Carver 396 swim platform rot repair

[bud37]

Nice......I kinda like the wood look.....

[Viper]

Which epoxy are you using?

[KyleR]

Which epoxy are you using?

I went with West Systems (not to be confused with West Marine). Specifically I used the 105 epoxy, 209 hardener (extra slow setting) and 406 colloidal filler.

I did some research before we got here including calling West Systems and their customer support was amazing! I asked a ton of questions and they were super patient and answered all my questions - and sent me pdfs of their product user manuals and a whole manual on all types of fiberglass repairs. Plus, when we got here it turned out this boat yard carried the full line of West Systems products! Anyways, that's the long answer to your question.

[Viper]

You're getting rid of the blush before reapplying right?

[KyleR]

Yes - definitely cleaning off the amine blush. I used peel ply when I put the first layer of glass down under the plywood. It was a difficult area to get in there and clean so peel ply worked great. But, it's not exactly cheap ($9/yd here in the boat yard) so after laying in the wood and wetting it out, I just did the old green scubber pad and water to clean the amine blush off.

As a side note, I pre-drilled oversized holes where the dock box was screwed down and will be filling those with thickened epoxy so the screws and screw holes will never see wood again! Below is a pic before I put down the glass layers.

[g36]

Filling with epoxy in oversized holes is what I did on my 405. No more worries You'll be a happy camper now.

[Drspikes355]

Nice work! Very professional job.

[KyleR]

Not many photos lately - been scrambling between afternoon showers to get anything done! Plus I have a whole other list of projects going on simultaneously (new shaft seals, new rudder seals, new cutlass bearings, and so on).

Anyways, I got three layers of 1708 biaxial glass cloth put down then added two skim coats of epoxy (thickened with 410 fairing filler) to level everything out. And finally just added a couple of coats of straight epoxy to seal everything and get it prepped for primer then paint. Here's where I stand as of now:

[KyleR]

Finally finishing up and putting everything back together today. I didn't take pics during the primer/painting process - not much to see. But I went with two coats of Awlgrip Awlquik primer and three coats of Awlgrip Topcoat in Cloud White. I applied Awlgrip Griptex non-skid (fine particle size) after the first coat of topcoat.

Overall I am very happy with everything, however we were somewhat disappointed in the color chip on the Awlgrip color chart we went with. When held up to the boat, it looked spot on, however as you can see from the photo the color turned out much whiter than the chip indicated.

I know there are always variations and lighting plays a big part, but it's a little brighter than we'd hoped. But, after having ICW water wash over it for a few months I'm guessing it will look a little darker!!

[paulr]

I'm wondering what the finished job with the gelcoat applied. I have seen a lot of Carver repairs over the years and there is always difficulty to match colors.
Great post