Doing the floors - epoxy and vinyl question

[Jfenny]

On to the next stage guys; floors!

So I have the old wood I tore up as my guide pattern. It was 1/2" and is in good enough condition that I can at least use it as a template. I'm probably doing 1/2" again, although I may go with 5/8", I haven't decided yet. Now I've already ordered all the angle aluminum to redo the supports and so I'm looking at the wood prep next.

Mow I've also ordered the Nautolex vinyl, and applicable HH-66 adhesive but before I start moving forward on this I've notice a lot of recommendations to use epoxy on the plywood, to assist with water resistance. So as I start shopping for some I found a guy on the local classifieds with West System 105 for sale, extra from his project. I can't find many reviews on actual projects but what I can find seems promising. So two questions:

1) Is the West System 105 the right stuff to seal the plywood before applying the vinyl? I recognize I'd need to order the right hardener.
2) If I'm putting a full layer of vinyl adhesive down as I apply the vinyl, should I still be putting the epoxy down as well? Or just epoxy the edges and underside of the plywood?

I did some searching through the forum but I'm not 100% sure of what would be best, from what I've read.

Thanks!

 

[DaleH]

There's no right answer, as a few methods will accomplish what you want, but definitely seal the ply edge grain well.

I do prefer epoxy for that, plus I epoxy the entire panels too ... but I have epoxy on hand. IMHO the $23 epoxy sample kit from Raka epoxy is enough to seal the edges, see: http://store.raka.com/epoxysamplekit.aspx

Then use any paint on hand to seal the panels, noting good enamels or barn/floor paints are better then latex paints, which I still don't trust, lol!

Another Tip - A 'dry' bilge is a happy bilge! Allowing any standing water to accumulate and stay in the bilge means it has to go somewhere. Untreated wood would suck it up in no time ...

 

[Jfenny]

I do prefer epoxy for that, plus I epoxy the entire panels too ... but I have epoxy on hand. IMHO the $23 epoxy sample kit from Raka epoxy is enough to seal the edges, see: http://store.raka.com/epoxysamplekit.aspx

I should have replied to you before you posted! I saw this in a few other threads and was pretty sure you'd be the first guy to reply! Unfortunately their web site won't accept my Canadian postal code. With that said, I'm just fine doing epoxy on the entire floor (top, bottom and edges) just as long as I know it's not a waste of time and money. I very much adhere to the pay-once-cry-once philosophy. I'll pay to ensure its done right, I don't want to rip this up again in 5-10 years. I was planning on doing epoxy on the edges and underside of the plywood for sure, it was just the top part that I wasn't sure if it should be done since the vinyl adhesive is pretty thick stuff too. I don't mind doing it if there is benefit, I just don't want to waste time money if it's not going to give me any benefit.

I'm also thinking the extra epoxy might help with floor rigidity. The existing 1/2" was a bit flimsy and I could feel it sag under heavy load (my fat ***) so rather than going up to 5/8" I was thinking extra framing and then this epoxy coating would help as well.

Another Tip - A 'dry' bilge is a happy bilge! Allowing any standing water to accumulate and stay in the bilge means it has to go somewhere. Untreated wood would suck it up in no time ...

I agree 100% and believe this is why the existing floors were rotting out. I've taken a few measures to address this:
1) Sealing and replacing existing rivets.
2) Automatic bilge pump: the old one was manual only
3) New cover: I will be having a custom cover made for storage once the project is done. The current cover stops short of and goes around the outboard leaving a hole for water (and dirt, twigs and leaves) to flow down the cover and into the boat, ensuring there is always some water in the bottom of the boat much of the year (no indoor storage available). I want to get a new one made that fully covers the boat and outboard.