Replacing teak decks and things

We are in the process of re-doing our decks! We have decided to do the decks a bit at a time, to lessen the stress on the deck itself. We started with the fore deck and removed the teak (we were not saving it so just pried it off as it was pretty loose!) We cut off the top layer of fiberglass and removed the wet core, and sanded lower layer of fiberglass smooth.
We have since put in high density foam "divinicell" (glued with core-bond and resin) and then filled with a filler to make level. Next step will be to fiberglass... however a wind storm decided to take our shelter away, so we had to fix that first!!

Here are a couple pics of work to date.

34 Europa said:

We are in the process of re-doing our decks! We have decided to do the decks a bit at a time, to lessen the stress on the deck itself. We started with the fore deck and removed the teak (we were not saving it so just pried it off as it was pretty loose!) We cut off the top layer of fiberglass and removed the wet core, and sanded lower layer of fiberglass smooth.
We have since put in high density foam "divinicell" (glued with core-bond and resin) and then filled with a filler to make level. Next step will be to fiberglass... however a wind storm decided to take our shelter away, so we had to fix that first!!

Here are a couple pics of work to date.

Click to expand...

Very nice work. But you went to all that trouble and then reinstalled plywood right where you're going to have the most if not all of your deck penetrations!?

Capt.Bill11 said:

Very nice work. But you went to all that trouble and then reinstalled plywood right where you're going to have the most if not all of your deck penetrations!?

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True enough, however the support is needed for the Samson post etc. It is marine plywood, sealed and all joints around are sealed. Everything will be sealed up tight

34 Europa said:

We are in the process of re-doing our decks! We have decided to do the decks a bit at a time, to lessen the stress on the deck itself. We started with the fore deck and removed the teak (we were not saving it so just pried it off as it was pretty loose!) We cut off the top layer of fiberglass and removed the wet core, and sanded lower layer of fiberglass smooth.
We have since put in high density foam "divinicell" (glued with core-bond and resin) and then filled with a filler to make level. Next step will be to fiberglass... however a wind storm decided to take our shelter away, so we had to fix that first!!

Here are a couple pics of work to date.

Click to expand...

Can you tell me how much time you have invested in the various steps on the foredeck job?

Hmm.. we have been working on it a little at a time... I would say two solid weekends (foredeck only) would get it done, once you have all your supplies on hand. It has not been "hard".. messy but not "hard". We are hoping to fiberglass this weekend.. we will see how that goes

34 Europa said:

Hmm.. we have been working on it a little at a time... I would say two solid weekends (foredeck only) would get it done, once you have all your supplies on hand. It has not been "hard".. messy but not "hard". We are hoping to fiberglass this weekend.. we will see how that goes

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That's somewhat encouraging. Thanks!

If I wind up keeping my boat (if I can't sell her) I'm torn between just running her until she drops or start investing the time and/or money into stopping all the leaks. I don't think stopping all the leaks will happen without a nearly complete rebuild of everything other than the hull!

34 Europa: Thanks for posting! Please keep the updates with pictures coming.

34 Europa

Once you had the top glass and the old core out - how did you move about the deck - with only the bottom layer of glass- could you walk on that? PLUS how did/will you get the two levels to match - the old deck surrounding your cut and the new?

Did you salvage the old topside skin?

I've seen that done and reused I read it was easier then installing a new glass deck, just feather in the edges.

Brisyboy said:

34 Europa

Once you had the top glass and the old core out - how did you move about the deck - with only the bottom layer of glass- could you walk on that? PLUS how did/will you get the two levels to match - the old deck surrounding your cut and the new?

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Firstly, we made a structure with walk around platform, so we could work on things without stepping on the boat (see pic below) We also supported the deck from below for strength and to keep the proper camber (we also have taken out the cabinetry in the v-berth allowing better access--- this needed to be done anyway, not just for the deck project) The lower layer of glass is thin, and we are not lol... so we made every attempt not to stand on it.

We left a 2" strip of fiberglass around the perimeter (but cleaned out the wet core) which also made a nice "shelf" if we needed to put a foot somewhere!

Jimbo2015 said:

Did you salvage the old topside skin?

I've seen that done and reused I read it was easier then installing a new glass deck, just feather in the edges.

Click to expand...

No, we did not salvage the topside skin... way too many holes from the teak. We are going to put a new fiberglass deck ( 2-3 layers of 1708 and 1 layer of 1.5 oz chop strand). We will then finish with paint and non-skid.

What is your level of expertise with this and do you have professional help, guidance? Either way, good for you; I think it is a project many old teakers wonder about.

Also, why did you even start it and do you see the foredeck as being the easiest section?

34 Europa said:

True enough, however the support is needed for the Samson post etc. It is marine plywood, sealed and all joints around are sealed. Everything will be sealed up tight

Click to expand...

Although my 1981 IG surprised everyone having foam core decks under the teak planks, it had 2 squares of teak sandwich just fwd of the step up going to the bow, presumably for strength where everyone going fwd would step. That wood there was black, wet and soft. Careful sealing of the ply should work, fortunately it is a less trafficked area but it will take some loadings.

It looks like you didn't just build the enclosure just to do the foredeck. lol. Is there a big plan?

Hi all,
So there are a few questions... We want to give a little background to us and out boat/project.

We wanted a trawler, but did not want to spend a ton of money. We are handy, (both my husband and I) and like to work hard, get dirty and save money if we can do it ourselves. We bought this boat in March of this year, knowing there were a few things we wanted/needed to fix/change. We have a lovely sheet in our office of "to do's" for the boat... quite extensive, but we feel nothing beyond our abilities.

We are fortunate to have the boat at home, so can work on it whenever the mood strikes, and we are not paying to have it on the hard in a ship yard.

As far as our expertise to complete such a project... My husband is a journeyman machinist (25 years), and grew up in a "carpentry" house and I am an "apprentice" we own our own business and have worked together for 18 years. We are analytical, and research projects the best we can before we start... and if something does not work, we try another approach.

We are by no means experts in anything we will do on this boat, but are more than happy to share the trials and tribulations of our endeavor. Also, we welcome comments, and input from others.. this is how we learn!!

Also, we are fortunate to have a friend who is a west coast fisherman, who is a wealth of knowledge..... we have a special red phone to call him lol.

Thanks for all the interest!

Larry M said:

It looks like you didn't just build the enclosure just to do the foredeck. lol. Is there a big plan?

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Ya, it is kind of how we work, go big or go home.......We needed a place to work through the winter rains here!

Hawgwash said:

What is your level of expertise with this and do you have professional help, guidance? Either way, good for you; I think it is a project many old teakers wonder about.

Also, why did you even start it and do you see the foredeck as being the easiest section?

Click to expand...

Thanks!

When we started looking at TT we noticed MANY of them had water issues inside, mostly caused by leaking decks. This one was no exception. There was not extensive damage inside, but there were leaks in the v-berth. The decks were very spongy and we were pretty certain that the core was either delaminating or rotting. It turns out the core was made of 5 x 5 square pieces of mahogany ply, that was delaminated and wet. To date, we have found no mold YAY). We believe that the cockpit area will be the same as the foredeck, but feel the side decks are firm and rigid. We will do core samples of this to test if we need to replace the core, or if we can just remove the teak and prep/paint.

We started at the foredeck, cause it is the front lol. Seriously though, we only wanted to do a section of the deck at a time (foredeck, cockpit and sides is the order we will do them in) as to decrease the stress on the thin layer of fiberglass that remains and holds up the cabin. This made sense to us

Europa 24

In your first post when you spoke about your shelter being blown away, I had visions of a plastic tarp strung up to cover the foredeck. When you guys say shelter - you are really fair dinkum!

34 Europa said:

True enough, however the support is needed for the Samson post etc. It is marine plywood, sealed and all joints around are sealed. Everything will be sealed up tight

Click to expand...

I understand the support thing. It's just after all that hard work there are other rot proof products that could be used. Just say'n.

Brisyboy said:

Europa 24

In your first post when you spoke about your shelter being blown away, I had visions of a plastic tarp strung up to cover the foredeck. When you guys say shelter - you are really fair dinkum!

Click to expand...

Ya, we made sure it was good and sturdy structure, but a freak windstorm, ripped the grommets off one side of the tarp and of course it was starting to rain and the foredeck was exposed. All good though, we got it covered temporarily until we could re-do the cover. Cover has now been re-done and we can get back to work on the deck!!

Capt.Bill11 said:

I understand the support thing. It's just after all that hard work there are other rot proof products that could be used. Just say'n.

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Thanks Bill, we agree with your comment

We looked at other options, but do to various reasons, this is what we opted to do. We have a couple more things that we will be doing to this in the future to minimize any risk of water ingress. I will post as we do them

UPDATE!

Well, as the saying goes, work got in the way! As we stated previously, we work for ourselves, so we need to "make hay when the sun shines !" We have done very little more on the decks, but have tackled a few small projects.

The weather is such, that we have decided to hold off on any further deck repair until it warms up and the monsoons stop. So, on to other things for now.

We have removed, repaired/sanded and refinished the breast hook and the bowsprit. We have taken apart the windlass, cleaned all the parts, made sure it was in working order. We polished everything on the windlass that needs to be polished, and have prepped what needs to be painted for paint, and what needs to be chromed is heading out to the chroming shop. We have removed the leaking water tanks, and have ordered new replacement tanks.

We have a bit of a reprieve with work, so this weekend cleaning of the aft cockpit storage and bilge area will commence. We will be making note of all items to be repaired/painted in this area and will come up with a plan to complete them. Also, we will be removing part of the hot water system (it is propane, and we do not want this on the boat).

We will keep you posted !

34 Europa said:

True enough, however the support is needed for the Samson post etc. It is marine plywood, sealed and all joints around are sealed. Everything will be sealed up tight

Click to expand...

I might have thought a piece of 1/2 inch steel epoxied in there, cheap and strong base for the post.
I have read weight up front is good for boats to move through the water more efficiently.

sdowney717 said:

I might have thought a piece of 1/2 inch steel epoxied in there, cheap and strong base for the post.
I have read weight up front is good for boats to move through the water more efficiently.

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Even if that was true, 50-100 lb piece of steel isn't going to make a difference in how the boat rides.

sdowney, is that really you, from the woodenboatforum. I always kept up with your rebuild. Still use sanitred ? anyway, encapsulated (epoxy) plywood would be fine I think.

kulas44 said:

sdowney, is that really you, from the woodenboatforum. I always kept up with your rebuild. Still use sanitred ? anyway, encapsulated (epoxy) plywood would be fine I think.

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Sure is me, how are you? I was thinking steel plate glassed in and bolted to the samson post would be really strong, I know a lot of force can pull on the front post.
My boat is fine.
Sani Tred Permaflex is still on the hull. Although I experimented with another polyurethane last haulout.
I removed the permaflex off the bow going back 10 feet.
Then I used Black PL poly roof flashing mixed with 30% 1/32 milled glass fibers. Home Depot sells this in 10 oz cartridge tubes.
It really works good. It is easier to use. You know me, I like to experiment.
I troweled it on using a 6 inch flat knife. It smooths easily like frosting a cake. And stays where you put it. Permaflex will drip which is a disadvantage on a hull bottom.





This is the transition area where I stopped.

Permaflex stayed on ok for 5 years with no leaks. It did not adhere well to the oak keel, so I removed it and coated in Black PL. It has been in the water fine now since the fall of 2014. I coated the struts and rudders also, thinking that it would keep away the salt water, so I have less need for the zincs to do there thing.

So you sanded fown your boats bottom to bare glass then costed it with a mixture of glass fibers and roofing sealant? Why?

Did you put anyi-fouling bottom paint over that?

Capt.Bill11 said:

So you sanded down your boats bottom to bare glass then coated it with a mixture of glass fibers and roofing sealant? Why?

Did you put anti-fouling bottom paint over that?

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Hi, the boat is a wooden hull which I rebuilt over 10 years ago. The last haulout in 2014 I decided to try another coating on the bottom in places.
At the end, I coated with bottom paint.
The roofing sealant has worked great over the long years, it gives me a watertight hull.
I had originally on the rebuild removed all the planks coating both plank sides with permaflex and replaced most of the frames and sealed them also. My boat does not swell and when it goes in it does not leak.
Since it is an old wooden boat, I can do what I want and not worry about money.


Here it is with bottom done in 2014. When people see it, they don't think it is a wood hull. I like the interior layout, its beamy.


My winter project, I need to rebuild my starboard engine, it is blowing smoke under load and lacks power.

Aft view


Those props are 22 by 20, and I have been wondering if they are too big. Other Egg Harbors people have smaller props I think, anyone know? Also engines cant rev to 4000, they top out at 3000 to 3500 rpm. All these Egg's were built with a slight hook which is more pronounced at the keel and is gone away midway up the deadrise. Deadrise aft is about 8*.

Sdowney717,
I remember this boat on BD. Sounds like you're over propped now.
Still have a "hook" in the bottom aft?
Sounds like you're getting ready for some boating.
Me too.

manyboats said:

Sdowney717,
I remember this boat on BD. Sounds like you're over propped now.
Still have a "hook" in the bottom aft?
Sounds like you're getting ready for some boating.
Me too.

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Might be over propped. I have left it as is for now. Mostly I boat at 6 to 8 knots max.
It still has a slight hook, I assume the OEM designer did that to add some lift like a tab.

What is the 'BD'? I did post lot of repairs to the wooden boat forum in the past.

Here is prop shot, I have never had these off the shaft. A prop shop told me he could nibble these smaller.