guys i need your help

[ragin_cajun92]

well my worst nightmare has happened.. i bought a cajun bass boat about 2 months ago..i have been getting the boat ready for tournaments and fishing with friends..Well anyway some of you may have seen my post about termits in my boat, apparently they have been in thier for a while cause they really did a number on my boat.. Well after tearing into it i keep finding more and more damage. The floors in the boat are gone.. so i am going to have to replace them.. I am not very good with this kind of stuff but i am about to learn.. I just need you're guys help in doing it right and what i need to do to restore it..Here are a few pictures of what i am going to replace.. The stringers are fine but the flooring in the walk ways are shot. So what i need to do is replace all that with (whatever wood you guys think i need) and whatever i need to do to seal it so this doesn't happen again>> guys thanks for any help you guys can give..

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2bcnrc&s=4

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=rjqdew&s=4

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=fdg40x&s=4

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=jskggn&s=4

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=24b4wo4&s=4

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=28jyyb6&s=4

[Largemouthlou]

Yup, you have lots of work to do, but shouldn't be that bad.. Have ya looked at the link for marine ply posted in your other post, some good info on their site.. Gonna take some time to get it all cleaned out, dried out and fumigated for T mites if ya haven't done that yet!! Would hate to see ya do all that work and have a few critters left and they start eating all over again..

[ragin_cajun92]

yeah i seen the post you made on the marine plywood..thanks..I have been doing some research on here and reading up to help me get a head start.. Anyways am i going to have to take the cap off in order to do the walk way on the floor??? Also what vkind of resin do i need to treat the wood. Guys i know nothing about this. so any advice you could give me would be great.. my stringers seem to be fine but how do i check them to be for sure?? again thanks guys for any help..

[ProcraftMike]

If you are working with wood, I don't think anything protects it better than epoxy resin. It has much better wood bonding abilities, compared to fiberglass resin. Treat all the new wood with a couple coats of epoxy resin and you shouldn't have anymore issues. I treat all my wood with epoxy resin, before I put it together. That guarantees the wood is sealed, vs. sealing it after it is screwed together. I normally put another coat of resin on after I have everything screwed together.

I have had good luck with U.S. Composites epoxy resin. It is a blushing type resins. Their are also non-blushing resins out there, that you can look into. They don't leave the oily mess behind.

[ragin_cajun92]

where can i find this epoxy resin you guys talk about

[ProcraftMike]

Do a search on the internet. If you search under U.S. Composites, you will find thier site. West Marine also has the epoxy resin, but it is pricey.

There are many manufacturers of epoxy resin out there. If you do a search under "epoxy resins" or something like that, you should be able to find a bunch of research out there.

[Scrapper]

You are in the right place for help...for understanding all this stuff they are talking about....epoxy..polester...laminate...and ALLLL that other stuff that you will be running into I would go to booksamillion and find one of the books. I found one when I first started piddling around with this stuff and it really helped to educate me on the in's and out's of the processes and the acronyms and chemical processes of fiberglass work. I don't remember the name of the book I got but its by a guy on the east coast that is retired from boat building/repairing...he now goes around and does estimates and such. Most of what he talks about is on largewater boats but will scale right down to what we do. Goes into gelcoats and all...GREAT reading. I'll find out what the book is and let you know today. I would definetly check it out...and that will help you to ask questions and know what you are looking at when you are reading the posts on here. Maybe I can find it on amazon...I'll look and post a link if I find it.

[Scrapper]

found it at amazon for 19 bucks...I paid 35!!..lol. hope the link works.

http://www.amazon.com/Fibergla...r=8-1

check it out though...it really is great reading and has LOTS of pics and illustrations. I have learned ALOT from it and now know what the gurus are talking about on here!!

[Scrapper]

checked the link it works!! good luck!!

[ragin_cajun92]

i have tore into it pretty good now and i am making so good head room..the stringers seem to be fine (thank god).. i still have a few more things to get out of thier and replace but at least it moving in the right direction

[ragin_cajun92]

hey can i use polyester resin?? The reason i asked is i had a boat shop order me some epoxy resin in and this came in.. the guys thier told me this would work the same to seal the wood and everything i need to do like the epoxy will but this stuff is easier to work with.. is thier any truth to this??