Restoring 48' Steel Motorsailer

[daveschile]

Hello,
I've been a longtime lurker of this forum. I think it's an excellent source of information, with a wide spectrum of detail. This is my first post, but I've worked with boats pretty much my whole life.

My current project is a '48 steel custom motorsailer here in San Diego. I'm not building her from scratch but I've got alot of restoration to do and plans to remodel her, so these forums are valuable. By proffession I'm a software designer, so I built a little Website to blog my progress on the boat. If you have a moment, please check it out at http://www.bajacondor.org/optimistic. I'd love to hear what you think.
Best,
Dave Schile

[Dutch Peter]

Nice website Dave! Looks like a great project and a nice boat.
Why are you glazing your floorpanels?

[daveschile]

Thanks. Thats a good question. I originally planned to sheath them with 'glass to stiffen them. There are two 4 foot by 7 foot sections that are only supported by 1 inch angle iron around the rim. I'm using 3/4 marine plywood, but I didn't want any flex. My new plan involves building the frame or joists (I'm not sure what to call it) under the plywood panel to stiffen it. I just finished the port side. I used clear douglas fir for this. I'm interested in your opinions on finishing this work: Should I still sheath the plywood in 'glass for moisture protection? Should I paint or oil or what the doug fir? The top finish isn't too important, as I will be putting a hardwood sole down over this plywood.

Thanks for the complement on the site. By the way, if anyone has need for a blog, or wants to make a similar journal page, I'd give them a copy of this system I wrote for Optimistic.

Best,
Dave

[Dutch Peter]

Stiffenning a panel is not done by putting up a layer of glass! You have to increase the section modulus i.e. frame it, build a T-section. An other option is to make the span of the frame, the floor is resting on, smaller.
Give the plywood a good coat of epoxy resin and seal the edges by cluing on a small piece of hardwood. That's enough for damp areas.