This Sunday's progress.
- Thread starter blazeracer
- Start date
blazeracer
New member
Ended up with two missions today. First one was the trailer jack. Mission complete on that one.
Second came the floor. Got it all cut out to solid wood. There was actually quite a bit of solid wood that I cut because it is water soaked and VERY heavy. The drain system for under the floor is not too good and leaves an inch of water standing in the bottom of the hull. Half of the center stringer was rotted too so it will get replaced. Should be able to get the rest of the glass out with a saw blade on an angle grinder and get the new floor glassed in tomorrow afternoon. And build a better drain!!
Second came the floor. Got it all cut out to solid wood. There was actually quite a bit of solid wood that I cut because it is water soaked and VERY heavy. The drain system for under the floor is not too good and leaves an inch of water standing in the bottom of the hull. Half of the center stringer was rotted too so it will get replaced. Should be able to get the rest of the glass out with a saw blade on an angle grinder and get the new floor glassed in tomorrow afternoon. And build a better drain!!
Last Mohecian
Administrator
Those jobs always look worse than they really are IMO. How did it smell under there?????
blazeracer
New member
Last Mohican said:Those jobs always look worse than they really are IMO. How did it smell under there?????
Not bad, like I said the wood was pretty much solid, just soaked. That's how that marine wood works I guess. Without airpockets the wood doesn't rot as fast. The only part that was really rotted was the back half of the center stringer, and the little piece that separates the engine compartment from the space under the floor.
Last Mohecian
Administrator
'78 Crusader said:
Pretty sure your favorite store, Harbor Freight has them.
blazeracer
New member
EOSpeed said:
The foam is water soaked, but there is very little of it in the lower hull. Not even worth the effort to take it out.
I got the trailer jack from Northern Tool, the best place for trailer gear... Plus it's closer to my house than Harbor Freight.
blazeracer
New member
Tomorrow's pics should have a brand new floor fully installed.
blazeracer
New member
Yeah, with a new stringer. I use Bondo brand fiberglass. I gues it's a two part epoxy type resin. It's usually unworkable after like 10 minutes. Gotta lay it down fast.
blazeracer
New member
I didn't think any resin was porous at all once it hardened. I don't think the floor in my boat is original. The bottom side of the deck wasn't glassed at all.
Last Mohecian
Administrator
From what I understand, for poly to really bond it needs to be a chemical bond. That means it works great for complete layup where it is always wet to wet work. Poly does not stick as well to existing cured work though. Epoxy is a much better choice for repairs. It creates a much stronger mechanical bond which is what you get when doing a repair or adding on to existing work. I cleaned off an existing repair that was made in my boat with poly by a previous owner. It turned lose very easily and completely once I got it started. Could have been because it was poly or it could have been crappy prep work.
All that being said, I think the key is keeping the wood dry and penetration free. Any time there is a penetration in the wood it is a place for moisture to enter. There are several different methods to keep the penetrations dry if you have to make them. Personally I chose to glass in smaller pieces of wood on top of my floor every where I needed to mount something. I then used T nuts in those pieces. This way the penetrations were in a smaller much easier to replace non structural piece if it ever does rot.
This is all based on what I read while doing research for my floor. It could very well all be wrong but it made sense to me.
Hope that all makes sense.
All that being said, I think the key is keeping the wood dry and penetration free. Any time there is a penetration in the wood it is a place for moisture to enter. There are several different methods to keep the penetrations dry if you have to make them. Personally I chose to glass in smaller pieces of wood on top of my floor every where I needed to mount something. I then used T nuts in those pieces. This way the penetrations were in a smaller much easier to replace non structural piece if it ever does rot.
This is all based on what I read while doing research for my floor. It could very well all be wrong but it made sense to me.
Hope that all makes sense.
Last Mohecian
Administrator
blazeracer said:
My floor was definitely original and it was not glassed on the bottom. I think it was hit or miss when they layed these things up back in the day.
Last Mohecian
Administrator
Oh, One last thing. When I layed up the transom in my Rebel I did it all wrong. I used pressure treated ply and poly resin. That was over 5 years ago. If I had a big egg beater hanging on it I might be worried. Since a lot of jets have no wood in the transom I really haven't thought twice about it. If I ever sell it I'll either redo it or at the very least disclose it to the buyer. Fat chance on me selling it though. :smiley: