossible to keep clean, and 3) IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP CLEAN.
Here is my plan of action, based on my limited knowledge of this type of project. I'd appreciate feedback. Keep in mind, under the carpet my boat is 'glassed in plywood, and is quite rough/abrasive. Simply painting that surface would result in huge imperfections. There are also occasional "lumps" in the fiberglass. The pictures below show the surface with the carpet removed, from last winter.
My tentative, and subject to change, plan:
1. Strip out the interior - seats, vinyl panels, engine cover, out.
2. Remove carpeting, using caution - in case this goes awry, I'd like to be able to put it right back in again.
3. Grind/flatten the fiberglass floor as much as possible. Specifically, I'd like to focus on the lumpy areas, and try to get it flat.
4. Apply a marine fairing compound, whose purpose would be to level the floor/sides, and give me a suitable surface to apply gel coat.
5. Sand the crap out of the fairing compound until a flat surface is achieved.
6. Paint the newly leveled surface, using a skid-free type gel coat paint.
7. Replace interior (another project).
Thoughts on this? Does this seem like a viable project, or is there too much room for error? The biggest problem I can see is not being able to level the surface enough. I.e., this might require replacing all the floorboards, which I'm not prepared to do.
Pictures of the cockpit sans carpet:
Pictures with the new carpet installed:
So of course, now I want to do it all over again! No actually, my plan this winter is to remove the carpeting altogether, and rebuild the cockpit from the floorboards up. My primary goal is to convert the carpeted sole to a gel coat surface, as seen in most newer boats, since the carpet is 1) not too modern a look, 2) impossible to keep clean, and 3) IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP CLEAN.
Here is my plan of action, based on my limited knowledge of this type of project. I'd appreciate feedback. Keep in mind, under the carpet my boat is 'glassed in plywood, and is quite rough/abrasive. Simply painting that surface would result in huge imperfections. There are also occasional "lumps" in the fiberglass. The pictures below show the surface with the carpet removed, from last winter.
My tentative, and subject to change, plan:
1. Strip out the interior - seats, vinyl panels, engine cover, out.
2. Remove carpeting, using caution - in case this goes awry, I'd like to be able to put it right back in again.
3. Grind/flatten the fiberglass floor as much as possible. Specifically, I'd like to focus on the lumpy areas, and try to get it flat.
4. Apply a marine fairing compound, whose purpose would be to level the floor/sides, and give me a suitable surface to apply gel coat.
5. Sand the crap out of the fairing compound until a flat surface is achieved.
6. Paint the newly leveled surface, using a skid-free type gel coat paint.
7. Replace interior (another project).
Thoughts on this? Does this seem like a viable project, or is there too much room for error? The biggest problem I can see is not being able to level the surface enough. I.e., this might require replacing all the floorboards, which I'm not prepared to do.
Pictures of the cockpit sans carpet:
Pictures with the new carpet installed:
