Last summer one of the floor boards in my Zodiak became water soaked. I have had water standing in the dinghy many times for many days at a time and never damaged the boards. The floor is the multi-section type with heavy plastic strips which hold the boards in place. The boards are about a quarter inch thick and appear to be made of some kind of pressed board which I assumed (wrongly) would be fully water proof. My question is: if I repair this board with a coat of fiberglass matt and resin will it be too thick to fit in the dinghy and will one coat of matt and resin be enough to protect it from further water damage? Also can I coat it with some sort of resin without the fiberglass matt to seal it from water damage? I am pretty sure I can go to Zodiak for a direct replacement but I'll bet it'll cost an arm and a leg. I suppose I could make one out of quarter inch polyethylene sheet but it wouldn't match the rest of the boards. Mike
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Epoxy
Not quite sure what "damage" was done but you can apply plain epoxy with a brush to saturate the board with resin. That will prevent water absorbtion. Everybody has heard of the West System and I'm sure it will work just fine for you. I personally use an epoxy system by a company called MAS. see the link Tom s/v Orion's Child
Not quite sure what "damage" was done but you can apply plain epoxy with a brush to saturate the board with resin. That will prevent water absorbtion. Everybody has heard of the West System and I'm sure it will work just fine for you. I personally use an epoxy system by a company called MAS. see the link Tom s/v Orion's Child
I'll try it
I'll try using just the resin without the matting. The damage was that the board was "spongy" when I removed it. I've kept it dry all winter so it should be stiff now but will be vulnerable to future soakings and it will eventually fall apart. As long as I'm at it I may as well coat the other boards as well. Thanks for the responses and advice gents. I was leaning in the direction of your recommendations before I posted my question. I just needed to confirm my course of action. Tcbro: thanks for the link. I'll check the company out. Mike
I'll try using just the resin without the matting. The damage was that the board was "spongy" when I removed it. I've kept it dry all winter so it should be stiff now but will be vulnerable to future soakings and it will eventually fall apart. As long as I'm at it I may as well coat the other boards as well. Thanks for the responses and advice gents. I was leaning in the direction of your recommendations before I posted my question. I just needed to confirm my course of action. Tcbro: thanks for the link. I'll check the company out. Mike
Thin the first few coats
with lacquer thinner. It will penetrate the wood and set up thus strengthening it more than just coating the surface. Make sure the board is the shape that you want. If it is bowed or twisted, that will become permanent unless you put a weight on it or clamp it to something straight. You can use wax paper to keep clamps from sticking to it.
with lacquer thinner. It will penetrate the wood and set up thus strengthening it more than just coating the surface. Make sure the board is the shape that you want. If it is bowed or twisted, that will become permanent unless you put a weight on it or clamp it to something straight. You can use wax paper to keep clamps from sticking to it.
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