fiberglass question
 

I am going to re-finish my boat decks, and build 2 new fishing decks. The decks will be plywood, and I want to fiberglass them, then put some gelcoat and nonskid on them. Does anyone know what kind of fiberglass I should use for such a project. I tried to research, but there seems to be a bunch of different ways to do it. Just lookin for someone who might have some experiance with this.

Smc glass would be the route I'd take on it. Only reason is, its workable a little longer than regular glass. It's just a different resin. I'd use woven fabric too. It will lay down a little better than standard mat.

Wait...if your boat is standard glass, stay with it. Smc and regular fiberglass resin don't seem to adhere to one another very well, from my experience.

That's my problem, I don't know what "regular" fiberglass is. Is that the matt stuff? It's a fiberglass boat, and where I pulled up carpet, looks like it would be matt glass. I am looking for the finish on the decks to be the same as the hull, and in spots, put down some non-skid. can I do that with the matt?

Make sure you use marine plywood. Treated pine will not last. Use polyester resin followed by a one part polyester primer, followed by a one part polyester topside marine paint. If you want non slip paint I would suggest interdeck. Thats the easiest way for a do it your self project.
Did mine a few years back.
Attachment 44601Attachment 44602


BROWN FIN

exactly what I was looking for, thank you so much! what gelcoat did you use? was it interdeck as well?

You don't need a gelcoat if you are gonna use interdeck. Feel free to ask any questions. I've done it many times. Attachment 44603
Check out hamiltonmarine.com for all paints and material needed. Or westmarine.com


BROWN FIN

When we did mine we didn't use marine plywood. We just used regukar plywood and used the resin to seal it. Worked fine. I wanna say we did a layer of woven and then a layer of regular mat over that.

The reason for using a marine specific plywood is because the glue used to laminate the plywood together is water proof. When using regular plywood, over the years regardless of sealing it, it will cause the glue to fail. You might get 5 or so years before this starts but it will happen.


BROWN FIN

treated doesn't work because the chemicals dont allow the fiberglass to stay stuck to it. it separates and then allows moisture/water to get in between. use marine plywood if you can but regular untreated will work fine if you seal it good.