hello all, thought i throw this at you for a little advice. I took the hatch off that sits above my gas tanks the fiberglass has released from the wood causing the floor to give.Dose any body know why the wood is in 6 inch squares? Im not sure of the reason but I was able to peal the fiberglass of the back.i chiped all the spuares off an was going to glass in one piece of half inch marine plywood and reglass the bottom do you guy think this will be as strong or should i cut this plywood down to 6 inch sqares. thanks steve
soft hatches/26.8 ilander
- Thread starter *26.8 Ilander
- Start date
I've heard that the small squares are used to try and prevent water migration throughout the entire core. They are usually oriented so with the grain at 90 degrees to the adjoining pieces to limit the pathways for water to travel.
I found the same thing in my Sailfish tank covers. Pulled them all out and replaced with 1/2" ply.
At the start of the project, the bottom glass was cut to allow for easier removal.
Core squares removed...
Grinding completed in preparation for new core...
Prior to laying down the 1/2 ply, I drilled a bunch of 1/4" holes in it that would allow resin to escape as the ply was pressed down. Then I painted a coat of unthickened epoxy on both the panel and the 1/2" ply. Next I put down some epoxy thickened w/ wood flour using a notched trowel and laid the ply in place. It was weighted down with a bunch of cinder blocks.
Once that cured, I glassed the top. As you can see the new core was cut so it stopped about 1-1/2" short of the edges of the panel and the core edges were beveled at 45 degrees to allow the glass to wrap easier.
I started with a strip of 1708 in the channel around the edges. Then a layer of 1708 over the whole thing. Then another strip of 1708 in the channel. Lastly, a second layer of 1708 over the whole thing.
What this did was isolate the core from the screw holes around the edges. So, even if the 5200 I bedded the screws in leaks, water will never get to the hatch core.
Hope this helps.
I found the same thing in my Sailfish tank covers. Pulled them all out and replaced with 1/2" ply.
At the start of the project, the bottom glass was cut to allow for easier removal.
Core squares removed...
Grinding completed in preparation for new core...
Prior to laying down the 1/2 ply, I drilled a bunch of 1/4" holes in it that would allow resin to escape as the ply was pressed down. Then I painted a coat of unthickened epoxy on both the panel and the 1/2" ply. Next I put down some epoxy thickened w/ wood flour using a notched trowel and laid the ply in place. It was weighted down with a bunch of cinder blocks.
Once that cured, I glassed the top. As you can see the new core was cut so it stopped about 1-1/2" short of the edges of the panel and the core edges were beveled at 45 degrees to allow the glass to wrap easier.
I started with a strip of 1708 in the channel around the edges. Then a layer of 1708 over the whole thing. Then another strip of 1708 in the channel. Lastly, a second layer of 1708 over the whole thing.
What this did was isolate the core from the screw holes around the edges. So, even if the 5200 I bedded the screws in leaks, water will never get to the hatch core.
Hope this helps.
thanks gw this is what i am deeling with. pictures are better then a thousand words thanks again steve
wahoo33417
GreatGrady Captain
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,233
- Reaction score
- 240
- Points
- 63
- Location
- West Palm Beach, FL
- Model
- Sailfish
I paint a coat of resin on first and then lay down the glass. When laying down large pieces like that, hold them up so you can try to smooth things out as you lay the piece down. More resin on top and then the key is to go over it with one of those ribbed metal rollers.
gw so far so good i have the fiberglass hoding in the plywood right now with a bunch of sinder blocks sitting on it. im going to finish it up this morning when my son gets up ill see if he can put some pictures up. for any body out there that needs to do this it is not that bad. what worried me the most was taking the panal apart. thanks
gw thanks again for the pictures i got my final coat on today I whould post a few pictures but they arent as pretty as yours are (do you do this for a living) but they are strong and i hope i dont need to do this for a long time. thats off the list so ill be moving on to other things. thanks again steve