Dispatches Jan. 8 How-to: DIY deck repair
How-to: DIY deck repair
Bill Stults, 58, is a project manager and support engineer for an international software company. But a leaky foredeck and water under the deck of the Portuguese bridge on his 42-foot pilothouse trawler inspired Stults to take on a major deck repair. Stults, whose home port is Gig Harbor, Wash., gives Soundings a step-by-step guide to the project. Read more on Stults' project in the February 2010 issue of Soundings magazine.
We have owned Skye Castle, our 1976 Tayana 42 pilothouse trawler, for four years and I have made three repairs to delaminated sections of the Portuguese bridge deck. The damage was caused by a leaky foredeck and water running under the deck of the Portuguese bridge.
Tips and techniques
• With a couple of exceptions, I tried to use the exact processes recommended by WEST System, Awlgrip and Interlux. I read their manuals and application guides many times over the course of the project. (I did not include every detail of the techniques used in this project.) • I connected my shop vacuum to my sanders for almost all sanding. I don’t know if all sanders that have vacuum attachments are equal, but my Rigid rotary sander is excellent. It vacuums almost all of the visible dust while sanding. • Keep your work area and tools clean. I used a 5-gallon Home Depot bucket with a gallon of acetone to clean my tools. Buy good gloves designed to protect against harsh chemicals. I replaced the acetone when it became dirty and less effective. • I went through a few gallons of acetone during this project. As the acetone became less effective, I dumped it into another 5-gallon bucket with a tight lid. Once the project was finished, I put the bucket in a corner of my driveway and removed the lid. In a couple days the acetone evaporated and the epoxy sludge turned hard. • Do plenty of online research and discuss your project with anyone who will listen, especially those who have done similar repairs. In the end, do what you think is best. However, I guarantee that if you have preconceived ideas of what you are going to do, your plan will change for the better as you discuss the project with others. • Wear coveralls you have dedicated for this job. You will get epoxy on these. Mine almost stand on their own. |
I had caulked the edges of the teak foredeck and repaired some seams, but the problem was bigger than that. Not only was the integrity of the seams compromised, I was certain there was substantial leakage through the hundreds of deck screws used to fasten the teak to the plywood underlay.
My wife, Barbara, and I home-port Skye Castle in Gig Harbor, Wash. I don't repair boats professionally and I had never done a repair job of this magnitude before. To prepare for the project, I read everything I could find on deck repair written by those who had been down this path.
(Click on each photo to see a larger version.)
Step 1: removing the teak
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| The original teak deck. |
My first inclination was to try to salvage the teak. I started by removing about 30 bungs from various sections of the deck and then removing the screws - only about half came out without breaking. This called for a new approach. I was confident that with the help of my Fein Multimaster I would be able to cut the screws flush with the deck and "easily" remove the teak. Indeed, cutting the screws was easy, but the adhesive used to bond the teak to the plywood was another story. The bond was so strong I wondered why screws were used at all. Then I ran a Multimaster blade between the adhesive and the plywood to help free it, a very slow process. After three hours, I had made little progress and managed to break a piece of teak in the process. It was time to move to Plan B - a fiberglass deck - and a new set of tools.
I adjusted my circular saw to a depth that just cut through the teak decking and then cut sections of teak in 1-foot squares and pried them up with a crowbar. Not exactly precision work, but what would have taken weeks of weekend work took one day.
Step 2: Drying and repair
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| Teak and rotten, delaminated plywood removed; patches in place; section of deck where a quarter inch of rotted and delaminated plywood was removed and holes drilled into the wood under the Portuguese bridge. | |
After removing the teak, I found that the plywood was very wet and that there was a good deal of delaminated substrate and some areas of rot. I let it dry for a week. As it dried, even more areas of delamination appeared.
Using a utility knife and a sturdy putty knife, I removed the delaminated and rotted plywood one layer at a time until I got to good wood. I went as deep as 1/4 inch in some areas and as little as 1/16 in others.
Most of the rot was around and under the Portuguese bridge. After removing the bad wood in front of the bridge, I used a 12-inch bit and drilled a succession of holes under the bridge and into good wood. I then injected penetrating epoxy into the holes with a syringe. After a couple of applications, I finished it off by injecting some thickened epoxy to completely fill the holes.
Step 3: patch job
I cut plywood patches of various thicknesses to replace the delaminated and rotted layers I had removed. After sanding and cleaning the surface, I applied a coat of non-thickened epoxy to the working area and to the bottom and edges of the plywood patches.
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| (From left) plywood patch with screws; the patchwork of various thicknesses of plywood; the repaired deck after fairing and sanding. |
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Using a notched spreader, I then applied a layer of epoxy thickened with WEST System 403 microfibers, positioned the plywood patches and screwed them to the deck. I wasn't overly concerned about cutting the plywood for a perfect fit, since I later filled the gaps with thickened epoxy.
Once the damaged sections were repaired, I removed all the screws and filled the holes with epoxy. I then applied three coats of epoxy thickened with WEST System 407 low-density fairing filler. I sanded between each coat with an orbital sander and 80-grit sandpaper.
Step 4: new plywood veneer
I decided to laminate a 1/4-inch layer of plywood over the repaired deck. I cut the plywood to the shape and size of the previous teak deck. I did this primarily because I like the look of a slightly raised deck and the functionality of having a channel to help route water to the scuppers.
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| (Clockwise from left) the paper pattern; plywood cutouts for the new deck top; new plywood on the foredeck. |  |
I laid out three 4-by-8 sheets of plywood on my garage floor, traced the pattern on the plywood and cut it with a sabre saw. I started with four sections of plywood, but when laminating the first large section, I found that it was difficult to manage on my own; I cut the remaining two large sections in half. I used the same process for laminating the new plywood veneer as I did with the patch repairs.
I applied non-thickened epoxy to a clean, sanded surface and to the bottom and edges of the new plywood. I then applied a layer of thickened epoxy with a notched spreader, positioned the new plywood and screwed it into place. After removing the screws, I filled the holes with epoxy.
Step 5: fairing and fillets
I sanded and faired the new plywood veneer. Even though this was new plywood, I wanted to fill any gaps and dings, as well as sand down the grain to get as smooth a surface as possible before applying the fiberglass cloth and epoxy barrier coats.
I also applied epoxy thickened with WEST System 406 colloidal silica along the circumference of the new plywood and formed rounded filets, since fiberglass cloth adheres better to a rounded fillet than a sharp angle.Before moving on to the next step of applying the fiberglass cloth, I applied a single coat of non-thickened epoxy over the entire deck. After curing, I washed off the amine blush with water and a 3M pad, and wet-sanded with 80 grit sandpaper. I then rinsed thoroughly and dried it with paper towels.
Step 6: fiberglass and barrier coating
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| Cutting out strips of 6-ounce fiberglass cloth; view of the deck after one layer of cloth and three barrier coats of epoxy. |
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I rolled out lengths of 6-ounce fiberglass cloth over the deck and cut it to shape, leaving a good 2 inches on both sides. Since I was working with fairly large areas, I decided to use the dry method of applying the cloth rather than wetting out the deck first. I didn't think I could manage to get these large pieces smooth if I had to battle with a wet, sticky surface.
I poured epoxy onto small areas and used a squeegee to spread it and saturate the cloth. I left as thin a layer of epoxy as I could without overworking it and removing too much from between the cloth and deck. When the cloth was transparent and I could see no pooling of epoxy, I tipped it lightly with a clean foam brush to remove stipple and air bubbles.Step 5: Finally, time to paint
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| Masked and ready for white paint. |
After masking off the areas that would be painted white, I sprayed three coats of Awlgrip 545 primer and allowed it to cure for 24 hours. I then sprayed three coats of Awlgrip Awlcraft 2000 Cloud White. I used Awlcraft 2000 rather than Awlgrip because it can be lightly sanded and polished.
I allowed the Awlcraft 2000 to cure for 48 hours before masking the deck in preparation for the final epoxy barrier/primer coat. I also masked spots on the deck where hardware would be installed. This tape was left in place during the application of the first topcoat to protect them from the non-skid application.
It was now time to apply the final coats of paint to my new deck. I rolled on the first coat of Interlux Brightside one-part polyurethane top coat while sprinkling the deck with Interlux Intergrip non-skid. After allowing five hours to dry, I removed the loose non-skid material with a soft brush. This was followed by two more coats of Brightside, allowing for a 12-hour cure between coats.
When the masking tape was removed, the fruit of my labor was revealed. It isn't perfect, but I believe it looks very good and should last for years. Now it's time to mount the deck hardware and get out on the water.
Conclusion
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| The finished deck. |
I had hoped to complete the work in three months, but it wound up taking six months, mostly weekends but also a good number of early weekday mornings and evenings. That's just the way it goes with boat projects. I probably spent about $1,500 on supplies on a job that may have cost $10,000-plus had it been done by a yard or a professional.
In the end, I learned a lot, saved a good bit of money and am very pleased with the outcome. Good luck with your next project.
More from this issue:
- Meet the luckiest sailor alive
- An EPIRB and some Lady Luck
- Sailing alone, but never lonely
- Tom Neale’s ICW Log: Part II
- Top Coast Guard videos
- Former Earthrace trimaran a casualty of ‘Whale Wars’
- America's Cup 2010: clash of the multihulls