To foam or not to foam..that is the question..

[bgreene]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

Foaming complete.. after thinking about it and everything I just decided it was easier to foam, make it all watertight and (like MJ said) go fishing. Made a few improvements though... Foamed it completely up to the bottom of the deck , and, as shown in the last pic (sorry its a little dark) in the transom area we glassed from the splashwell to the transom to add a little extra strength to that area. (There's a gap of about an inch and a half on both sides of the splashwell that we filled with putty and then glassed over). Don't know why Wellcraft didn't do that when they made the boats... just seems like common sense. Oh well.....





Moving right along.... Next I have to add the hatch in the front area as previously discussed, get new rod boxes for the sides and install them and then start mounting things like the bimini, radar arch, antennas, engine, etc.

Good for you - turning another good V boat into a great classic V boat.
Look foward to seeing the finished results.

[Blue_Runner]

+2 on the Durabak. Very good stuff. My buddy used white. The light gray would probably not show the dirt as much. It cleans up nice with a stiff brush and good detergent but takes some scrubbing. Very good non-skid product and 2 coats will do. I never go barefoot but it doesn't seem like it would be too bad on the feet?

[Destroyer]

Well, the deck is done and drying/curing. Went with U-Pol urathane bed liner in Artic white. (it's kinda like a slightly off white....not grey) Put in a hatch as was suggested in front of the gas tank...although truthfully, after it was in I'm thinking I should have gone with a bigger hatch...but it's easy enough to cut out a new hole and just screw in a bigger one if I deem it necessary. Time will tell. All underfloor hoses were replaced with new....just seemed prudent. Rod boxes have a few cracks in them that I'll need to glass, so they're just in there for show right now. Next project is lenghtening my 20" Merc 200 into a 25" and mounting it on the rear. Fun, fun, fun ... Oh..and I MUST get new seats and cushions.

[bradford]

Looks Great!!!

[buckleyjr]

Looks GREAT! I really like the hatch. There is also a hollow space under the captains chair, forward of the live bait well.

[RidgeRunner]

Nice work Destroyer. Looks brand new.

[phatdaddy]

looks great, i have the larger size hatch, and in that high trafic area, the tend to last only 2 or 3 years before cracking. by going with the smaller one, you will probably get a longer life span out of yours.

how aggresive is the texture of your deck, would bare feet be uncomfortable?

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by phatdaddy

how aggresive is the texture of your deck, would bare feet be uncomfortable?

I tried to get a close up of it in the last picture, just before the hatch. It's more like a ripple than a pebble...very low, rounded peaks and valleys.. that's the reason I went with the urathane..I'm hoping its going to be softer on the feet.. hard to really tell until I stand on it for a day of fishing/boating. Actually I'm more concerned with how hard it's going to be to clean up blood on the deck.

[reelapeelin]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

I'm more concerned with how hard it's going to be to clean up blood on the deck.

a light to middle weight power washer may be the trick, but NOTHING works better than WETTING (FLOODING) the blood BEFORE it dries w/a bucket or hose...

Destroyer, I'm REELY impressed w/your work!!...man that looks GREAT!!...YER GONNA HAVE A SUPER CLEAN 21 WHEN YOU GET IT ALL DONE...

It was mentioned above about the hollow space under the capt's chair...this is what I did on my 21...

It's a 3-drawer tackle-hatch...and couldn't have been in a better place....wish I could show you pic w/it open, but you get the idea...like you NEED any ideas!!...LOL!!

[macojoe]

Like reel says I have a self bailing deck, whn I get blood on floor just grab a bucket throw on floor all clean!! I useto have a salt water wash down and just hosed it al down but thw pump went bad.