1998 Stratos 273VR - New Carpet - Top Cap Seam Issue

[rrp0968]

Hi All

New here to th forums.....been browsing around for a while getting pointers on recarperting my boat and have ran across an issue hopefully you all may be able to help me with.

Anyway.....a little background. It is a 1998 Stratos 273VR with a 115HP Johnson Fast Strike.

Been a great little boat. However.....the backing on the carpet has dry rotted and this black sandy stuff is starting to get everywhere.

Anyway.....here is my question.....

I pulled all of the carpet from the boat. In the floor of the boat......it appears this is where the top cap and the hull meet. It looks as if they added some sort of resin or something to smooth this joint. Well.....some of this material came out with the carpet and the rest of it is cracked pretty bad. The fiberglass is still perfect.....but this filler material needs to be replaced.

Have any of you ran into this before? What is this material and what is the best thing to go back with? I am assuming West Marine may have this stuff but wanted to ask here from folks that may have ran into this before.

I am going to attach a few pictures of the floor and one of it ready for new carpet minus a little more work on the floor. The decks and lids are pretty much ready. I am going to be ordering the carpet from Bass Cat shortly and hopefully have it complete in a few weeks.

Anyway.....here are the pictures.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. I am also going to post this in the Stratos Forum as well.














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Modified by rrp0968 at 3:58 PM 1/25/2011


Modified by rrp0968 at 3:59 PM 1/25/2011

[catfishkid]

welcome to the boards!

When i replaced the carpet in mine earlier this year i seen the same stuff. Made me think of bondo. Mind did not cover the whole floor, only the outside edges were faded to make a smooth transition to the main floor.

[sarmst100]

I'm pretty sure it is body filler (Bondo) which doesn't flex very well. Of all the restores on here I don't think I've seen that much used on a boat.

[rrp0968]

This one is bascally the same way.....it is just the edges that are feathered down. The stuff you see in the center is just carpet glue that I still need to get out.

[Skeet'r89]

Not sure what it is called, but it is not standard bondo so I have been told.

[Kingfisher7]

I replaced the carpet in my 1996 Stratos 278 FS and it had the same material on the floor. It was not as broken up and what you have but it had some cracks in stress areas. I fiberglassed over the cracked areas then roughed it up before putting carpet down.

[rchavis]

Dont use bondo it will hold water . It's a thick layer of expo & resin they just used to level the floor . Just use a good expo& resin with a cloth tape or matt over the hold floor toward the drain so the water will drain and reseal the floor with a couple layers of resin & epox before reinstalling carpet ?
US COMPOSITIES,INC 561/ 588-1001 OR go to there web site ?

[rrp0968]

I spoke with a local fiberglass shop about this. The material in the boat now is called Core Bond. Not readily available to a do it yourselfer. He recommended using a product called Dura Glas. It is a body filler that also has fiberglas strands in it.

http://www.uschem.com/index.cf...pid=1

OR.....I can bring it to him and for about $250 he can prep the floor.

I think I am going to try the dura Glas route and see what happens. The issue is going to be getting all of the old stuff out.

RRP

[Bigred521]

Google Silica Cab-o-sil Thickener .Its mixed with fiberglass resin to thicken. This is the product thats cracked and coming off. Not real expensive. Get ya a pail of resin, cabosil, a mixing bit for your drill,, harder and a large putty knife and spread like doing drywall mud.

[Hometownhandyman]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Bigred521 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Google Silica Cab-o-sil Thickener .Its mixed with fiberglass resin to thicken. This is the product thats cracked and coming off. Not real expensive. Get ya a pail of resin, cabosil, a mixing bit for your drill,, harder and a large putty knife and spread like doing drywall mud.
</td></tr></table>

What he said.

[BASSCAT7]

Dura Glass is a good filler, about $ 15.00 a quart.

If you have resin around you can make your own by mixing chopped glass fibers and cabosil to make a mush type consistency, then add catalyst when ready to use.

[rrp0968]

Well.......finished the boat carpet quite a few months back and figured I would post some pictures of the completed project. Ended up taking it to a fiberglass shop to have the filler in the floor replaced. I am extremely please with ther way this turned out......like a brand new boat. The lids are slightly stiff but I am sure they will loosen with time.





Let me know what you all think....if you would like to see some detailed pictures, shoot me a reply.

I basically followed the experience of others on this board.

Hardest part was getting the old glue out.

Thanks

Ron

[ezmuny13]

man that looks good

[guisertj]

Looks great!

[SOONER*REDNECK]

[jdcarter74]

Looks good!!!

[BassCat'99]

nice job

[slsmith93]

Nice clean job. Looks great! What color is the carpet?

[184FS Freak]

Sharp lookin boat, good job! Gettin ready to do mine soon.