andyatos
Well-Known Member
So, I flipped the boat over, stuffed my mirror and utility light inside and had a look at the junction of the mast tube and the deck. What I saw didn't get me all excited.
Apparently, the original manufacturing process had been a bit rushed with the result being a big blob of fiberglass matt with air behind it just down the mast tube from the deck. This was going to make applying glass at this junction a pain in the rear end so after trying a few approaches, I was able to saw this growth off with a little hack saw. Below is a photo of the process.
After removing the matt growth and grinding down other unfinished high areas, I glassed the mast tube/deck junction with 8 inch long, 2 inch wide overlapping cloth strips. Was going to use fiberglass matt for this step but the product I had on hand was too thick and stiff and I didn't want to go all the way to West Marine to see if they had anything thinner.
Next came the backing blocks. I used 3/4 inch thick exterior plywood. Was going to use some sort of hard, plastic material but the fellow at Tap Plastics said that pretty much nothing will adhere long term to that kind of material. I applied 2 coats of West Systems resin to the plywood, letting each coat dry, then mixed resin with West 404 filler until it was almost peanut butter thick.
I then applied the resin/filler to the underside of the block for the outhaul and cunningham cam cleat hardware, got the resin/filler nice and even then laid it carefully on to the two screws that were sticking through the deck... having pre drilled the holes to match on the block and set the threads in the plywoood with the same screws ahead of time.
I then tightened the screws from the outside and sucked the block tight to the inside of the deck. I used the resin/filler combo to keep this thick layer of resin from running. While this was drying, I mixed up more resin (no filler), wet a 1 inch wide strip of cloth then laid this over the block and on to the deck for good measure to hold the block in place. Here's a photo. The grey strip is the resin/filler under the block.
Finally, I did the same with the block for the cunningham/outhaul hardware plate that sits just behind the mast tube. Getting this to fit right on the inside of the flat deck/transition up to the mast tube took some time so I didn't suck this down with screws. Just laid it on the area with extra resin/filler and pushed it into place. Laid more cloth and resin over this, same as the rear backing block. Here's a photo.
So, I'm done with the inside of the boat. Glad that's over. Hey... didn't I say that before?
All I have to do now is put the round piece that I cut out of the deck back.
- Andy
Apparently, the original manufacturing process had been a bit rushed with the result being a big blob of fiberglass matt with air behind it just down the mast tube from the deck. This was going to make applying glass at this junction a pain in the rear end so after trying a few approaches, I was able to saw this growth off with a little hack saw. Below is a photo of the process.
After removing the matt growth and grinding down other unfinished high areas, I glassed the mast tube/deck junction with 8 inch long, 2 inch wide overlapping cloth strips. Was going to use fiberglass matt for this step but the product I had on hand was too thick and stiff and I didn't want to go all the way to West Marine to see if they had anything thinner.
Next came the backing blocks. I used 3/4 inch thick exterior plywood. Was going to use some sort of hard, plastic material but the fellow at Tap Plastics said that pretty much nothing will adhere long term to that kind of material. I applied 2 coats of West Systems resin to the plywood, letting each coat dry, then mixed resin with West 404 filler until it was almost peanut butter thick.
I then applied the resin/filler to the underside of the block for the outhaul and cunningham cam cleat hardware, got the resin/filler nice and even then laid it carefully on to the two screws that were sticking through the deck... having pre drilled the holes to match on the block and set the threads in the plywoood with the same screws ahead of time.
I then tightened the screws from the outside and sucked the block tight to the inside of the deck. I used the resin/filler combo to keep this thick layer of resin from running. While this was drying, I mixed up more resin (no filler), wet a 1 inch wide strip of cloth then laid this over the block and on to the deck for good measure to hold the block in place. Here's a photo. The grey strip is the resin/filler under the block.
Finally, I did the same with the block for the cunningham/outhaul hardware plate that sits just behind the mast tube. Getting this to fit right on the inside of the flat deck/transition up to the mast tube took some time so I didn't suck this down with screws. Just laid it on the area with extra resin/filler and pushed it into place. Laid more cloth and resin over this, same as the rear backing block. Here's a photo.
So, I'm done with the inside of the boat. Glad that's over. Hey... didn't I say that before?
All I have to do now is put the round piece that I cut out of the deck back.
- Andy
Last edited:
