1st post, looking for advice

[scook]

This isn't my area of expertise but a couple of thoughts come to mind. I've spread some floor covering adhesive and some thinset mortar with a notched trowel (like Smoke suggested) - it goes plenty fast, just be SURE you have enough mixed up to do the whole job. I can't imagine it taking you 5 minutes to do the spread. You might put some duct tape over the under side of the holes you've drilled in the plywood so you don't have to be careful about working around them spreading the resin and so it's not dropping in your armpits while you're initially getting it in place.

[smokeonthewater]

EDIT:
Nevermind the dumbass attack I previously posted here.....
:-/

[SkunkBoat]

MAS makes epoxy right? So you're using epoxy -thats good. When you glass the skin onto the piece you'll get a sense of the gel time. It won't change by adding filler. However, my experience is that afternoon gel times are much faster. I was starting my work in the morning at 70-75 degrees and by afternoon it was 85+.
Make a test batch of adhesive so you can guage the time and how much you need for the whole job. Its going to be a lot for a piece that size. You might want to mix multiple containers because larger batches get hot and kick faster.
But you will be pouring the whole batch onto the piece and spreading it quickly so that may not be such an issue.

I still suggest using a few well placed screws from the top to help hold the piece in place. Pre-drill the top skin and the screw will pull up the working piece. The holes for letting some squeeze out is an excellent idea. Just be careful because you are under it!!

Hmmmm? 70" x 40" is pretty big to hang upside down... I would think about cutting in 2 or 3 pieces. Smaller piece in the hard to reach area and gain experience with the process...

[smokeonthewater]

WHOOPS!

Yeah... I saw MAS and my peabrain registered MEK...

Yeah MAS makes epoxy DOH!

Keep in mind that the 30 minutes includes mixing time and it takes longer to mix in the thickener than just the epoxy... It will also vary with temperature... Warmer is faster.... It will kick faster in the mixing pot and take a bit longer once spread...

Make sure you prep the underside of the deck... Rough sanded and clean.

[earle]

Thanks guy's. Just my luck. Rained all day today. Gotta work tomorrow, and weather forecast say's rain thru the weekend. Sunday I leave for Florida for a week, so it looks like my repair job may come to a grinding halt for a bit. Why is weather report always rite when the forecast is lousy?

[smokeonthewater]

Just know you aren't alone.... The bow hatch on my new carver is in poor shape so I found a SMOKING deal on the clearance rack of my favorite local boat shop... $125 for a new old stock 20x20 hatch .... These things go for $450!

Well it had white frosted glass and I wanted smoked... He said we have a couple others in back and lo and behold there was a smoked one.... I snagged it and headed on my way....

Well I had measured the first one but not the second... Got home and racing the rain I pulled about 35 screws to get the hatch out of the bow and grabbed my new one... DOH!!!!!!!!!

It dropped right through the hole! 17x17!!!!

Dangit.... Too late to go back for the one that would fit now so had to put all those screws back in the old hatch...... OOPS!

[earle]

Well, may be able to make some headway afterall. Wife was able to score an awning from the rent-all that she does the books for, so I'm going to proceed, at least till Sat. night.
One final (hopefully) question occurred to me. If I proceed as planned and glass the bottom of the plywood BEFORE I glue it to the deck, will the wood still retain enough flex to contour to the shape of the deck? Standing on the trailer tongue last night I noticed the deck has a bow to it. High in the centre and bowed to the outer edges and sloping to the front. Not a deep bow, but still enough to make me realize the plywood is going to have to "give" to conform to the shape of the bow. Will it do so with the bottom glassed? As usual, thanks for input.
Earl

[smokeonthewater]

That's why I said to cut the ribs to the shape of the bow deck first, then attach them the the ply sheet, then verify that the assembly still matches the required shape before glassing it...

I would glass ALL sides if the new assembly before installing so it is fully sealed and simply needs glued in...

[SkunkBoat]

probably not. You might want to cut into smaller pieces so they follow the shape of the upper skin without having to bend them.. Not too small that you have a lot of upside-down glassing to do!

If you hold a firm straight edge across the inside you'll get a sense of where you need to have a "seam".