Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Fiberglassed Bottom - What have I done ...?
Work and elk season got in the way of my drift boat project. It sat, in my driveway, upside down, on sawhorses, for about three weeks, after completing my second coat of epoxy, while I contemplated reinstalling the skid plate. Because I haven't paid attention since a couple of days after completing the epoxy application, I don't know at what point this damage occurred, but sanding had been complete for 5 or 6 days prior, it was tarped at night and open to the 85 degree, dry Wyoming sunshine through the day. I guess what I'm asking for is some idea why it happened (so it never ever happens again,) and where do I start with repairs? Sheesh.
Heartbroken in Wyoming.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dave Z on
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Two things- Amine Blush. gas-out of the epoxy. Can be snaded and recoated or washed with ammonia. secondly, what color tarp? UV could have gotten to it and degrades epoxy FAST. Did you take that tarp off and expose it to the nice 85 degree wyoming sun?
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on
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WyoRoger, I think what you are seeing is there was some delamination between the outer layer of plywood and the next layer down. When sanding it you removing some of the epoxy.
I am assuming that you are still going to add fiberglass cloth to prevent the further "checking" of the Douglas Fir. I can see numerous small examples of checking on your boats bottom. As DF grows there is often a vast difference in weather conditions between summer and winter rsulting in uneven growth patterns ie, thinner and thicker growth rings. When plywood is cut or in this case peeled from the log in a rotary fashion the growth rings are exposed. As the wood ages and dries there can be openings or checking formed.
I would bet that there was some moisture within the plywood that actually caused the wood to expand causing the damage you photographed.
The epoxy alone will not provide any protection from this occurring again. If this were the side of your boat a covering of four or six ounce glass when laminated to the wood will prevent checking. The same coating would also stop the checking on the bottom, it will not however add much resistance to damage.
I have recently been floating the Grande Ronde River in Southeast Washington State. Last weekend the river flows were about 850 cubic feet a second. The result was there are numerous rocks exposed. The solo pontoon boaters I was floating with were very concerned that I would be able to float and not damage my boat. I felt confident that I could either miss most rocks because of years of experience running rafts, drift boats, canoes and kayaks and because I had built a great deal of strength into my boat's bottom. Well I did hit a few rocks but I missed many more. Tommy the Pinball Wizard would have been proud of me. When I pulled my boat out I looked where I thought the hits I did make would have done damage and all I could find was a few scratches. My sacrificial chine caps are pretty beat up but that is okay.
So what did I do to add strength and abrasion resistance to my boat you ask. First of all since I was building a boat from new I could add fiberglass cloth to the interior surface of the floor. Fiberglass is strongest when it is in tension or resisting stretch. It is much less strong in compression or being squeezed. So if an impact is trying to force it's way through the bottom of my boat adding a lamination of 18 ounce triaxial glass would be beneficial. Triaxial referring to the three directions the heavy bundles of fibers are oriented within the woven glass. 18 ounce referring to the weight of a square yard of the fabric. It was difficult to bend the floor of my boat to meet the edges and frames but lots of weight and several ratchet straps helped.
The outside surface of my boat's bottom is protected with another layer of 18 ounce triaxial glass laminated to it and several more layers of epoxy mixed with graphite and filler. There is no bending or oil canning to my boats bottom and the on-the-river test confirmed my theories and eased my mind.
So what can you do? Well I have been rebuilding a boat for a friend here in Spokane and I tell you what we did. We didn't need to replace the bottom of his boat we did however need to repair a few places that the interior of his boats bottom had delaminated from the interior layers of the plywood. To fix this we coated the wood with epoxy to stabilize the wood fibers. Next we laminated six ounce E-glass cloth between floor sections and in the front three sections we laminated 18 ounce triaxial cloth. We choose to cover the laminated cloth with Herculiner, truck bed liner. (Pictures on this rebuild are due to be posted next week.)
The bottom of the boat had 18 ounce triaxial glass and several layers of epoxy mixed with graphite. We did not cover the chine caps with epoxy or glass so they could be removed when they have severed their sacrificial duties. Steve's boat still needs to have all the interior furniture rebuilt but the hull of his boat will be ready for many more years of use.
So, I hope this wasn't too much information. I figure that it might also be helpful to others in the future. Let me know what you think.
By the way will you be eating slow elk (beef) or the real thing this winter? Good luck with your repair, you don't need to be heartbroken it was the way the wood grew and it's exposure to the elements that was the cause of the problems.
Rick N
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Permalink Reply by WyoRoger on
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Blue tarp, on at night to prevent collection of dew, removed during the day to make certain the plywood was thoroughly dried. I used Goop "Coat It" for boats and allowed two days cure/dry time between very thin coats. I have no shop and my garage is full of my wife's "antiques," so, unless I'm weary of marital bliss, I'm forced to work in the driveway.
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Permalink Reply by tungsten on
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X2 on the blush and out gassing.Hard to do this out side with the big temp swings.Try to borrow someones garage ,shop or something.You'll have to wash and scrub first before you sand if it is blush as the wax won't sand off.It will just plug up your paper.
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Permalink Reply by AJ DeRosa on
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I think there is a misunderstanding here. You mention Goop, Coat It. This product is best used on aluminum bottoms to make them slick. This is not epoxy nor is it fiberglass. A properly applied epoxy/fiberglass bottom would not look this. CoatIt will not add strength but you could go ahead and use the boat as is. The CoatIt will eventually wear off and crack and perhaps be easier to remove. I had this on the bottom of an old Keithe Steele that I bought in the 80's. It was applied over a FinPly wooden shoe and worked fine.
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Permalink Reply by Tom Anderson on
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One point I noticed aside from the points already made:
If you used Coat-It (which I love), I think you may not have gotten is mixed well enough. Coat-It (especially after two coats) is Black Black. Most of the Coat-It I have worked with has needed intense mixing (most of the 'solids' . . . graphite and such are typically completely sludged up near solid on the bottom of the larger can. Especially if the stock it was sold from has been sitting for a while.
Not the greatest photo, but here's mine after two coats (over fiberglass):
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Permalink Reply by wingless on
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The Blair Tornado II Paint Shaker is a very handy tool. I use this all the time when applying coatings to ensure the paint is fully mixed.
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Permalink Reply by Terry E Walsh on
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You are still fine! Just put some more elbo grease in the form of sanding the ------- out of the bottom again and re coat it after mixing the coat it,really well! Should come out fine! But if you really are not happy with it, take it back down to the wood and put 20oz glass on it! The suggestions on this site are all very good!
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Thank you all, once again, for your suggestions. It would be easy to slide into the depths of depression, seek counseling and pharmaceutical support, or swill copious amounts of creme de menthe. (See "Cocktail Hour in Jackson Hole") Instead, because waterfowl season is now upon us, and I've dreamt all summer of the access I'd gain with a float boat full of decoys, I'm going to stand her right side up and hope she floats. Any further repairs will have to await the spring. Like a friend of mine once said of his horse, after we two amateur farriers nailed a set of shoes on him, "He was gimpin' a bit when we started." Maybe it's the Wyoming way.
Tight lines!
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