Speedboater

Wood in the bottom of the old Checkmate seat was getting soft so I thought I would redo them. Didn’t look to difficult, remove the wood, keep the fiberglass bottom of the seat so the angle of the back of the seat in relation to the bottom of the seat would remain the same and just glass in some new wood. Everything was going great until I got past the rotten wood, now it is a little more difficult. Am I on the right track? Just keep chipping away at the wood and sand the fiberglass bottom before setting in new wood. This brings up a new question, how to attach the wood to the old seat bottom. My 1st thought was to resin the wood and under side of the seat and clamp together. Once dry add some strips of 1708 to the bottom and sides for support. Please let me know any suggestions.

Thanks
Speed.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]528122[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]528123[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]528124[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]528125[/ATTACH]

murfman

Do yourself a favor and go buy an oscillating saw. It slices between the wood and fiberglass like butter. I have a Fein brand saw and just used it to cut out my transom. If I didn't have it I'd still be chipping wood out of my boat.

The Fein cost me 200$ but Harbor Freight sells one for 20$

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

amen to that, thats one of those tools that once i got it didnt know how i got along without one for so long. I picked up an HF one and it lasted about a year with heavy use then replaced it with a couple of Porter Cables i got on sale. If those ever go bad i will be getting a Fein.

your on the right track once you get the old wood cleared out mix up a paste with West Systems 404 and resin to bond the new pieces in with. After cured you can tab the in with 1708 however you see fit. Dont be afraid to re engineer it if necessary these were production boats and quality was mid range. Remember to coat all the wood real well with resin to help protect it, you might even think about a wood substitute

Speedboater

Thanks for the info, sounds like a trip to Harbor Freight is in my future. Another quick question, with vinyl ester resin do you need to add a final coat with wax?

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

you can but its not necessary, if you want to minimize the tacky-ness of the final coat but I never do.