Good threads for repairing Fiberglass floors and Rebuilding

[Glenndarryl]

G`day,

Anyone know any good threads of Step by step sort of repairing a section of a fiberglass floor. And rebuilding a floor.

Cheers,

[fandtm666]

there is quite a few here but before i started mine i bought a copy of
Jeff websters Secondhand Boat Workshop which has fantastic step by step with pictures etc

http://www.jeffwebster.com.au/shbw.html

[finga]

White ants in the playpen have to be one of the classic threads on ausfish.
Have a read through it.

[Rip it up]

I will watch this thread closely as I'm about to start my rebuild. But I have it fairly well thought out already.

I'll be doing a report over the next few weeks.

[Glenndarryl]

Yeah, I need to replace a floor. Or I can repair part of it. But dont know how. Determined to do it myself. Properly ofcourse

[Glenndarryl]

Hold on, I dont know If I am talking about the right thing. I want to replace the ply with carpet part of it. Is that the deck or floor?

Cheers

[barra71]

i have just started to replace my floor in my boat, just done all the cutting out of the old floor and got the new one all cut to shape and size,
i have added a few things as well like a builge pump well into my floor, and will be doing some extra things inside once the floor is all done, i spent some time talking to a local fiberglass guy to find out a few things and it was good to know what to do and how to do it as well.
watched many vids on fiberglassing as well. Got all my CSM, 450 and 600 gsm and resin and all the stuff i need from him at a great price.
as the guy said to me just take it slow and dont rush it and dont try to do the whole thing in one hit and you will be fine...
i could have just replaced the area i needed to but i said bugger that do the whole floor then i know it is done.
so today was finnish cutting the old floor out and cut the new floor to size, then when i was happy that it all looked good i took it all out and gave it a good hit with resin to help seal it both sides, just waiting for the to dry. Tomorrow will be giving the whole new floor a coat of 600 gsm mat to seal it off. will try to take some pics,,, i am not a photo kind of person, i just rather do it and get it done...

[Glenndarryl]

i have just started to replace my floor in my boat, just done all the cutting out of the old floor and got the new one all cut to shape and size,
i have added a few things as well like a builge pump well into my floor, and will be doing some extra things inside once the floor is all done, i spent some time talking to a local fiberglass guy to find out a few things and it was good to know what to do and how to do it as well.
watched many vids on fiberglassing as well. Got all my CSM, 450 and 600 gsm and resin and all the stuff i need from him at a great price.
as the guy said to me just take it slow and dont rush it and dont try to do the whole thing in one hit and you will be fine...
i could have just replaced the area i needed to but i said bugger that do the whole floor then i know it is done.
so today was finnish cutting the old floor out and cut the new floor to size, then when i was happy that it all looked good i took it all out and gave it a good hit with resin to help seal it both sides, just waiting for the to dry. Tomorrow will be giving the whole new floor a coat of 600 gsm mat to seal it off. will try to take some pics,,, i am not a photo kind of person, i just rather do it and get it done...

Hey mate,

Good work. Would love to see pictures. So, If I was to repair a certain area of the floor. I would fit the ply in and to seal it up I would use resin or something?

Cheers

[fandtm666]

i have just started to replace my floor in my boat, just done all the cutting out of the old floor and got the new one all cut to shape and size,
i have added a few things as well like a builge pump well into my floor, and will be doing some extra things inside once the floor is all done, i spent some time talking to a local fiberglass guy to find out a few things and it was good to know what to do and how to do it as well.
watched many vids on fiberglassing as well. Got all my CSM, 450 and 600 gsm and resin and all the stuff i need from him at a great price.
as the guy said to me just take it slow and dont rush it and dont try to do the whole thing in one hit and you will be fine...
i could have just replaced the area i needed to but i said bugger that do the whole floor then i know it is done.
so today was finnish cutting the old floor out and cut the new floor to size, then when i was happy that it all looked good i took it all out and gave it a good hit with resin to help seal it both sides, just waiting for the to dry. Tomorrow will be giving the whole new floor a coat of 600 gsm mat to seal it off. will try to take some pics,,, i am not a photo kind of person, i just rather do it and get it done...

good stuff mate , take your time doing it also make sure you give it a nice sand before doing the layer of 600.Have you thought about putting in some flotation foam before dropping your floor in if it hasnt already got any.

I have been on my rebuild for a yr now and am at the ready to paint stage and is amazing how much i have learnt and how quick you can make a mistake.I have a link below with a heap of process pictures

[barra71]

good stuff mate , take your time doing it also make sure you give it a nice sand before doing the layer of 600.Have you thought about putting in some flotation foam before dropping your floor in if it hasnt already got any.

I have been on my rebuild for a yr now and am at the ready to paint stage and is amazing how much i have learnt and how quick you can make a mistake.I have a link below with a heap of process pictures

Hi fandtm666,
I like what you have done with your boat looks sweet as mate, very well done indeed, love the pod on the back,, oh well done on the wordpress also..
i am looking at adding some foam and was thinking of doing the same as you have done in the black plastic, was also looking at sealing it up with the heat shrink plastic so it will always remain water tight....
There will be alot of sanding done as i want a nice good look to it when done, then a nice coat of paint will be added to the whole inside to give it a nice new fresh look. all the side pockets will be also be redone with new ply then glassed. The front lounge seats in the half cab will be recovered soon aswell.
As i am still learning it all i will take my time and get it done right.. i was also thinking of doing a bait board, but will have to wait till i get the floor done first

Chris..

[barra71]

Hey mate,

Good work. Would love to see pictures. So, If I was to repair a certain area of the floor. I would fit the ply in and to seal it up I would use resin or something?

Cheers

Hi Glenndarryl,
if you were to do a repair on the floor you would cut the old area out (just watch out for your stringers and hull ) the new ply that you are going to fit in the area that has been cut out should be sealed up, with just a resin before you glass anything up as this will stop the ply sucking the resin out of the glass when you wet it in. once you have done that, you should glass both sides on the ply this will help to seal it so no water can get into it.
when you fit the new ply in you will have to make sure you have a nice area around the cut out area cleaned and sanded back, so the new fiberglass has something to bind in to.
Now just remember sanding fiberglass will drive you nuts with itching like mad, so make sure you put on a pair of overalls and a dust mask to keep the dust off you as much as you can, then go for a shower and wash the hell out of yourself, you will fell better belive me.... you dont want to breath the dust in as it is glass particles.....

At the end of the day if you are not to sure if this is for you, just get a quote to have it done.... fiberglassing is not as easy as it sounds if you have'nt done it before. My boat is a 4.6 mtr half cab and it took me a day and a half to cut the floor out and to cut the new ply to size and seal it ready to glass coat it.... i am still new to fiberglass even tho i have done it before and still have alot to learn.....

Now if there is anything that i have said here that is not that right, i am sorry as this is what i was told to do by the local fiberglassing guy..

Chris

[Glenndarryl]

Hi Glenndarryl,
if you were to do a repair on the floor you would cut the old area out (just watch out for your stringers and hull ) the new ply that you are going to fit in the area that has been cut out should be sealed up, with just a resin before you glass anything up as this will stop the ply sucking the resin out of the glass when you wet it in. once you have done that, you should glass both sides on the ply this will help to seal it so no water can get into it.
when you fit the new ply in you will have to make sure you have a nice area around the cut out area cleaned and sanded back, so the new fiberglass has something to bind in to.
Now just remember sanding fiberglass will drive you nuts with itching like mad, so make sure you put on a pair of overalls and a dust mask to keep the dust off you as much as you can, then go for a shower and wash the hell out of yourself, you will fell better belive me.... you dont want to breath the dust in as it is glass particles.....

At the end of the day if you are not to sure if this is for you, just get a quote to have it done.... fiberglassing is not as easy as it sounds if you have'nt done it before. My boat is a 4.6 mtr half cab and it took me a day and a half to cut the floor out and to cut the new ply to size and seal it ready to glass coat it.... i am still new to fiberglass even tho i have done it before and still have alot to learn.....

Now if there is anything that i have said here that is not that right, i am sorry as this is what i was told to do by the local fiberglassing guy..

Chris

Hey Chris,

Thanks for that. So when you said the edges of the ply need to be clean. Should there be any sort of gap between the existing ply and the new ply? Say a ML or 2? And what products are recomended for glassing the ply in.

[Rip it up]

Hey Chris,

Thanks for that. So when you said the edges of the ply need to be clean. Should there be any sort of gap between the existing ply and the new ply? Say a ML or 2? And what products are recomended for glassing the ply in.

Hey glenndarryl, there are heaps of products out there that are adhesives for fibreglass. But it all depends on your prep on the hull and how neat your ply floor fits the hull.

My two methods are probably frowned upon on this site but I'll post anyway. Both methods ask for a trimmed floor sheet glassed both sides.

Option 1. Using epoxy resins. Build fibreglass angle moulds for the stringers. Glue one angle either side of the stringers at the height of the bottom skin of your floor height(glue used epoxy resin and glass fibre powder.) Floor sheet to be tapered on outside edge to match profile of the hull join. Within 5mm max. Glue powder used on each angle flange face and hull edge join. Whilst glue is wet run a 4" tape down the hull join. The go over with a 6" tape.

Option 2 is the cheap way using poly ester resins. Leave the stringers alone and square cut the floor sheet on the edge. Mix up a talcum powder mix with resin. Use this as glue bog. Stringers and hull join get a coating. Squash down onto bog. Bog up the square edge join for smoothness and wet tape over wet bog.

The best way to join old to new would be to build a flange underneath the old sheet. This give the new sheet an edge to sit on. Flat piece of cured glass would be the best. 4" wide. This leaves 2" on old and 2" under new. Leave a 3mm gap and squash bog/glue mixture onto flange face and into gap. Always wet tape over wet bog.

[barra71]

Like Rip it up said mate leave a 2-3 mm gape so you can bog it up with the above...

the way i like to do it is use chop strand and cut it up real fine mix the resin and add the fine chop strand to it and use that as your bog, this way your bog is all fiberglass and will be stronger well in my eyes it is,,
Now i dont know if anyone else does this or not but i find it to work well and binds the two timbers/sheets together well.. There are so many ways to do this just have a little look at youtube and see how many guys do it, everyone has there own way of doing things and what they like find what works well for you and what will do the job best for you..

Chris

[Beatsworkin2]

The only way to make it waterproof is to flow coat it yes a good bonding agent is mixing milled fibre with resin like cement with steel every thing needs rio fibreglass on its own is not 100 percent waterproof