Deck project help
 

I am working on my 32 spectra deck mods. Pictures are not completely up to date however close. I have just come a little further with the completion of glassing in the side where you can see. I wanted to get as much of that glass work done before getting to the center raised section.

The center section is raised appx 1" from the other part of the deck and also has a slight radious to it as well. For those of you who are following me so far I would say over the 2 1/2" span the very center is close to 3/4" higher than that of the sides of the center portion. With that said I need to find something plyable to get the radious as well as a relative durable yet flat surface so I can glass over it and blend to the deck and windscreen area.

My thought was to cut out 1/4" lewon piece and to glue and screw in underneath the deck right behind and under where the hatch is so I can keep the same curvature and dead end into windscreen. With this said I would grind/taper all edges and glass to existing deck allowing to build up with appropriate layers of glass 1/4" plus or minus.

Ideally what ever material I use I would like it to be able to obsorb the glass to become United as well as to be able to glass the underside/inside as well with off couse cross members etc.

Kind of difficult for me to explain however the pictures will give you better idea of what I'm doing. Thanks very much for any help in the right direction here.

John[ATTACH=CONFIG]538719[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]538720[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]538721[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]538722[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]538719[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]538720[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]538721[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]538722[/ATTACH]

The last picture is what I will be glassing also but not as concerned with that at the moment. With help on the other I will be able to more than likely use the same advice on that when the time comes.

Anybody. Spring is here and boat needs to hit the water. Another thing I though of is to cut the piece out of lewon and get it to shape and glass over the top of it with an 1/8 or so so glass with wax paper between and separate and glass it in without the lewon? Build up from there and tie in.

i looked this over last night and was trying to put together a user friendly do-it-yourselfer type of of layup but didnt get back to it. You need to be careful with lofting arbitrarily from scratch to obtain a certain end result, it is very easy to over build and end up with a laminate that can be wet/heavy and weak. Didnt you call me once on this? This is an interesting project, i would probably loft a quickie mold and build the part off the boat or maybe flat deck the whole thing.

Hey tks Dave.
No I never called you on it however you kinda got me started on it years ago. Project kinda got set aside with other things going on however I am determined to get it done. It's a project you look at and shake your head and wonder why the heck you took on such a thing. Especially when the most I've glassed is a small repair here and there. I think I will take your advice on the making the center section off the boat and glass it in. Do the best I can getting it straight - prime and block several times and paint for now.

Perhaps cut it all out and build a new deck from the windscreen forward in a couple of years.

The boat is kinda a cool and only has like 360 hrs however I really disliked the old day cruiser look!

Update on old side windows. Lining up deck to it's new home took some finagling but starting to take shape. I had to build up the pilar area in increments of glass but got it close enough prior to glassing in window. Will start to add multile layers of glass to achieve 1/4" or so and then blend into windscreen area. It's coming along and gonna move to the center deck next. Thought I'd do the side panels first to get a better feel for what needs to be done. Many have said I'm crazy for taking on such a project however that's ultimately what made me do it. Ha

Is it spelt lewon? Dang, I've been writing luan at work all this time.

Good call bro. Sometimes I have a tendency to spell words the same way they fall out of my mouth. My bad. Lol

We use a lot of that stuff at work. You had me thinking I've been writing it down wrong this whole time!

i used to work at a print shop. big roll presses.
club magazine actually. anyway, the old plates are real thin aluminum and can mold well to be used as backing to form glass up to. did quite a few rotted out mustang rear quarters that way. pop rivet them on. spray with pam. lay up glass. pull the plates off. something like that may work on either side for closing the side windows. heck they are flat...maybe even some lou on plywood...

The sides are coming along great. I'm not the greatest at glass work however kinda having fun with it. I have found that thinking ahead without over thinking is the way to go. That thin aluminum might be the way to go for the center piece. If not I'm going to fab up a piece of cut to fit luon off the boat and just make a relatively thin piece and tab it in and start building layers. I have noticed when building up the layers to only do 2 or 3 at a time and block it out in between and occasionally filling low spots with 1 1/2 ounce before laying down next layer of 1708 I think it is. I will continue to post pics in case anyone is following thread. Hopefully somebody might find it helpful at some point.

Where I live you have to be self taught in many different areas due to being so far away from various shops etc. the nice thing about fiberglass is if you make a mistake or don't like the way something turned out or perhaps you discovered a better way you just cut it out and start over. Occasionaly some time and material wasted but hey...

Some inside pics

More pics

This is the center section I fabbed up off the boat. Tomorrow will trim to fit close to exact placement and start tabbing in once I'm comfortable with its position. This part I am really curious how it will all turn out. Will post pics with it in position later.

Center section tabbed in.

Center piece roughed in.

Update on center section. Using 1808. Seems to lay down wl.

I've been doing a light sand btwn layers of glass to get the nibs etc as well as some shaping in some areas so you'll notice what appears to be air bubbles however most of it is the lighter color underneath. I do however guarantee there are air bubble here and there also. I think it's near impossible to a 100% of them but I do my best. Also the 1808 doesn't wet out as easily as the 1708 however I wanted to use up what I had left.

yes 1808 does in fact not wet out as well as 1708. 1808 is an import fabric, decent stuff but tends to be coarser on the surface and the 0/90 orientation doesn't help. !708 is, in general, an E glass variant and the 45/45 bias ply's are finer plus it drapes much better. When you get to your final layer put down a layer of peel ply as the final surface laminate, laminate it in just as if it were your last layer of fiberglass. After is cured rip the peel ply off and you will have a much easier time fairing it out.


lookin good though, i like the shape of the new deck.

5th layer today. I've got one more layer with the 1808 and then going back to the 1708. Planning on about 3 layers with the 1708 and then gonna look into what glass Dave had mentioned for topcoat. I had planned on a couple layers of 1 1/2 ounce chopped for finish coat sanding etc however the peel ply sounds like the way to go. Trying to achieve 1/4" + - as well as reinforcing the underside as well. I found using smaller strips working upside down works much better so u don't end up with material in your lap.

Tks glass dave. I appreciate you cking in on progress as well as any insight u may have.
John

you can do both it all adds to print control. the ounce and a half will go a long way towards that you should also use gel coat on top of that or Duratecs VE fairing primer

Sounds like a plan. As long as there's no limit within reason of multiply priming and blocking I will get it. I assume the faring primers are a two part primer? I look forward to the detailing/prepping for paint. Just getting this glass work out of the way I will be happy. I worked at a body shop throughout high school and as a hobby painter off and on over the last 25 yrs or so however this project goes far beyond anything I've tackeled.

Glass Dave I cked on the suggested primer. From what I read up on it sounds like an excellent product. While doing search I found a few different Duratec VE primer product #s. Not sure if it was just colors etc however can you post correct number for me. Just wanna make certain I get the correct product. 1799-006 was one I came up with. Also do you use catalyst with? Also where to purchase...
Tks again
John

Update pic

Looking good!

I was just wondering about your project and was thinking about posting about it.

Padraig

Hey tks. I appreciate your curiosity and encouragement. I got busy opening up the golf course along with dealing with my bad leg so it set me back a bit however I'm determined to complete it. Will be priming and blocking with duratec primer next week if I have a few rain days. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out. It definitely made a drastic improvement over the original deck. Gonna finish with canary yellow with just a black stripe down the middle of the deck. The good thing is I've got everything to complete the project. So once it's in paint it will move quickly. I believe the only thing I need yet is one more seat for the rear so I can have three side by side for a little more comfort for the passengers.

Tks again
John

I almost stopped posting as I assumed the majority didn't see it as a worthy project. I will post a pic of the original if I can find one.

Before.

Thanks. Like the new look.

Just got the VR1 back from the Marina. The dock annd lift is in and after a day of cleaning and waxing will hopefully throw in in the water tomorrow. Still have to install the new bigger pull up cleats but can do that while it is on the lift.

Please keep the pics and updates coming.

Padraig

golf course and bad leg? i wouldn't think they go together too well.

sharp looking boat,I like the lines.

It looks great nice work

Pic
 

Add pic.

Hey John
Looks great
Joel's "spectracular" at RDP long deck Spectra 32 is now getting attention again also.
He is doing a lot of custom work on it. We'll see who gets their creation wet first! :)

man thats some nice lines with the new deck.

John
How is it going?

I agree with We use a lot of that stuff at work. You had me thinking I've been writing it down wrong this whole time!

Just recently getting back at it again after a long ordeal I went through with my let once again which was laid me up until early winter. I will be updating with pics here soon. It's coming together and looking good though.
Tks for asking.

Pics pics pics pics pics pics pics pics pics

Ditto We need Pics!

Padraig