1976 13-footer Cockpit Deck Repair

[RaySmiley]

I have a 1976 13-footer. The cockpit deck has a few cracks and soft spots.

Q1: can I simply apply a new sheet of fiberglass atop the existing deck, then prime it, and then paint it?

Q2: or, is more intricate repair is needed?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

ASIDE: Hey folks, new to the forum here.

[jimh]

Q1: can I simply apply a new sheet of fiberglass atop the existing deck...

I don't think you can buy fiberglass in pre-laminated sheets. Any repairs you make with fiberglass cloth will have to be laminated into place with a laminating resin and blended into the existing structure.

Generally the deck will have a non-skid pattern molded into the surface. When making any repairs to the deck the real problem is to preserve the non-skid pattern. If the deck has large areas that have cracks and large areas that have become soft, preserving the non-skid pattern is probably going to be quite difficult.

If you do not care about preserving the non-skid pattern, you can approach the repair differently. You can sand away the non-skid pattern, and then make repairs as necessary.

Any soft spots will need to be investigated. Typically some areas of the deck are reinforced with plywood below the laminate layer. Softness in the deck generally means water has gotten into the foam or the plywood and reduced its structure. To repair, you will have to cut out the wet foam or the wet plywood and replace it. See the wood locating diagram in the REFERENCE section in the article on the 13-foot hull for guidance on where you will find the embedded wood reinforcement.

The REFERENCE section is located at

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/

The article on the 13-foot hull is located at

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/13/

The wood locating diagrams are available from hyperlinks in the text in the paragraph "Embedded Wood." The diagram most appropriate for your particular boat is probably this one:

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... 13Wood.gif

Any foam removed should be replaced with new foam, and any wood removed replaced with new wood. Then you can apply some fiberglass cloth and laminating resin to repair the damaged area

For repairing a fiberglass laminate that was originally laminated with a polyester resin, you can continue to use a polyester laminating resin or you can use an epoxy resin. This is your choice.

When the deck repair is completed and ready for a top coating, you can just use a good quality marine paint.

Boston Whaler has provided some guidelines for repairing a Unibond hull. Those instructions are reproduced in HTML in the REFERENCE section. See

INSTRUCTIONS -- HULL PATCH KITS
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... tions.html

Another good article on repair methods in the REFERENCE section is

Repairing Hull Damage the Whaler Way
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... epair.html

I sense that at this point in this 48-year-old boat's service life, you may not be particularly concerned with producing a seamless and perfect repair, so your methods can be adjusted to suit your preferences.

For a new non-skid surface you can mix some grit material with the paint to produce a surface with more grip.

Another good source of guidance on repairing a hull with many cracks can be found in this excellent presentation on youTube from TotalBoat:

Boston Whaler Crazing Repair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tZDBOYqdfA

If you read or watch all three suggested resources, I am sure you will get some ideas on the method of repair best suited for your boat.

I do not recall if the deck of an older 13-footer is perfectly flat, but I tend to doubt that it would be. For that reason you probably cannot use any sort of pre-laminated sheet material. If the deck really needs a lot of reinforcement, you could consider using some lightweight material like COOSA BOARD or some pre-cast high density foam. You could cut and shape those materials to fit the repair areas and replace any wet foam that was removed. The new material will be bonded in place with a suitable adhesive. New fiberglass will laminated over these areas and blended into then original cockpit deck.

Again, the exact process and the degree of skill used will depend on you.