First time floor replacement, fiberglass questions.

[JRicci7]

Hello all, I have to start off by complementing all of you on a great site. I have read a lot of good info and tips, but I have a question to make sure I'm going to fix my floor correctly.
I am in the process of replacing the floor in my 76 Trimate II. When it comes to fiberglass for the floor and stringers, should I use just mat or a combination of mat and cloth layers? I picked up a couple gallons of Bondo resin from home depot, and a few bags of Bondo mat and cloth. Any advice would be great. I will post some pictures later on. Thank you.

 

[Rob B]

Hello all, I have to start off by complementing all of you on a great site. I have read a lot of good info and tips, but I have a question to make sure I'm going to fix my floor correctly.
I am in the process of replacing the floor in my 76 Trimate II. When it comes to fiberglass for the floor and stringers, should I use just mat or a combination of mat and cloth layers? I picked up a couple gallons of Bondo resin from home depot, and a few bags of Bondo mat and cloth. Any advice would be great. I will post some pictures later on. Thank you.

Welcome to the board!!!!! Here's a list of what I used when replacing the floor in my Pulse 170 make sure you glass both sides.

I was looking at my receipts earlier to see what it cost for the floor repair. Here's a list:

From Merton's
5-Gallons of Polyester Resin $26.00x5=$130.00
14 yds x50" of 1 1/2oz mat $4.00yd x14yds=$56.00
4yds x12" of 6 oz mat @2.65x4=$10.60
1-gallon of Hull & Deck putty $45.00
1"x6" Alum roller $11.60
1"x3" alum roller $8.50
1-sheet of 3/8"x24"x48" core $19.00
for a total of $280.70+ $57.48 shipping= $338.18

From Lowes
2-1/2" top grade exterior plyboard $22.88 x2=$45.76
1-3/4" top grade exterior plyboard $32.44
12- PL premium construction adhesive 12 x $4.58=$54.96
1- 2x10x8' $7.97

From West Marine
1-gallon polyester resin $37.99 needed one more gallon
1-fiberglass tape 6"x10yds $31.99

From the Carpet Store
6'x16' 20oz marine carpet @119.99

A grand total of $669.28 plus my labor priceless!!!

 

[JRicci7]

Here are some pictures. I don't have any before pictures, I just jumped into it unexpectedly. I got a little further today, everything is sanded down nicely, I just did not take pictures. One question I do have is how worried should I be about getting all of the old carpet glue off? Some of that stuff is sticking pretty well and I sure don't feel like taking the belt sander to it all. Also, does any one have a tip for repairing the deep scratch that is in the port side of the boat? Take a look at the pictures and you will see what I mean.Any comments or tips please shoot them over, thanks.

 

[wickedrister]

WOW!

That looks just like every other old mate that needs some TLC. You have a good start for sure. A 6" side grinder with a 40g or 60g wheel will get a bunch of the prep work done quick, you need to be careful if you use an aggressive tool like this. I will make one hell of a mess so be ready for that. A good respirator is a must! Good job supporting the dash, it's easy to lean on them during demolition and crack them so continue to use use care with that. I suggest topping the seat boxes to see what's inside, could be mush LOL! I cleaned all of the old wood out of my seat boxes but left the glass shells in place to use as templates. Use extra care when cutting the old floor back to where it meets the hull, or the strikes, no fair cutting thorough the hull! Prep work and cleaning everything is the key. Most folks who do this kind of repair for the first time do it over-kill with the amount of resin and glass but it usually doesn't bond well because the surfaces were not properly cleaned up. Your everyday Home Depot or Advanced Auto Bondo brand poly resin will work. The epoxy resins will also work that's if your OK with using $100 per gallon stuff. Use only marine ply or ACX exterior plywood, no treated junk! No resin will bond to treated wood. I like stitch matt rather than chop matt but the inexpensive chop mat will work. This may sound crazy but if you rebuild it about 1/2 as strong as you think it needs to be you should be fine. Remember, prep and clean, prep and clean and then prep, and clean before you glass. Acetone is a good product, use this to wipe everything down before bonding. Try and work on one section at a time. Having a helper is a must. Use rubber gloves, throw away paint brushes and throw away plastic resin pots. Don't get in over your head and have the darn resin kick off before you are ready, that's no fun at all! Work on one section at a time, don't try to knock the entire project in one session.
Best of luck to you and keep the pics coming!

 

[JRicci7]

Here are some more pictures. Thanks for the comments and suggestions, please keep them coming. Thanks again.

 

[wickedrister]

The Hard Work Is Done!

Nice job! Looks like it's time to make templates
Oh one thing......if you need to build new dash panels remember to account for the carpet thickness and vinyl thickness so it will all fit back together when covered. Remember don't use any iron fasteners, use stainless steel screws, nuts, bolts, washers for whatever you put back together. I had to replace all the wood in my 86 Enticer.
That was fun LOL!

 

[mplen2955]

Looks great. I have to do the floor in my boat which is a '71 Checkmate closed bow. I keep getting conflicting accounts on which resin to use. I have purchased polyester but on a boat building blog it says to use epoxy because the poly won't adhere properly. Will I be alright using the poly???

 

[mouse4x4]

well all older boats were laid up with poly resin as long as you clean an prep it will stick i just redid my transom and floor in a 79 baja it is better now then from factory like was mentioned earlier prep prep prep pre cut an work one spot at a time you cant rush it wont work out trust me.

 

[NEBS]

I replaced my floor with polyester resin. I was told before applying resin to wipe area with acetone and let dry. I think it removes any oils and dust. I went with marine grade plywood. Tough stuff and resin really sticks to it. A fiberglass roller is a must to get air bubbles trapped under fiberglass.