Gotta be a no brainer but,

[78whiteorbs]

Having never worked with fiber glass and never restoring a boat I have done quite a bit of reading here and learned much allbeit in theory as I have yet to actually lay fiber glass in a boat but am at the point where I will be soon.

Question is

1) How do you attach a bench seat properly to a fiber glassed deck. I have yet to see pix of this anywhere here and am still looking.

I have seen examples of people just drilling screws into the deck but this has gotta ruin the wood stringers beneath eventually it is suppose to be water tight ,right ? The deck should let no water go anywhere but out the drain hole when the plug is out or out the bilge pump port.

I gotta a project boat a while back and have been sanding and stripping it for painting ,I removed all carpet and tack and have a nice bench walk through seat I got from a friend that goes great with the boats looks. I am fixing to be installing carpet and want to secure the seat bench seat properly .

I'll post some pix in a bit. Any help greatly appreaciated.

 

[lucid484]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

what material is teh bech seat?

If its fiberglass...couldnt you just fiberglass the deck to the seat?

 

[DJ]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

Typically, things such as seats are bolted to the deck. THe trick is to seal the fasteners correctly.

A good sealer, for that purpose is 3M 5200. It is an adhesive and sealant.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

if you prefer not to drill holes in the deck just stainless bolt mount the bench to a plywood pad and glue it to the deck. You still have to seal the pad and it will help to bevel the edges if they get walked on.

 

[78whiteorbs]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

here's a few

 

[oops!]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

as you can see.....there is many ways to mount a seat. the choice is yours.

if i may......i would like to expand on what dj posted earlier.

.....with any screw or bolt that goes thru your floor....you must seal it so that water cannot get into the wood.......unprotected wood = rot.

when you screw thru into the deck and it is seated correctly....back the screw all the way out, fill the hole with 3m 5200....(cut the tip thin so it comes out like out of a needle)....then coat the screw with it.

then re drill the screw dack into the deck......

when you age installing a new deck the procedure is the same...and then to glass over the screws.

if you are using epoxy.....over drill the holes and fill with epoxy...then screw into the epoxy.

i hope that helps.

cheers
oops

 

[78whiteorbs]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

here we go, a wooden framed seat.

 

[78whiteorbs]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

here is the boat

 

[78whiteorbs]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

I think i like the pad idea. just gonna mount some bolts through a set of pads then glass them to the deck. Would the poly resin serve as a good adhesive under the pads or??? What is necassary to prep my deck for the contact points? Does old (cured) fiberglass adhere well to fresh? Should epoxy be used instead in this application?

 

[78whiteorbs]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

To clear that last post up, I do not want to drill into my deck. I am gonna fiber glass over some wooden pads i will make so as to seal the wood(or do I even need the cloth here?) and I want to glue that as securely and strongly to the deck. The pads will have a mating bolt pattern for the bench seat. What be the strongest bonding agent? Also what is reasonably affordable bonding agent

tryin to just keep it simple here. seal wood plus miracle bond to deck.

 

[oops!]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

heh heh heh......the best bonding is allways epoxy.....the stuff is known as "the glue"

i would suggest if you dont want to drill into the deck to glass a layer on as jonesy suggested.

surface prep is allways the key.......rough and scuff the existing glass vaccume and clean with aceitone.......then use csm....(for poly resin...not needed with epoxy) and a layer of cloth between the deck and the "new wood"......then wrap that whole shabang in another layer of glass.

for definition of the term..."rough and scuff"....read the hull ext thread's index.

there will be a "ridge" left over from the final wrap.....just grind the ridge smooth after it cures

 

[78whiteorbs]

Re: Gotta be a no brainer but,

ok, think I got the right idea. Will rough and scuff, clean and vac, prep with acetone, brush on a layer of epoxy , then layer some cloth then another layer of epoxy to saturate fiber glass then brush the bottome of the plywood with epoxy and sandwich on top if glass. Wait and let cure then add a topical layer of cloth and resin to seal the whole thing from the top down. Grind any leftovers and sand and paint. Bada bing bada boom. Sound right? Then all I gotta do is attach seat frame and ratchet the nuts down. Can anyone recommend a good epoxy that would serve pupose here and can be easily obtained at a reasonable price. Any ideas on how much I'd need here?