Help Needed With Flooring

[rmzbeast]

Hi all

I am currently rebuilding my boat and the first cab off the rank is the floor.

On inspection of the floor it has no ply underneath the 2 layers of fibre glass.the bottom layer of fibre glass has hole saw like cuts where i think the floor has been pumped with expander foam type boyancy material.

I have talked to an older gent from mister ply and wood who has been building boats for many years inwhich he has said if the foam is wet pull it all out as it will not help the new floor that i will be putting in..He said to me i know you will think this is strange but what i suggest is to fill the boat with as many 2LTR platic bottles as you can as when they get wet they will dry very quickly and help keep boyancy.

He also suggested using Fujian exterior cedar.

This to me makes sense but has any one ever heard of doing this and what else can any one reccommend for using.

Edited March 20, 2009 by rmzbeast

[davebrewer]

Search buoyancy foam and you will pull up plenty of info and suppliers-I would get the approved close cell foam if I was doing a major job like this.As for ply,marine is the best but quality exterior-no voids visible from the edges-is OK.In any case,it will last indefinitely if you seal it in a couple of coats of epoxy-WEST system.Boatcote and System 3 are all good brands-it's important to really saturate the end grain as this is where water gets in easiest.The top surface must be painted or carpeted as epoxy degrades rapidly under UV exposure.Heaps of good stuff about epoxy here:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

HTH,

Dave.

[pelican]

Epoxy encase your underfloor foam so it will last a lifetime and never get waterlogged or harbour mould, salt etc

[pjbink]

There is a penetrating epoxy designed for treating wood called Evadure (International Brand). It's a good idea to use it on the wood aroung bung holes and drainage holes in the transom, too. This is where rot usually starts in a transom.

[rmzbeast]

Cheers guyss for the info..

[rmzbeast]

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QUOTE(Dave B @ Mar 21 2009, 11:12 AM) 295167[/snapback]

Search buoyancy foam and you will pull up plenty of info and suppliers-I would get the approved close cell foam if I was doing a major job like this.As for ply,marine is the best but quality exterior-no voids visible from the edges-is OK.In any case,it will last indefinitely if you seal it in a couple of coats of epoxy-WEST system.Boatcote and System 3 are all good brands-it's important to really saturate the end grain as this is where water gets in easiest.The top surface must be painted or carpeted as epoxy degrades rapidly under UV exposure.Heaps of good stuff about epoxy here:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

HTH,

Dave.

That web site is very helpful cheers again

[REBSS]

If your after epoxy, look up Megapoxy, located in Thornleigh. They are a manufacturer of epoxy systems and are a lot chepaer than buying from a boat shop.

[rmzbeast]

If your after epoxy, look up Megapoxy, located in Thornleigh. They are a manufacturer of epoxy systems and are a lot chepaer than buying from a boat shop.

Legend thank you i will look into them cheers