steelhead2000
Cadet
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2009
- Messages
- 12
Well new to me at least. I picked up a 1981 Seaswirl 18" open bow with a Suzuki DT140 a few weeks ago. The boat has turned out to need more work than I initially thought but it's been fun. By the way this is my first REAL boat aside from the AVON inflatable and kayaks I've had. The boat was a lake/river boat and I'm making some conversion to fish on the big water. I've decided to go with a painted deck instead of the carpet which has deteriorated quite a bit. So after the recent past storm passed through I tore up the carpet and sure enough it was all rotted came up in bits and pieces and some crumbled. The deck is plywood with fiberglass over the top and is surprising in good shape. I say this because I can see that the wood has much of it's original color which means no wood rot. I've reached through the center hatch to inspect and tap the wood and it's still got that solid knock sound to it. There is one area that is flexing and I've indicated it in this drawing below. The X within the broken line marks the soft spot and in this area I can see that there's been some water seepage, under the fiberglass the wood is discolored and dark, most likely rot. I have an idea of how I would fix this but would like some opinions on whether it would work or not and if there's a better idea please let me know.
My plan of attack are:
1. cut several holes within this area large enough to slip through some reinforcement. I would go with some 1/2 plywood strips about 2 feet long by 3 inches wide . I'd drill a small hole right in the middle of the strip so I could put a screw in and then i'd coat the strip with epoxy and put through the hole and center it and pull up with the screw coming up through the hole. My thought is this would provide some strength to the rot wood when the epoxy hardens. I'd rig some type of brace so that the strips would be held up against gravity to dry. Then I'd use fiberglass to lay right where the deck joins with the side of the boat as marked by the ZZZZZZ in the drawing. This joint is currently a fiberglass joint.
Would this work guys? I'm really trying not to cut out that area and deal with stringers and floors. The stringers are in good shape this is the only area that needs work. Also I've pulled up all the carpet and will be sanding the deck and laying down a coat of paint with non skid filler. Will post up some pics soon to show my progress. This site is awesome thanks for all your help.
My plan of attack are:
1. cut several holes within this area large enough to slip through some reinforcement. I would go with some 1/2 plywood strips about 2 feet long by 3 inches wide . I'd drill a small hole right in the middle of the strip so I could put a screw in and then i'd coat the strip with epoxy and put through the hole and center it and pull up with the screw coming up through the hole. My thought is this would provide some strength to the rot wood when the epoxy hardens. I'd rig some type of brace so that the strips would be held up against gravity to dry. Then I'd use fiberglass to lay right where the deck joins with the side of the boat as marked by the ZZZZZZ in the drawing. This joint is currently a fiberglass joint.
Would this work guys? I'm really trying not to cut out that area and deal with stringers and floors. The stringers are in good shape this is the only area that needs work. Also I've pulled up all the carpet and will be sanding the deck and laying down a coat of paint with non skid filler. Will post up some pics soon to show my progress. This site is awesome thanks for all your help.
