That's exactly how my sailboat was built. All new solid decks now. Thank you for you insight! I couldn't refit my sailboat without your channel.

So good that you're able to find these gems of lackluster craftsmanship. Pisses me off that they know people are paying big chunks of hard-earned money, expecting quality.

Thank you Andy for sharing these informative "how to" vids, they are helpful as well entertaining. I personally appreciate the tutorial along with the application, gives more of one on one feeling as if you were teaching a thorough education in variety of possibilities. This episode took the cake in regards to your sentiments and expressions. I enjoy various boat projects as more a hobby and am no expert but have plenty of common sense. Last boat I purchased was for motor and boat was trashed. However upon cleaning it appeared there may be some life left in yet. The fuel tank cover was soft so as any good craftsman would do prior to selling, I chose to address. You are correct in delamination but what took me completely by surprise was exact same square piece patch job! If I had a nickel for every new word I learned while stripping that ...no appropriate description, lol!!! Many friends and family could not understand the time it required to repair such a small area. This vid gives me great confirmation as to spot on reaction I had throughout my own endeavor. Unbelievable and I'm thrilled to see it wasnt just me haha. Great job bud

Hi Andy. Rewatching your videos, 9 years ago the channel has come a long way. You are now in the new shop, using coosa on the Bertram. Awesome 👌

Some boat builders of the1980 circa, used a butcher block arrangement of plywood squares to reinforce the deck, combings and cabin tops. The reason behind this is; the butcher block design limits the spread of water and dry rot to one small square (The reason for your moisture meter readings) Other production boat builders of the era used solid plywood as a reinforcement but this lets water and dry rot spread over large areas. However, during this period, most boat builders were just trying to make their products as inexpensive as possible. Which is also why these boats are being restored, better than new (depending on the skills of the rebuilder).

Hey Andy, great vid. I just did this on a deck plate circa 1990. Same Parquet plywood setup😳 Just a tip that may work for you. We used our Fein tool with a smooth cutter (chisel point) to remove the plywood that was still stuck to the laminate. Worked great and didn't have to worry about cracking the glass. We then hit it with 40 grit on a d/a to clean off old adhesives. Thanks for all the great vids😀

"I'm guessing it was 5:00 o'clock Friday when you laid this deck....good job guys!" That was awesome. I literally laughed out loud.

Thanks for the post. I've got a soft spot on top of my sailboat cabin, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to do the same thing. Just outside ... in the weather. But I live in Florida and it's 'winter', so as long as I can keep dry, I'm hoping to get it done. On to part two ... Oh .. just want to say how much I REALLY appreciate your videos. They helped me overcome my fear of fiberglass work (hey .. if this guy can do it, why can't I!) by showing the devil is in the details. Your step-by-step videos are much better than trying to glean it from a book. Watching you feather out the fiberglass and fit sheets in is much better than a few till photos. And thanks for the sticker, it's proudly displayed on the back of my car.

Thanks Gene! Appreciate the support :-)

I am working on my first fiberglass boat restoration and it is a 1975 wellcraft V-17. The deck was completely rotted and when I made the first cut to see how bad it was I found...6x6 squares of saturated plywood. Unfortunately, the whole deck needs to come out as well as the transom and stringers. Your videos have been my resource on my off time while I do the demo work so I can plan the actual rebuild.

Excellent video series. So informative and detailed. Thank you for taking the time to put this 4-part series together. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but I can't believe that a few people actually gave this a thumbs down. I would love to see their suggestions for improvement in THEIR KZfaq submission for recoring a fiberglass deck.

Thanks ALOT for the in detail information. Sometimes a less talk more work or talk while working will help with the waiting to see the next step for us viewers. But Awsome job.I just started a 1982 2350 COBRA Cuddy Bayliner 23 Foot. Winter project.

Keep 'em coming Andy! Enjoy your vids. Gene

Thanks again for posting. On my 1963 Columbia Sabre this is the stage I am about to get into. I noticed they had drilled many 1/4" holes I assume to let the upper deck dry out. I poured expoxy in and in and in... So needless to say I am looking at doing the upper deck over, relaying fiberglass layers. Luckily the beam is only 6' and 1/3 of the boat is deck on the outside. I thank you for showing me this, it really helps me out!

Holy Wow! I can't believe that deck lasted that long! Thats amazing.

"If you chisel toward yourself, you're gunna have a bad time." lol great videos man thank you

Timely. I am in the middle of the EXACT same project on my 78 Carlcraft houseboat. Learning as I go. Previous owner did deck and didn't seal a thing, so I am re-framing all the removed rotted pieces and then reskinnjing with plywood. Sealing EVERYTHING in glass and resin, not done before. Not sure which plywood to use, but i think I am settling on outdoor grade sheets, not marine grade, for cost purposes and it will be resin and glass sealed anyway.

For cost concerns try looking at Arauco plywood or some kind of cabinet grade (exterior rated) ply. The more laminates the better!! Please stay away from treated :-) If you have any Q;s please let me know! Also, make sure to check out my website as a follow up to the videos, there is more information there that I was not able to include in the videos! I'll be updating tomorrow morning :-)

Thanks. Great advice and show. Already knew about not using treated lumber. Also: what about blending the new surface fiberglass into the old, existing pieces? Feather as best as possible then repaint it all? I am glassing and resining all the new framing underneath to seal. Is this a good way to go? Previous construction was bare, unsealed 2x4s.

Doing this on my boat on the catwalk around sides. I have some pvc boards from home depot can I use them instead of plywood they will never rot again and I am using west system epoxy. Thanks for input.

I love your channel.

Any chance someone can give some advise on a soft spot in my foam cored floor? I see products that you inject into holes but I'm skeptical of the performance.

I found that same square block coring in the stern platform of a 20' Carolina Skiff.

Last year I replaced the entire deck on a 1993 Bayliner Classic the floor of these boats is covered with a grey felt material. If there is a pin hole in the gelcoat under the grey material is will act as a sponge and allow the water to soak into the floor and rot! These are good boats as long as you don't get them wet! lol

or post them on my facebook page (link at the end of the video; unfortunately I am not able to post it in the comments....)

I would like to know if I can remove the wood core under deck hardware and replace with solid glass and how . IF SO WOULD YOU MAHE A VIDEO.

The first one sounded like a thud and the second tap sounded crisp.

If you have any Q's let me know :-)

I have a 99 Sea Ray project boat. It had been sitting for a long time and had a hatch leak. I just gutted the entire cabin and found a small hole in the fiberglass ceiling in the cabin, a couple inches from the edge of the hatch. There is wet wood inside. I pulled the hatch out and the edges of the hatch opening are still solid. The interior side fiberglass has delaminated starting at the hatch hole and going at least a foot inward on the side with the hole. What would be the best approach to fix this?

hello, a little late to find this series but I'm starting to re-core the deck of my International 110. 1967 Schock hull with a balsa cored deck and a foam cored hull. I'm plannning on using 5# density divinycell H80 and am looking for any pointers you can give me as far as should I re-use the skin as you did in this series or layup a new skin as I will need to fair it in to the topsides. Looking for lightest-stongest option as I need to keep hull weight in check for racing. Would I use 1708?

Just a thought... You are clearly the expert and I love your videos. From my limited understanding of how epoxy, glass, wood, etc adhere, its makes sense to me that the small pieces would create a greater surface area for everything to bond. One large piece of plywood with a glass skin seems like the epoxy would be very thin, in spots, on the surface and have less adhesion. If there is a patchwork set up, there are spaces in between the small pieces for the epoxy to settle and bond to a greater surface area. Almost like laying tile. The grout between the tile adds greater adhesion than just just the base underneath. In the fiberglass situation, the surface skin would not only bond to the top of the plywood core, but down, through the gaps, to the base layer of epoxy and underlying glass???? Again, I have no clue about how fiberglass works, but this just makes sense to me. I'm about to replace a cockpit seat core with plywood and would like you to weigh in, once more, regarding patchwork vs one large sheet.

Good video

This mini series is going to be very helpful :-) I'll be covering all of your Q;s over the next week or two. In the mean time try emailing me some pics of your project so have a better idea of what you're working with.. boatworkstoday@gmail.com Thanks!

I have a boat made with nidacore (?) (coring is water proof closed cell) and the layer of glass on top of it is delaminating. When I walk on parts of the deck I can hear it. IT is not soggy or soft ... just disconnected. IS there a way to glue it back down without removing the "skin" and redoing it? Thanks!

What sander are you using

What type of boat is that Marie trader

who put the loose wood in the "upper upper deck" OEM boat builder?

:-) Thanks!

I had a 23' walk-around Galaxy cc that had the cockpit deck done like that... what pain, I had no faith in that boat after that. repaired the floor and sold it....

What do you do if the plywood underneath isn't on top of fiberglass like yours is? I'm thinking that I should glass my replacement wood before putting it in. I don't know what weave or how many layers I should use. Its on a small boat and the width of the deck area is only 4' at the widest and average of about 3'.

You and me both :-)

That disappearing hammer at 3:02

Is it possible that the reason that the plywood square are dry stake without any resin was to save weight since that it look to be the bridge deck. Bridge deck needs to be lite so that it does not raise the center of gravity of the boat. just a thought...

Never seen anything like that!

I know this is an old video but I am curious why you replaced the old core with plywood instead of balsa or foam core material?

I Like that.. "Good Job Guys" .. Meaning You Suck for your Terrible Job During your Original Building Process .. At my Auto Service BitDay (circa 1990) on a 79 Trans Am pulling the Transmission to Rebuild it Clearly said inside the back bumper "This car was built at 5:00 on Friday Sucker" .. Thanks for the trip back down Memory Lane.. Thanks

I get the rest of the deck is still solid currently. But surely they laid the whole deck the same and not just that small area you pulled up. If the rest is the same it will eventually separate too

Glass master you should be making your own boats.we'll call them Glassmater ... What state are you in

Shocked they would make a deck from custom particle board... never seen it never heard of it. even patching any carpenter would think this is not good pracktice.

I'm doing that on a deck of a 37' let me tell you it sucks 5 o'clock Friday on a hunter 37c

Wow! That coring. Roof shingles! Looks like they ran out of epoxy.

Unfortunately, you're right. A lot of my time is spent mopping up someone else's laziness..

Dodgy boat building practices are what keeps the professionals gainfully employed!!