deck replacement and more. 14'

[registeroot]

hi, im wondering what you all used to cut out your decks for a floor replacement? i tried an angle grinder with a steel cutting blade as a test, but it doesnt really cut it more 'burns' through. thanks.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Circular Saw.

You MUST know the thickness of the deck and set the circular saw blade to exactly that depth.

Be careful and go slow...... do it in pieces.

Be VERY careful near the edges of the deck and if you have a tri-hull.............. we have seen MANY MANY people make a mistake of slicing their hull!

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

If you want to be able to cut flush up against something get an oscillating tool. I just bought a Bosch rechargeable oscillating multi-tool about a month ago (at H. Depot) and am extremely happy with it. Cuts through nails, screws, anything. They sell cutters for it that will go as much as 2" deep. As I remember it was about $120 and came with 2 battery packs.

 

[proshine43]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

I agree with luhrs28. A multipurpose tool at harbor freight for around$45. Get plenty of blads though. The fiberglass really goes through them. You can cut flush so theres much less grinding

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

+1 ^^^^^^ on the habor freight ocillating tool.

 

[westexasrepublic]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

best thing about the Oscilating tool like the ones mentioned, is that its not as aggressive and may take longer at first to cut through, but unless you really dig hard it wont cut through your hull like a recipricating saw (sawzall) or a circular saw....

try cutting through just glass on the outter edge (like you see in my picture here) it will save time instead of cutting glass and wood.

 

[badkins50]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Circular Saw.

You MUST know the thickness of the deck and set the circular saw blade to exactly that depth.

Be careful and go slow...... do it in pieces.

Be VERY careful near the edges of the deck and if you have a tri-hull.............. we have seen MANY MANY people make a mistake of slicing their hull!

+1. I used a circular saw on my deck. Just keep stopping and checking. If your cutting fiberglass - MAKE SURE YOU USE A RESPIRATOR. You will wish you had. Good luck.

 

[Hoggar]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

I used a Sawzall to do mine. I cut in the middle where I wouldn't need to
worry about hitting the hull, when I got to the stringers I tipped the saw
and just cut to the top of the stringers and not into them. When you get
to the shallow part where the hull is close to the sole turn the saw over and
cut up through the sole away from the hull. You need to be very surgical
about cutting close to the hull. After you get the sole cut lift it out toward
the sides and the tabbing will peel off of the side of the hull mostly with out
cutting, in the spots where it doesn't separate put one of the 12" blades
in your Sawzall and let it bend next to the hull but not too sharply or the
blade will break, just a light curve to the blade and cut up through the tabbing
letting the blade slide along the side of the hull while cutting up through
the tabbing.

 

[drewpster]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

If you want something that is very precise and very aggressive try an electric die grinder and a spiral burr. Cuts like butter, and once you get the hang of it, its very quick. I show a side cutting tool from HF in the picture. It turned out to be junk, get an actual die grinder. HF carries them. This burr is from Mac tools. I cut my hole boat with it and it still deburrs steel like a dream.

They are also handy for about a million other uses. I highly recommend them. Just be careful and go slow at first. They can do as much damage as good in the wrong hands.

 

[registeroot]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

wow! thanks for all the great replies.

i went out and bought a circular saw before i read all the replies..and yep i sliced the hull. not with the saw but with an angle grinder with a fine steel blade in it. i cut with the saw all the way around the deck, perfect depth through it. then i had to just finish off the corners and i put an inch long slice through it. the blade is only approx 0.040" thick. do you think i can repair this?

pics to follow. thanks. as usual great forum.

 

[registeroot]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

test

 

[registeroot]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

it was really grimy under there. lots of water built up behind polystyrene foam.

the deck was mush, held together by the glass on top.

the plywood at the bow was totally delaminated from the glass. just hanging off it.

made it easier to cut tough!

luckily the stringers and everything under the deck is very well glassed in and seems solid. i think i would have gave up had it not bee. this is a big enough job already

 

[registeroot]

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

Re: what tool to cut out rotten deck with?

this is how it should look and what im aiming for. i think mine was originally orange too or maybe red.

its a shakespear skiman deluxe. from around 1970-i think!

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: deck replacement and more. 14'

That slice in the hull is no big deal. Fill it with a little PB mix and glass it over from the inside with several layers of 1708. Grind it out a little to smooth the inside if need be. On the bottom fair with some resin thickened with micro spheres. Sand smooth and paint. If you want you could add a small piece of thin cloth over the out side as well. You just need to sand that smooth.

 

[JSmitty]

Re: deck replacement and more. 14'

hi, im wondering what you all used to cut out your decks for a floor replacement? i tried an angle grinder with a steel cutting blade as a test, but it doesnt really cut it more 'burns' through. thanks.

I used a Craftsman mini circular saw and trimmed the remaining edges with an angle grinder equipped with a C7 Bad Blade (looks like a small circular saw blade). I finished off any nubs with my oscillating tool (Harbor Freight) equipped with the flat metal-cutting blade (the regular flat blade won't work on glass).

If you go with the Bad Blade be careful, because it can kick back if you don't hold it firm or try to plunge it too fast. Don't put any body parts behind it. After the circular saw took out the main part, the Bad Blade took off the leftover edge in minutes.

You can read about my experience at First-timer's Follies.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: deck replacement and more. 14'

Just because your stringers are glassed does NOT mean they survived the ROT. You need to check them. Take a 3/8" drill and drill into them down low and check the shavings. If you get light tan shavings then you are good to go. Fill the holes with 3M 5200 and proceed. If you get Dark Brown WET shavings or Powdery dry shavings then you will need to grind them out and replace them. You need to do the drill check on your transom as well. Drill it at several spots to check its status. With that much wet foam below deck I HIGHLY suspect that you have more rot than meets the eye. I could be wrong but since you have it torn down to this point I would rather be safe than sorry.

I'm just sayin...

 

[registeroot]

Re: deck replacement and more. 14'

thanks for the replies folks. ill do the drill test tomorrow and see how that looks.
thanks for the info on repairing the slice. ill check in when i have results. cheers!

 

[Hoggar]

Re: deck replacement and more. 14'

Just a heads up do your drill testing from the inside and don't go
all the way through the out side. Kinda the Don't iron your cloths
while your wearing them warning. We all know it but there's always
one...

 

[registeroot]

Re: deck replacement and more. 14'

drilled. stringers are all nice tan colour. some shavings were a bit damp but certainly not rotten.

transom is a goner. water actually ran out of it and its supports.

due to the design of this boat it means i have to take the cap off, which i really didnt want to do as i dont have the space.

bolts are all corroded so will be have to be grinded off! crikey. pics to follow

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: deck replacement and more. 14'

As I suspected. Sorry but if the stringers are damp they will NOT get better they will only get worse and eventually turn to rot. IF IT WERE ME, I would replace em ALL. Since you HAVE to replace the transom you should do the stringers too! That way you will have a boat that will last for 30 years and NOT give you any further trouble. You may NOT have to remove the top cap but it USUALLY makes things a lot easier. Pics of the boat would really help us, up help you.

Check out my Signature line for easy way for posting pics. NOTE: Leave out STep #14. Do NOT remove the Attachments.

I'm just sayin...