Deck Replacement

[gworca]

Hello Everyone. I am new I-Boats and am looking forward to repairing my first boat. I bought a 16' Northwoods aluminum v-hull. I will have to replace the deck and have seen a lot of great info on here concerning deck replacement. I do have a question about removing the compartments and console that are attached to the sidewall with rivets. Do I need to grind off the rivets from the inside of the hull. Then to replace, the current rivets are rounded on exterior of hull and flat headed on the inside. What should I use for a replacement rivet?
Any ideas would be much appreciated.

 

[Fisherball]

Re: Deck Replacement

Most rivets are easier to drill through than to grind, just make sure the bit you use is same size as rivet shaft. All you have to drill is through the head of the rivet & it'll fall out. That way you won't screw up the surface the head pulls against.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Deck Replacement

Ditto what Fisherball said on the drilling.

Pop rivets will work with a dab of 5200 in the hole.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Deck Replacement

Welcome to iboats.

IF (big IF) you can get to the other side when installing a new pop rivet with 5200 ...... adding a rivet washer is a great help and more secure.

Let's see some pictures!

 

[bananaboater]

Re: Deck Replacement

Probably a redundant reminder, use closed ended pop rivets on the hull attachments. It helps keep the water on the outside.

Oh yeah, pics.

 

[nowback]

Re: Deck Replacement

yep drill bit is best to remove.
just get solid rivets and the bit of the air hammer then you will have
what was there stock, the solid rivets are much stronger than pop rivets
and are easy to do. I only use the closed ended pop rivets in areas where
you cant get to the other side with the bucking bar to do solid rivets.
also when you get new plywood see if you can find fur it seems much
better in quality, one of the 5 sheets i got when doing my boat was fur
(had to be the last sheet) and if i would have started with that one sheet
they all would have been fur!

matt

 

[gworca]

Re: Deck Replacement

Thanks for the advice. I just started pulling out the compartments and console yesterday. The deck is pretty bad. I willl get some pics posted so you can witness the destruction. I plan on using this as my fishing boat. With frequent use of the boat, should I go back with carpet or use the vinyl that is rolled on?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Deck Replacement

Fishing and carpet don't go well together at all. Ever drop a catfish on carpet? YUCK!!!

 

[gworca]

Re: Deck Replacement

I get your point. Besides, A catfish would never see the inside of my boat. Have never purposely fished for them.
I took some picks of My new boat and the start of the flooring replacement. I am virgin at this so I will be tuning in for your expertise.

 

[gworca]

Re: Deck Replacement

OK> Down to the brass tacks for a minute. My boat has aluminum stringers. From what I can piece together from all of the diffrent suggestions from this site, my plan was to use an exterior grade ply 5/8". No here is where there is a lot of different info. I want to resin the ply. Best I can tell, 2 coats on the bottom and sides and one on top. Once the deck is secured down, glass the seams and one more coat of resin on top. I have nerver worked with this stuff before so its all new to me.

Do I use a catalyst on all of the coats of resin?

Since its only the deck and not the transom being replaced, do I use poly or epoxy resin?

Does it need to be thinned for application?

My plan was to try and put on, and I cant remeber for sure which thread I read this on, But they put on a rolled or painted latex type floor that is scuff resistant yet seals from water and cleans easy. Dont want to go back with carpet.

Again, I have read so many posts with differing points and all are good. Its just a little mind numbing figuring out whats best. It is going to be a fishing boat, so I dont want to sink in excessive costs but I want a nice repair that will hold up.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Deck Replacement

Basics.
1/2 or 5/8 exterior grade plywood.
Two coats of UNTHINNED Poly resin WITH catalyst (That's what makes the resin gets HARD) Read the instruction CAREFULLY. You must mix this stuff exactly to the correct specifications and the outside temperature and humidity does affect how much time you have to work with the stuff before it FLASHES on you and gets hard.
Polyester Resin with out Fiberglass mat is USELESS. It will be brittle and break like GLASS. You need to at least use 1.5 oz glass cloth on your last coat of resin to give it some strength.
After the last coat you can then apply your Non Skid texture.
Easy way to make non skid deck surface on the cheap is to use the Rustoleum Professional Oil Based Paint and then sprinkle it with sand before it dries. A little rough on the feet and it will wear off eventually but work well for a while. Easy to re-do. Just give it a fresh coat of paint and sprinkle some more sand.

Good Luck

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Deck Replacement

^^^all 100% correct. If you want to use epoxy, fiberglass is optional (although it would be friggin' indestructable with glass). Epoxy is considerably more expensive than poly.

 

[gworca]

Re: Deck Replacement

Perfect. Any guesses on a 16' boat for two coats about how much resin to buy?
And the 1.5 ounce cloth, is that over the entire deck, top and bottom?

I am hoping to get all of the old deck out today and buy the new material and resin and cloth and get started.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Deck Replacement

I would buy 2 Gallons of resin to start and do my first coat. That will give you an idea. You Only need to put cloth on the TOP side of your deck not the bottom. If you do put it on the bottom it WILL be stronger and cloth is pretty cheap. You will need about 10 yards of cloth if it is the 54" width cloth. the wood will soak the resin pretty good on the first coat and the cloth will soak it pretty good on the second. the amount you use for the first coat will be about the same for the second. Remember be careful with the FLASH. You can use less hardener to allow for more work time but don't use to much less or it will not harden. Use to much and it will harden to fast. Start with a small section and small amount and see what works for you. Also the SMELL is pretty bad so get a good mask and try to work in a good open area. Alert the Neighbors that it is gunna stink for a while.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Deck Replacement

Just for clarification, you aren't saying he can get away with just a couple coats of poly resin on the bottoms are you? or are you specifically talking about cloth as oppsed to mat?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Deck Replacement

No Poly needs cloth for strength

 

[gworca]

Re: Deck Replacement

So Woodonglass, I should put the glass cloth on the bottom as well? Earlier someone said that poly would break just like glass without cloth. Also, is there a difference between mat and cloth and which should I use?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Deck Replacement

Cloth is usually woven together and the layers can be at different angles to each other, ie +/- 45 etc.. Mat is individual random strands of glass held together with a binder. I would use 1.5 oz mat on the bottom and 6 oz Cloth on the top. Won/t cost must and will GREATLY increase your strenght. Check out USComposites.com

 

[gworca]

Re: Deck Replacement

Just thought I would update the progress on my project. I have spent the last couple of weeks getting up all the rotted deck and scraping out the old foam. Cleaned up the hull. I bought 1/2 inch exterior glued plywood, and found a local supplier for the poly resin and cloth. They were a big help in setting me up with what I needed.
Cut the pieces for the floor and layed the cloth with the poly resin and then have put a second coat on the underside. I have taken some of the 2" pink foam siding and cut it to fit the hull under the floor. My next step is to attach the flooring with pop rivets to the aluminum stringers. Then I will lay the top layer of cloth and 2 coats of poly resin on the top of the deck. So far so good.
I will post some pictures next showing the progress.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Deck Replacement

Sounds textbook so far. Keep up the good work.