Bermack
06-07-2007, 05:51 PM
just got a 20' open bow Charger, with I/O engine. As I was cleaning it up (was previously sitting outside) I noticed soft decking under the captains chair as well as one other place on the same side of the boat. I removed the carpet to find a layer of fiberglass (now I understand that is the way boats are made) and so I started cutting and removed the layer of fiberglass on the starboard side of the boat all the way back to the motor. The wood was like powder. I literally just took my hands and was able to get 90% of the wood out. the remaining 10% I used a paint scraper.
I did a ton of reading on this forum yesterday and that is when I realized that the deck was not sitting on fibergass (part of the hull) , but rather a layer of fiberglass over wooden 2 x 4's. So guess what else was rotten... (the 2 x 4's)My question is about the structural element the 2 x 4's provide. Are these there simply to support the deck, or are they an integrated stuctural component of the hull?
This boat is my first powerboat and I have been doing minor boatwork for years with my father. This engine is perfect, but now I am at a cross roads, do I spend a ton of time and money to remove the foam, and rotten stringers in the entire boat and replace, or do I go cheap, remake the decking, and if I end up keeping the boat redo it in a few years?
Of course doing it right the first time is the way to go, but there is the money thing as well.
I really enjoyed reading the posts yesterday and your help is greatly appreciated.
I did a ton of reading on this forum yesterday and that is when I realized that the deck was not sitting on fibergass (part of the hull) , but rather a layer of fiberglass over wooden 2 x 4's. So guess what else was rotten... (the 2 x 4's)My question is about the structural element the 2 x 4's provide. Are these there simply to support the deck, or are they an integrated stuctural component of the hull?
This boat is my first powerboat and I have been doing minor boatwork for years with my father. This engine is perfect, but now I am at a cross roads, do I spend a ton of time and money to remove the foam, and rotten stringers in the entire boat and replace, or do I go cheap, remake the decking, and if I end up keeping the boat redo it in a few years?
Of course doing it right the first time is the way to go, but there is the money thing as well.
I really enjoyed reading the posts yesterday and your help is greatly appreciated.