Question: How do i repair my boats deck?

(Posted by: Lourdes S on 2010-03-08 14:04:47)

Hi, i have a 70 something whaler and the previous owner used it for freshwater fishing so he installed a carpet. After i removed it i noticed that the layer of the material that was underneath it was cracked and it is coming off. I would like to repair this but i am completely ignorant to boating and the terminology so i dont know what material it is that i have to buy or what prep work i should do. Any help would be greatly appreciated. it does look like thin plastic pieces and im almost certain that is glass under the broken pieces... do you know the name of the product i should use?

Posted by: seattlesailor2000 on 2010-03-08, 16:39:28

Boston whalers are foam cored and require special instructions on repairing the fiberglass decks and hulls. this site has a copy of the special instructions that came with the original repair kit for boston whaler continuouswave.com/ whaler/ reference/ repairInstructions.html this site has illustrated instructions for repairing the hull of a whaler, repairing the deck will be similar continuouswave.com/ whaler/ reference/ whalerRepair.html series of whaler deck repair topics and additional info continuouswave.com/ cgi-bin/ sw.pl?Search= repairing+ the+ deck my suggestion is that you use epoxy instead of fiberglass resin for a stronger deck repair. hope this helps

Posted by: Michael T on 2010-03-08, 14:39:06

If it looks like thin plastic pieces. about the thickness of a nickel. its no problem. if the wood under it is rotted or you stick a key in it and its goes deep. that a problem...just go to any boat shop like west marine. they have a paint on product that will work fine. go by the directions. its usually a two part mixture and just paint a few layers on...its pritty normal to have cracks in that gel coat. but if it comes up the wood under may be rotted and soaked. if its glass under you should be fine. if its wood and its soft the boat store will have something to cure that to. those early bws had a problem with rot in the wood as the hull would get pin holes and let water in all the time and ruin the floor.