Foredeck

[Chas231]

I'm working on the foredeck, and would like a natural wood finish. Options are to keep the finished plywood or cover with strips. The plywood looks pretty good to me, but has screw holes and a seam. Will several coats of resin, followed by varnish sufficiently fill these holes, or do I need to cover them with filler? Should I consider glass fabric or Xynole?

Stripping would add some extra weight, but Atlantic White Cedar is light, and the strips would be thin, about 3/16".

[Hirilonde]

The Cedar would be really soft.  I would worry about denting and gouging it.

 

Is the seam amidships?  What exactly do the screw holes look like?  Some pictures would help.

[Tom Lathrop]

Chuck,

 

Does the sun shine as strong on Oak Island as it does in Oriental?  I keep LIZ in a boathouse over 90% of the time and still regret the small amount of exterior brightwork I put on her.  You have to love maintenance of really large horizontal brightwork surfaces to be serious about doing this.

 

OK, the only aesthetically sensible way to lay plywood on the foredeck would be with grain fore and aft.  That means a joint in the middle which may not be easy to make disappear.  If you really wanted to do this and had not already started, I would recommend using sapele, khaya or ribbon stripe lauan  plywood for its natural beauty.  Of course, you have already laid the top ply on and if its not laid fore and aft it may not look too great and there are those holes that may bother you later.  It is very difficult to fill a hole in wood with plain epoxy and some thickener is required to prevent it from continuing to retract into the hole.  In a small hole surface tension will cause plain epoxy, or other thin material, to retract from the edges of a hole and not even get down inside to fill it.  Some body to the mix is needed which makes it harder to  hide.  A fiberglass sheath will provide a cover and get past this problem if done carefully.

 

Cedar is too soft to consider for this application since people will be walking up there from time to time and a dock hand may land there in his jack boots.  Even on a small boat I'd want a harder wood than cedar for decking.  I used mahogany on my 16' Lapwing sailboat.

 

Fiberglass is the only fabric I know that can be made to virtually disappear under top coats and a non skid surface like dynel, xynole or other coarse material seems to defeat the purpose of brightwork..

 

You might have gotten the impression that I am trying to discourage brightwork on the foredeck and that is certainly true.  I think that the effort to install and maintain it outweighs the aesthetic benefits.  You may recall that Phillip Smith did his BJ25.5 foredeck bright with an inlaid hellicopter in the middle.  You might discuss this with him. 

[Chas231]

Thanks for the good feedback and reality check. I had decided to avoid exterior bright work, but after all the work and the first coat of epoxy, it just looked so pretty! I just filled the holes and joints, so it's no longer pristine. Will sand and add another coat of resin, then think about how it will be finished, but that decision is down the road. Henry suggested a nonskid surface, which sounds like a good idea. Before I get the same notion, is any good quality enamel suitable for painting the inside?

[Tom Lathrop]

Chuck,

 

I am currently strong on Rustoleum paints.  I have used both Pettit Unipoxy and Brightsides and think they are not only inferior to Rustoleum in toughness but about three times the cost.  Gloss is a bit less but that is not a problem for interior paints.  I have found Rustoleum much less susceptible to mildue than Brightsides.  Rustoleum makes a Marine version but I've not used it as yet.  Higher cost, of course but still much less that the others.  I find that I need to wash the Brightsides interior of LIZ a couple times a year to keep mildue at bay.  I have painted adirondack chirs a few years ago with Rustoleum and they do now need another coat although the finish is broken in only few places but are outside in the weather all the time.

 

Since I almost never walk on the foredeck, I don't miss not having a nonskid surface.  I did use the Devoe 4508 industrial epoxy on the decks which has almost no gloss.  This is really tough paint and as inexpensive a decent porch or house paint.  It is used in industry for bridges and water tanks.  About $65 for a two gallon kit.  I do all mooring and anchoring from inside at the forehatch position.  The design intended for that and it has worked really well so that no one has to walk around the side deck, especially in bad weather.  I would never change that feature.

[K4lmy]

Ok    let the old man chime in here..   Don't forget to cover the foredeck with a peice of fibreglass cloth..   On the interior paint We used Rustloium enamel paint.  On the outside we used the Rustolium Marine paint.. Less than 20 bucks a quart.  I have heard   eleven bucks and change.. Several other looper boats have used the same.. Still looking good.. Cheap Harbor freight spray gun works just fine..   The  non skid serface was rustollium paint just applied with a roller.. there will be times when you will want to get on the foredeck to clean the windsheild or wash the top.. the foredeck with a smooth surface and a little wax gets might slipery.. even sitting on the trailer your backside will slip and its a long way to the ground.. Just my two cents.  

[ejds]

If you really want a bright finish and are concerned about the weight you could use a nice veneer over the plywood.  I don't know about gluing veneer with epoxy,  Might need a vacuum bag for clamping.  I am using some oak veneer inside the cabin and use contact cement to put it down.

There is just a thread started on Woodenboat where somebody wants to do this.

I am using some oak veneer inside the cabin and use contact cement to put it down.

 http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?181995-Veneer-over-wooden-deck

 

Egbert