EVEN AN ELEPHANT COULD WALK ON IT

Well, since the last post a lot has changed. The decks are now decks again, although they may not look it. The sealer and fairing compound has been ordered and the prep work for paint has been started, which means sanding, sanding and more sanding! Fun…

First off, the deck had to be laid. That means finish cutting the glass and finish fairing out the old leftover deck to give the new fiberglass a good place to bond to. So I took the 7in grinder with 50 grit paper on it and beveled the edge to have a nice 2-3inch scarf joint the entire perimeter of the “new” deck. I also sanded down any place that the core was a little to high or the bedding compound was sticking up.

Next was to make sure that I had all the glass cut and ready to go. I laid out the entire first layer without resin to make sure I had all the pieces and everything fit as I wanted. Then I cleaned the core really well with a vacuum and then acetone the entire thing. Next it was time to fiberglass the deck!

I ended up going with 7 layers, for the proper thickness, 1.5 oz mat and 17 oz 45 degree Bi-axial w/out mat were used. I went mat, mat, bi, mat, bi, mat, bi for the lay up schedule. On the test piece I made this came to about the same thickness as the old deck that came off and should give the same, if not better strength because of using bi-axial instead of the roving that was used when the boat was built. I started by laying the first three layers over the entire boat. The mat soaked up a lot of resin and when the bi was put down after I used a fiberglass roller to get rid of any bubbles and to fully wet out the cloth. It took all day and some acrobatics balancing on the cap rail to get it all done. I slept good that night, and got up early to finish the final 4 layers. It got chilly overnight and the resin was still tacky, so it was perfect for the final layers to still get a chemical bond. I laid up the final 4 layers together, the same way that the first three were done. When it dried it looked amazing and there were very few air pockets that I had to grind out. It came out really strong and I can’t even tell if it flexes when I jump up and down on it. So strong, that even an elephant could walk on it…

Next comes the fun part. Sanding.

I learned the hard way that I should have put wax in the final coat so that the resin would cure fully. I did read that in the book that I have, but I tried to get away with out it. Turns out it just gums up the sand paper almost instantly. So I got some wax and painted a light layer of resin over the deck to get a fully cured, and easier to sand deck. Such a small step and only 4$ worth of wax makes all the difference, don’t forget it!

I started grinding the high spots where the cloth overlapped and the edges that were higher. I also drilled out all the holes in the cabin top, reamed them out with a bent nail and will fill them with epoxy tomorrow to help prevent any water ingress to the cabin top and give the screws something better to hold onto. All the non-skid on the cabin top was ground off to make room for the new stuff.  I also removed the main hatch so the carpenter could work on it. Turns out that it was never supposed to be removed, so I had to cut it out, as it was glassed into the cabin top. I thought the destruction was done! Oh well, in the end it will all look better than it did before.

Not on it is boring old sanding and prep work for paint so that she will look great when it is all done. Can’t wait to see what she looks like with some paint on her!

“The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the promptings of a brave, determined spirit.” Mark Twain