Re: Glassing deck?

Posted by George K on Nov 27, 2007

Joe,

I glass all my decks, and I would say the majority of us on here do. I know there's a lot of debate as to the need and it does add a bit of extra weight. I think the benifits outweigh the cons. A layer of 4oz cloth adds a lot of durability to the deck of the boat that's going to take a beating at times; paddles hitting it, wet entries, gear thrown on the deck, etc. The deck/hull joint is no problem. Easiest thing to do is to run masking tape around the hull between 1-2" below the deck. Glass the deck with the cloth hanging below the tape, wet it out just on to the tape, wait for it to set a bit and use a new razor knife blade to trim off the cloth just above the tape. This gives an even overlap. After fill coats, sanding and varnish the overlap will be virtually invisible. Yeah, in the right light you can see it, so what! It also adds a bit of protection to the rails which will also take a beating at times. You can, of course, put on rub rails to protect them, but the overlap is easier.

That's my two cents worth. Possibly three.

Happy building!

George K

In Response to: Glassing deck? by Joe M on Nov 27, 2007

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