Extra glass...

[John in CC]

I am getting close to installing the cockpit deck. The manual calls for a couple of coats of epoxy underneath before it is installed but I am temped to put a layer of fiberglass. Any advise?

Sorry if this has been covered before on this forum but my search engine skills were not up to finding anything.

[John in CC]

I have decided to put a layer of fiberglass under the foot well for sure already.

[craig]

I remember reading this somewhere on the forum, but can't remember the post. I believe Bill did this on his boat. It certainly can only help! I can only speak to my experience in my boat so far (only in the garage) with glass on the top of the cockpit deck. The deck flexes a little bit where there isn't much support (most significantly, or I should say only really between the centerboard case and the hull). This flex is absolutely minimal. I don't wish that I had glassed the bottom. I should note that the footwell bottom is incredibly stable. The plans call for 9mm but I ran out of plywood and used 6mm instead, and only glassed the top. The cleats are in such close proximity that it doesn't flex at all. Again, more glass can't hurt though. The only place I kinda-sorta-wish I had glassed was the cabin roof. That isn't a large surface area and I don't like the large amount of flex in the plywood I used. I spent some time and put more roof supports in the cabin to stop the flex. Glassing would have been easier.

[John in CC]

Thanks Craig, I just finished glassing the bottom of the footwell (the epoxy is curing right now). I think I will put a layer only in the forward area of the cockpit deck where people could be jumping onto it. I think I would feel better. As for the cabin roof, Ill burn that bridge when I get to it.

[Bflat]

I glassed the entire underside of my seat decks and both sides of each footwell panel before installing them. They're high stress, high traffic areas. I anticipate I'll need to buy more 6 oz glass cloth to make up for that.

[truenorth]

I may have gone overboard (ahem) but I've got extra 'glass pretty much everywhere. Both sides of the footwell, cockpit and cabin decking are 'glassed. I've also got 3, 4, and 5 layers in other areas, such as the bow compartment and across the keelson. There's a lot of 9 oz given so I've used that liberally. With good technique, it's invisible (especially cutting off the thick end of the 9 oz tape). The peace of mind is well worth the possible extra cost and hassle.

That said, be careful running around the boat even though things look strong. Until everything is finalized, it's still a wooden boat held together with a bit of glue. Now that my boat's turned over, I find myself sitting on the hull to do work, and I hear creaks here and there. Go gentle into that good night.

[Shudoman]

I glassed under the cabin top and the seat bottoms as well. It did require an extra order of fiberglass but I had plenty of epoxy left over after my construction. The areas that I added extra glass are as follows (note: i didn't glass the bottom of the footwell).

1. Double layer of biaxial tape where the companionway bulkhead meets the seat tops (both sides of this highly stressed intersection)
2. Double layer of biaxial tape where the cabin top intersects bulkhead #2. The loads from the tabernacle are heavy here and I've heard of 2 different boats where there was separation here.
3. In the anchor well I poured expanding marine foam and trimmed it off even with the stringers so that the anchor well decking would be supported by the foam, I also glassed the bottom of the anchor well decking. I think that now this is the strongest part of my boat.
4. Used a heavier than usual schedule of biaxial in the frontmost bay. Figured that I had plenty of biaxial in the kit and this was an area that absolutely couldn't fail. (It would be crazy to get into it and fix anything down in there.)
4. I used biaxial tape on the inside edges of the dorade vents. This area is hidden and requires minimal finishing and the extra fiberglass here aids the anchoring cleats (I would cry if anchored in heavy seas and my dorades got pulled apart!).
5. Used biaxial tape on the inside edges of the tabernacle.
6. I have a removable tabernacle and although I didn't add more fiberglass on bulkhead #2 (other than noted above) I did add a plywood doubler as per others suggestions (I think John C. Harris posted a diagram somewhere on this site).

There have been others that advocating extra cleats to support the seat tops. If I had it to do over again I would have done this. Even with the extra fiberglass there is still some flex there -- nothing major but enough where I notice. (I weigh 220 lbs).

None of these "enhancements" were a must and I'm sure there are very strong PocketShips out there that are built totally to spec. I'm just in favor of a little extra "insurance".

Bill

[mtsailor]

Hi. I glassed both sides of all parts of Carlyn J., including the footwell floor/sides, deck, hull, bulkheads, etc... Maybe I have an Ice breaker, but no weak parts noted, so far. I'd think that the deck, where people jump in to the boat and walk around, could stand a layer of glass on the underside. Can't hurt. Good luck. Jer (aka mtsailor) http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsailor95/