reinforcing floor board (updtated w/ pics)

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 bkhallpass wrote:

Pete, remember, this boat was a 96.  There shouldn't be any wood in that floor panel.  I don't think using ply is a good answer.  

Jack, you need to grind a v down to the crack from each side.  this gives you a clean surface for the repair to bind, and also allows  you to build the area back up strongly.  Once ground down, you can trickle some epoxy resin in the crack itself.  However, as you build up the repair you need fiberglass cloth or mat in the resin.  Resin by itself is strong, but brittle.  The glass gives it strength.  What Chris was saying is you start with a small strip, mayble and inch.  Then A wider strip and so on until you have filled up the V and created a repair 3 or 4 inches wide.   The wider the repair, the stronger it will be be. If the cracks are small, you can probably just widen them with a dremel and fill with resin, then cover with mat.  If the cracks are wide, and the fiberglass has delaminated near the cracks, you need to grind away the loose material.

There should be acore of some sort of composite in that panel.  Worst case, you grind down to the core, and then build the fiberglas back up to level.

I believe what Pete is saying is that once you have fixed all of the cracks, he also recommends a layer of cloth across the whole repair, probably across the entire surface of the panel, for strength.  He is recommending a layer of mat or cloth across top and bottom.  To do this, you need to be sure all of the adhesive is off.  This means either grinding the whole surface, or if you get lucky, getting it off with adhesive remover.

Just cutting a sheet of plywood, coating with CPES, and glassing over it would be quicker.  But, in my opinion, it's not the right thing to do.  One of the selling points of 93 and later boats is that they have no wood in the construction.  I don't think it's in your best interest to put wood in there now.  

I would guess it will take you a couple of hours to grind off the surface both sides, grind out the cracks to a V.  Probably two or three layers of glass to fill up the Vs, and a layer of Mat or cloth on both sides.  If you did just one layer a day, you'll be done in a week.

Free advice, take it for what it's worth.

BKH 

Thanks, very well explained by all you guys.  

If I'm going to be cutting narrow strips of glass, I would picture the strips fraying pretty easily around the edges.  With that in mind, should I look for a more dense weave fiberglass??

can you guys recommend any specific types or brands of fiberglass and epoxy resin??

Thanks again.  this is a tremendous resource.

reinforcing floor board (updtated w/ pics)

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