Restore /refit of my 1988/89 26D

[kenfyoozed]

It wasn't as scary to use after the first few mins, but a healthy dose of respect is needed or you may loose some flesh.

[OverEasy]

It wasn't as scary to use after the first few mins, but a healthy dose of respect is needed or you may loose some flesh.

Heck Yeah! It’s a chainsaw on a disc!!
I’ve seen those things used by tree stump carvers at fairs. They chew right through pine, oak and even are used to make ice sculptures!
Hate to see one of those things get away from someone 🫣🫣….

Glad it worked for you! Big Job! Good plan!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[kenfyoozed]

It’s amazing how fast these chainsaw disc become dull once they touch the fiberglass. It chews right through the wood, but the woven tabbing they used is a different story. It even throws sparks at times so I have to stop and check for a fire. Got the starboard side all cleaned up and basically ready for the coosa. My plan is to complete the port side tomorrow afternoon. I’ll post pics when I’m done.

[kenfyoozed]

I’m glad I decided to remove the port side. It was no bonded very well to the liner. In fact the entire port side came off in one piece. This allowed a great look at the poor workmanship and dismal quality of the core material. No protection from the backside. And with so many knots I doubt this is actual marine grade. Just a bit more to clean up and she’ll be ready for the coosa to go back in. I hope this can help someone else one day.

[NiceAft]

OMG

You certainly are dedicated. You have my respect.

[kmclemore]

My gosh you've done a lot of work! My back hurts just thinking about it!

I hope with all the fiberglass work you're using protective gear - particularly breathing and eyes. Also, as a former 'glass mold maker and automotive fiberglass body maker, here's a tip... cover any exposed skin with talcum powder... it blocks the pores and dries the skin, helping to prevent tiny glass fibers from getting into your pores and itching terribly.

[kenfyoozed]

I wear long sleeves which normally stops most of the itch. But I will try the talc. I also wear a respirator to keep my lungs protected. It’s been fun so far. Actually it my knee that hurts from crawling all over the deck. I’ll be taking a break for a vacation but I’ll get back to it in a week or so.


After seeing the condition of the cabin deck core I inspected the foredeck core. It’s somewhat better but knowing the core, or assuming the core is t marine grade the deck will be the next to be removed. Plus I’ll be adding a deck locker from Tempress 23x13x9. Just big enough the hold the anchor rode/chain. I’ll get the cabin deck back together first.

[kenfyoozed]

So i have finally made the decision to use marine ply to rebuild my cabin top. I chose plywood for a couple of reasons. I looked at pvc sheets for the core but it was just to flexible even with glass added. Coosa was just to expensive and I from what I have found online i feel it was just a bit more stiff than pvc. So this leaves just plywood. I choose 1/4" ply that will get laminated together into the proper thickness of 1/2" to 1" depending on the location. It will be treated first with a resin coat to allow the wood to absorb all the epoxy it wants. Then bedded with a mix of thickened epoxy with cabosil.

I will be using epoxy from US Composites. They have a thick 150 and thin 635 versions. The thin 635 will be used to coat and glass with. Should i use the thick 150 to make the bedding compound? the thick 150 is said to be rigid while the 635 is said to be more flexible? Any suggestions?

[kenfyoozed]

Got my plywood in today. It looks great! Okoume marine grade 1/4". Other supplies should be here this week as well.

[Stickinthemud57]

Thanks for keeping us posted!

Photos?

[kenfyoozed]

Photos of the plywood.









I’ll be replacing the single layer with 3 layers to help take up space in the void between the cabin headliner and bottom of the deck. This will also tie the two together making the entire structure stronger. Each layer will be glassed with db1700. Not sure if I’m going to glass both sides yet.

[kenfyoozed]

Started laying glass on my first layer of plywood this evening. It took more epoxy than I was expecting. I coated the plywood first and let that soak in for about 20 mins. Then I rolled out the DB1700. I weighed the glass and used the same amount of epoxy by weight. All of this I used about 1/4-1/3 gallon of epoxy. I built a tent to cover the plywood and added a heater. Last check the temp was 96*. So by morning I hope it has cured. I’ll post pics when I can.

Ps. I also used peel ply over the db1700

[kenfyoozed]

I used 16oz of epoxy to wet out the plywood and let it sit for about 10 mins to allow it to soak in. Then we rolled out the DB1700 cloth. We weighed it first and used the same weight in epoxy to saturate the glass and used a bubble buster to help remove all the air. We then applied the peel ply and added roughly another 4oz of epoxy to saturate the peel ply and help remove all the air between the glass and peel ply. We set this up under a tent and applied heat with a space heater to keep the temp above 70*. This is using more epoxy than I expected. We have both sides fiberglassed and waiting for the second side to cure.








I will be using cardboard to make my templates and then cut them out of this plywood. I will be laminating 3-4 sections together depending on the area in question. Each layer will have glass on both sides. So this should be nice and firm when all done. Any thoughts?

[Jimmyt]

Looks like you're making a class A repair! Great work!

[kenfyoozed]

So the tent I made to trap the heat from a space heater did not work that well. It could only keep the temps about 25* above ambient air temps. So for us right now in the 30s at night it is taking a long time for the epoxy to cure. So as I was watching on YouTube, The Duracell project refit I noticed they built an “oven” to cure their epoxy overnight. So I followed suit and built one out of styrofoam, tape and pvc pipes. It is working great. Inside temps are over 100* with a small space heater. This should help things along.

Now I have to figure out how to heat the boat when it’s time to start laminating the core. Probably going to have to tarp it and use the diesel heater 60000btu on the outside and a propane heater 10000btu on the inside. Just have to find a tarp big enough to cover everything and allow working room on the cabin top. I’m open to ideas if you have any.