I have a houseboat and I want to redo the surface of the upper deck with a
vinyl membrane like product. It requires a fresh clean wood surface to glue
it to.
My question - can I nail/screw down plywood on top of the existing surface
which is fiberglass over plywood? With the glass underneath and the vinyl
over it, will the plywood survive this or will it rot out quickly?

Thanks.

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 20:42:31 -0400, "Steve Lortie"
wrote:

I have a houseboat and I want to redo the surface of the upper deck with a
vinyl membrane like product. It requires a fresh clean wood surface to glue
it to.
My question - can I nail/screw down plywood on top of the existing surface
which is fiberglass over plywood? With the glass underneath and the vinyl
over it, will the plywood survive this or will it rot out quickly?

Thanks.

I would coat the plywood with Epoxy resin if I didn't want it to rot
out, especially the edges. Also make sure to use either marine or ext
plywood to prevent delamination.

But why not rough the fiberglass surface and glue direct to the
existing deck instead? You may have to use a different adhesive
product, but it seems a better option


Weebles Wobble
(but they don't fall down)

One answer I keep hearing to questions on how to do things is to follow the
manufacturer's instructions.This manufacturer is specific about how to
install it of course. Sanding the fibergass would probably be easier than
laying new plywood for sure.

link to product site - http://www.ducan.com/products/dek_master.html

My concern is whether the plywood will rot being sandwiched between two
waterproof but airtight layers.

My concern
wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 20:42:31 -0400, "Steve Lortie"
wrote:

I have a houseboat and I want to redo the surface of the upper deck with
a
vinyl membrane like product. It requires a fresh clean wood surface to
glue
it to.
My question - can I nail/screw down plywood on top of the existing
surface
which is fiberglass over plywood? With the glass underneath and the vinyl
over it, will the plywood survive this or will it rot out quickly?

Thanks.

I would coat the plywood with Epoxy resin if I didn't want it to rot
out, especially the edges. Also make sure to use either marine or ext
plywood to prevent delamination.

But why not rough the fiberglass surface and glue direct to the
existing deck instead? You may have to use a different adhesive
product, but it seems a better option


Weebles Wobble
(but they don't fall down)

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 22:33:51 -0400, "Steve Lortie"
wrote:

One answer I keep hearing to questions on how to do things is to follow the
manufacturer's instructions.This manufacturer is specific about how to
install it of course. Sanding the fibergass would probably be easier than
laying new plywood for sure.

link to product site - http://www.ducan.com/products/dek_master.html

My concern is whether the plywood will rot being sandwiched between two
waterproof but airtight layers.

My concern
wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 20:42:31 -0400, "Steve Lortie"
wrote:

I have a houseboat and I want to redo the surface of the upper deck with
a
vinyl membrane like product. It requires a fresh clean wood surface to
glue
it to.
My question - can I nail/screw down plywood on top of the existing
surface
which is fiberglass over plywood? With the glass underneath and the vinyl
over it, will the plywood survive this or will it rot out quickly?

Thanks.

I would coat the plywood with Epoxy resin if I didn't want it to rot
out, especially the edges. Also make sure to use either marine or ext
plywood to prevent delamination.

But why not rough the fiberglass surface and glue direct to the
existing deck instead? You may have to use a different adhesive
product, but it seems a better option


Weebles Wobble
(but they don't fall down)

In reading the site, under the FAQs, they address application over
fiberglass:

http://www.ducan.com/products/dek_master_FAQ.html#02

Can I install the Dek-Master system over fibreglass?

Yes, sand the fibreglass with 50 grit sandpaper, this will rough up
the fibreglass to allow for better adhesion. Fibreglass is a very
rigid material and the wood sub-structure is constantly moving because
of temperature, and moisture content in the air, cracks in the
fibreglass may develop. These cracks must be v-grooved out using a
razor knife or something similar, caulk this gap by using ducan Rubber
fill-It or Ducan Duca-Flex caulking compounds.

Sometimes the fibreglass may have lifted away from the plywood
sub-surface causing a large bubble in the finished surface. The bubble
should be cut out and new fibreglass applied in this area and then the
Dek-Master vinyl can be installed.


NOTE: Ducan does not warranty the sub-surface to which the vinyl has
been applied, if the substrate is the cause of the failure, your
warranty will be null & void. Ducan always recommends a new plywood
sub-surface prior to installing the vinyl.

I think this is a much better idea than laying down a layer of
plywood.


Weebles Wobble
(but they don't fall down)

This brings up a good "whatever happened to.." question.

When I lived in the Northwest in the 70's, the answer to every deck
problem like this was the same. Something called "Airbal?",
"Aerobol?" and burlap. It was an Elmer's glue like product normally
used to impregnate the cloth lagging on steam pipes. Many new wooden
boats also had these decks which looked very much like a traditional
canvas deck. The compound remained slightly rubbery and made an
almost perfect non-skid finish. It was said you could make any boat
watertight as long as the wood was not so rotten you broke through it.

I haven't heard a reference to this stuff in a couple of decades but
they are still lagging steam pipes so it probably could be recreated.

Does anybody remember this stuff?

--

Roger Long

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 11:03:44 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

This brings up a good "whatever happened to.." question.

When I lived in the Northwest in the 70's, the answer to every deck
problem like this was the same. Something called "Airbal?",
"Aerobol?" and burlap. It was an Elmer's glue like product normally
used to impregnate the cloth lagging on steam pipes. Many new wooden
boats also had these decks which looked very much like a traditional
canvas deck. The compound remained slightly rubbery and made an
almost perfect non-skid finish. It was said you could make any boat
watertight as long as the wood was not so rotten you broke through it.

I haven't heard a reference to this stuff in a couple of decades but
they are still lagging steam pipes so it probably could be recreated.

Does anybody remember this stuff?

I've seen it mentioned in a few of the older books on boatbuilding but
have never used it. Not sure if the product is still around or not,
but a quick google search would probably answer that question


Weebles Wobble
(but they don't fall down)

Well, duh.

I remember reading that now but something I read earlier stuck in my mind.
Thanks for the refresh.


wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 22:33:51 -0400, "Steve Lortie"
wrote:

One answer I keep hearing to questions on how to do things is to follow
the
manufacturer's instructions.This manufacturer is specific about how to
install it of course. Sanding the fibergass would probably be easier than
laying new plywood for sure.

link to product site - http://www.ducan.com/products/dek_master.html

My concern is whether the plywood will rot being sandwiched between two
waterproof but airtight layers.

My concern
wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 20:42:31 -0400, "Steve Lortie"
wrote:

I have a houseboat and I want to redo the surface of the upper deck
with
a
vinyl membrane like product. It requires a fresh clean wood surface to
glue
it to.
My question - can I nail/screw down plywood on top of the existing
surface
which is fiberglass over plywood? With the glass underneath and the
vinyl
over it, will the plywood survive this or will it rot out quickly?

Thanks.

I would coat the plywood with Epoxy resin if I didn't want it to rot
out, especially the edges. Also make sure to use either marine or ext
plywood to prevent delamination.

But why not rough the fiberglass surface and glue direct to the
existing deck instead? You may have to use a different adhesive
product, but it seems a better option


Weebles Wobble
(but they don't fall down)

In reading the site, under the FAQs, they address application over
fiberglass:

http://www.ducan.com/products/dek_master_FAQ.html#02

Can I install the Dek-Master system over fibreglass?

Yes, sand the fibreglass with 50 grit sandpaper, this will rough up
the fibreglass to allow for better adhesion. Fibreglass is a very
rigid material and the wood sub-structure is constantly moving because
of temperature, and moisture content in the air, cracks in the
fibreglass may develop. These cracks must be v-grooved out using a
razor knife or something similar, caulk this gap by using ducan Rubber
fill-It or Ducan Duca-Flex caulking compounds.

Sometimes the fibreglass may have lifted away from the plywood
sub-surface causing a large bubble in the finished surface. The bubble
should be cut out and new fibreglass applied in this area and then the
Dek-Master vinyl can be installed.


NOTE: Ducan does not warranty the sub-surface to which the vinyl has
been applied, if the substrate is the cause of the failure, your
warranty will be null & void. Ducan always recommends a new plywood
sub-surface prior to installing the vinyl.

I think this is a much better idea than laying down a layer of
plywood.


Weebles Wobble
(but they don't fall down)

Roger Long wrote:

I haven't heard a reference to this stuff in a couple of decades but
they are still lagging steam pipes so it probably could be recreated.

Does anybody remember this stuff?

You bet, and I'd like to know what happened to it, too. It even
*smelled like* Elmer's glue.

I miss good ol' asbestos fluff & mud, too, very useful sh&t, screw the
idiots who breathed it & sued Johns-Manville.

Frank
Lagged thousands of feet of piping at sea aboard rustbuckets for greedy
MEBA-scale overtime pay, nicest OT job in the engineroom, including
fitting & sewing the stuff first. (What ELSE do you as a licensee
making runs to the Far East in a 120F engineroom besides fix, weld &
rebuild all the **** you can for the biggest payoffbg?)