need help!1976 procraft bass boat

[raven45227]

i would first off thank you all for your opinions and knowledge. i took the floor out of my boat and cleaned it all up. the stringers seemed to be fine so i am starting to put the floors back in. what do i use on the floor on the bottom of the plywood and what do i do too the top after installed. i am very confused on how and what steps to take. i have read many things in your forum and i seen a thousand different ways to do it.. please if you could tell me in steps i would greatly appriciate all your help. God bless and thank you all Raven

 

[sdunt]

Re: need help!1976 procraft bass boat

There are as many ways as there are members of this forum. And we all have our own opinions and bias..

Personally in my project, link is in my signature, I followed Jim Anderson's recommendations and DID NOT seal the bottom of my floor.

Read Jim's book - Runabout Renovation: How to Find and Fix Up an Old Fiberglass Speedboat by Jim Anderson
http://www.amazon.com/Runabout-Reno...0255336?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176991542&sr=8-1

I also opted to use Polyester (fiberglass) resin because it is less expensive and if it held up from 1960 until today that means my repair should last until about 2040.

The main thing to remember if you try to use both Epoxy and Polyester resin, is that you can NOT apply polyester resin over top of Epoxy, it simply will not set up. You can apply epoxy over polyester, but not the other way around.

So don't try the idea of using epoxy putty for the edges of the floor and then think you can glass over the floor with Polyester resin, because the resin over top of the epoxy putty won't set up.

As for materials, get a GOOD FRESH supplier for resins:

http://www.uscomposites.com/polyesters.html

And there are some great deals on scrap cloth, etc that were ends of rolls on eBay: http://stores.ebay.com/Tordoff-Supply

One finaly note, if you do go the route of sealing both sides of the floor, remember that polyester by itself, with out mat or clothe will not stay on wood: http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/imageDetail,p,148,i,2695,00.html

 

[sdunt]

Re: need help!1976 procraft bass boat

Yes, glassing is using either Polyester (fiberglass) resin or epoxy resin to apply fiberglass reinforcements to the floor, usually fiberglass clothe and / or fiberglass mat.

Take a look through my project blog: http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/projectTut,p,148,00.html

Hopefully that will answer lots of questions. As for amount of materials, it depends on your boat and how many layers of material you put in. I used 2 gallons of resin to replace the floor in a 14 foot boat.

Do some searches on shareaproject for rotted or rotten floor and read the blogs.

If I have not already given you the 'reading list', here goes:

#1 - Runabout Renovation: How to Find and Fix Up an Old Fiberglass Speedboat by Jim Anderson
http://www.amazon.com/Runabout-Reno...0255336?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176991542&sr=8-1

you can probably find this one at the library:
The Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual by Allan H. Viatses
http://www.amazon.com/Fiberglass-Bo...0255336?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176991609&sr=1-2

Book I got at the library and then bought a used copy on half.com for $3.00
Fiberglass Repair and Construction Handbook Author: Jack Wiley
http://product.half.ebay.com/_W0QQprZ4478978QQcpidZ1186450896

Suppliers for materials:

http://www.uscomposites.com/polyesters.html

http://stores.ebay.com/Tordoff-Supply

Estimating Materials:
http://www.fgci.com/howto/ht006estimating.html

Catalyst Chart
http://www.fgci.com/howto/ht005catalyst_chart.html

Fiberglass Learning center (includes link to West System Manual)
http://www.fiberglasswarehouse.com/learning_center.asp