Re: Glass ply bottoms was(ROS followup )
The boat is a Junebug, originally built with 1/4" Superply plywood.
One thing I noticed, the inside bottom of the boat underneath the
forward seat wasn't painted properly since it was very difficult to
get a brush in there. When I removed the bottom I noticed a large
amount of mildew on the unpainted plywood. It looked to me like it
would have started to rot before too much longer. The boat is always
kept inside my garage. There was 1 time when I accidently left
standing water in the forward area of the boat for a few weeks, this
is probably when the mildew got started.
Last summer as an experiment I flooded the boat and then tried to
bail it out. When flooded there is very little freeboard and I don't
think I would be able to rescue the boat without outside assistance.
The fore and aft sections are decked and have watertight bulkheads
with inspection ports. This gives some reserve buoancy but not
enough. I'm going to epoxy coat the areas under the seats and install
foam.
Mike
One thing I noticed, the inside bottom of the boat underneath the
forward seat wasn't painted properly since it was very difficult to
get a brush in there. When I removed the bottom I noticed a large
amount of mildew on the unpainted plywood. It looked to me like it
would have started to rot before too much longer. The boat is always
kept inside my garage. There was 1 time when I accidently left
standing water in the forward area of the boat for a few weeks, this
is probably when the mildew got started.
Last summer as an experiment I flooded the boat and then tried to
bail it out. When flooded there is very little freeboard and I don't
think I would be able to rescue the boat without outside assistance.
The fore and aft sections are decked and have watertight bulkheads
with inspection ports. This gives some reserve buoancy but not
enough. I'm going to epoxy coat the areas under the seats and install
foam.
Mike
--- In bolger@y..., "ntsrfer" <ktsrfer@m...> wrote:
> What boat is that bottom going on again ? Lets see some pictures
when
> your done.
>
> Todd
>
> --- In bolger@y..., "dvacanti" <mike_vacanti@h...> wrote:
> > I ended up going all out and buying 2 sheets of 3/8" occume
marine
> > plywood. It is 5 ply so it's not the absolute top quality which
is
> BS
> > 1088 7 ply. I haven't actually weighed it but it feels lighter
than
> > the 3/8" fir available at Home Depot. In this way I'm hoping to
get
> > the stiffness of 3/8" plywood without the weight penalty. I'm
going
> > to glass the outside of the bottom with 6 or 8 oz. cloth and
maybe
> > use 4 oz. or even lighter on the inside surface.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > --- In bolger@y..., "ntsrfer" <ktsrfer@m...> wrote:
> > > Hi Mike,
> > >
> > > A while back I was looking for away to make a bottom better.
> Should
> > I
> > > glass both side of a thinner plywood bottom or use a better
> thicker
> > > sheet of plywood with out glassing both sides? Talking to the
> > > experts , they say a thicker plywood bottom would be lighter,
> > > stronger, least exspensive and less time cosuming than glassing
> > both
> > > sides of a thinner plywood bottom. Just what I have heard.
> > >
> > > Why not a good quality 3/8 '' ply bottom with the outside
glassed?
> > >
> > > Just a thought.
> > >
> > > Todd
> > >
> > > I went with a 3/8 bottom .
> > >
What boat is that bottom going on again ? Lets see some pictures when
your done.
Todd
your done.
Todd
--- In bolger@y..., "dvacanti" <mike_vacanti@h...> wrote:
> I ended up going all out and buying 2 sheets of 3/8" occume marine
> plywood. It is 5 ply so it's not the absolute top quality which is
BS
> 1088 7 ply. I haven't actually weighed it but it feels lighter than
> the 3/8" fir available at Home Depot. In this way I'm hoping to get
> the stiffness of 3/8" plywood without the weight penalty. I'm going
> to glass the outside of the bottom with 6 or 8 oz. cloth and maybe
> use 4 oz. or even lighter on the inside surface.
>
> Mike
>
> --- In bolger@y..., "ntsrfer" <ktsrfer@m...> wrote:
> > Hi Mike,
> >
> > A while back I was looking for away to make a bottom better.
Should
> I
> > glass both side of a thinner plywood bottom or use a better
thicker
> > sheet of plywood with out glassing both sides? Talking to the
> > experts , they say a thicker plywood bottom would be lighter,
> > stronger, least exspensive and less time cosuming than glassing
> both
> > sides of a thinner plywood bottom. Just what I have heard.
> >
> > Why not a good quality 3/8 '' ply bottom with the outside glassed?
> >
> > Just a thought.
> >
> > Todd
> >
> > I went with a 3/8 bottom .
> >
I ended up going all out and buying 2 sheets of 3/8" occume marine
plywood. It is 5 ply so it's not the absolute top quality which is BS
1088 7 ply. I haven't actually weighed it but it feels lighter than
the 3/8" fir available at Home Depot. In this way I'm hoping to get
the stiffness of 3/8" plywood without the weight penalty. I'm going
to glass the outside of the bottom with 6 or 8 oz. cloth and maybe
use 4 oz. or even lighter on the inside surface.
Mike
plywood. It is 5 ply so it's not the absolute top quality which is BS
1088 7 ply. I haven't actually weighed it but it feels lighter than
the 3/8" fir available at Home Depot. In this way I'm hoping to get
the stiffness of 3/8" plywood without the weight penalty. I'm going
to glass the outside of the bottom with 6 or 8 oz. cloth and maybe
use 4 oz. or even lighter on the inside surface.
Mike
--- In bolger@y..., "ntsrfer" <ktsrfer@m...> wrote:
> Hi Mike,
>
> A while back I was looking for away to make a bottom better. Should
I
> glass both side of a thinner plywood bottom or use a better thicker
> sheet of plywood with out glassing both sides? Talking to the
> experts , they say a thicker plywood bottom would be lighter,
> stronger, least exspensive and less time cosuming than glassing
both
> sides of a thinner plywood bottom. Just what I have heard.
>
> Why not a good quality 3/8 '' ply bottom with the outside glassed?
>
> Just a thought.
>
> Todd
>
> I went with a 3/8 bottom .
>
When I built my Frolic2, I got a good buy on 3/8" ply. The bottom called for 1/2" so I glassed both sides of the 3/8. It was plenty strong but it oil canned. If I did it over, I'd have used 1/2" instead. Glass will add some strength and abrassion resistance but the 1/2" would have felt stronger.
Jeff
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Jeff
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hi Mike,
A while back I was looking for away to make a bottom better. Should I
glass both side of a thinner plywood bottom or use a better thicker
sheet of plywood with out glassing both sides? Talking to the
experts , they say a thicker plywood bottom would be lighter,
stronger, least exspensive and less time cosuming than glassing both
sides of a thinner plywood bottom. Just what I have heard.
Why not a good quality 3/8 '' ply bottom with the outside glassed?
Just a thought.
Todd
I went with a 3/8 bottom .
A while back I was looking for away to make a bottom better. Should I
glass both side of a thinner plywood bottom or use a better thicker
sheet of plywood with out glassing both sides? Talking to the
experts , they say a thicker plywood bottom would be lighter,
stronger, least exspensive and less time cosuming than glassing both
sides of a thinner plywood bottom. Just what I have heard.
Why not a good quality 3/8 '' ply bottom with the outside glassed?
Just a thought.
Todd
I went with a 3/8 bottom .
--- In bolger@y..., "dvacanti" <mike_vacanti@h...> wrote:
I'm leaning toward 1/4" ply with 6 oz. glass
> on both sides. I'll live with the extra weight, I want this to last
> for a while.
>
> Mike
Thanks to everyone for their responses to my request for opinions on
random orbital sanders. I ended up buying a Makita 2-hand grip model
for $90.00 at Lowes. I used 60 grit to strip the paint from the
bottom of my 2 year old Junebug. Major cracking had ocurred caused by
trailering the boat on a too stiff trailer and incorrectly oriented
bunks (originally the bunks ran fore and aft, now they run
athwartship). The sander wasn't quite as aggressive as I had hoped,
at least not with the 60 grit. I'll probably get some 40 grit and see
if I like that better.
In the process of stripping the bottom I decided that I wasn't going
to be happy with simply fiberglassing the bottom. I am going to
replace the entire bottom; I removed all the screws last night. A
torch broke the grip of the epoxy on the screws at the cost of a some
choking smoke. I'll power plane as much of the bottom as I dare and
then hand plane and sand the rest. I have to decide what I want to
replace the bottom with. I'm leaning toward 1/4" ply with 6 oz. glass
on both sides. I'll live with the extra weight, I want this to last
for a while.
Mike
random orbital sanders. I ended up buying a Makita 2-hand grip model
for $90.00 at Lowes. I used 60 grit to strip the paint from the
bottom of my 2 year old Junebug. Major cracking had ocurred caused by
trailering the boat on a too stiff trailer and incorrectly oriented
bunks (originally the bunks ran fore and aft, now they run
athwartship). The sander wasn't quite as aggressive as I had hoped,
at least not with the 60 grit. I'll probably get some 40 grit and see
if I like that better.
In the process of stripping the bottom I decided that I wasn't going
to be happy with simply fiberglassing the bottom. I am going to
replace the entire bottom; I removed all the screws last night. A
torch broke the grip of the epoxy on the screws at the cost of a some
choking smoke. I'll power plane as much of the bottom as I dare and
then hand plane and sand the rest. I have to decide what I want to
replace the bottom with. I'm leaning toward 1/4" ply with 6 oz. glass
on both sides. I'll live with the extra weight, I want this to last
for a while.
Mike