Redecking

[Yellowjacket]

Ok, I've stripped my old Dale Hull runabout and am trying to figure the best way to go forward. There are some issues with the existing decking, some checking that was previously repaired with a white resin and there is some polyester on the top deck that is going to be a bear to remove and make nice again. Also there is a repair to the nose that was done with staples and the wood doesn't quite match, so that isn't likey to be original. Same with the main front deck, there was at one time a cutout that was under the driver fairing and that is fastened in with staples, so I doubt that is original either.

I'm thinking that redecking is a better option than trying to get the existing decks to look good. There is some additional work that I need to do under the decks and taking them off would let me get in to do that a lot easier.

First question: Is removing the decking that terrible a job and will I end up making a mess of the ribbing trying to get it off. I do have a die grinder and cutoff wheels that I can use to cut or dissect the old decking. I can cut out the old decks and be able to get to the fastenting (nails) and the glue pretty easily. Does the glue used on these old boats get soft with a heat gun? I looked at the resorcinal glue specs and they say 210F is the melting temp. One approach I had thought of was to cut most of the inside of the deck away and then I could pry up on the deck and apply heat at the same time to get it off. Tips or experience on getting the decking off would be a real help.

The first option is to redeck with 6mm okoume, but that is hard to find here in Indy, the closest place that I can get it reasonably is 150 miles away. Shipping from some of the other places will double the cost of the two sheets that I need to do the job. If anybody knows where I can get 6mm okoume in or around Indy that would be huge.

I did find some 4mm okoume locally for a very reasonable price. I was thinking I could use that and use a 4 or 6 ounce fiberglass cloth and epoxy over it and it would weigh just about the same as the 6 mm that was on there, and it would probably be a heck of a lot stronger than just the plywood alone. Any thoughs on that approach.

[David_L6]

Call George Newman. He can tell you how to repair that boat. George is the "N" of B&N runabouts. The boats that Dale built were built off of the B&N plans.

[Yellowjacket]

Thanks for the tip. I talked to George and he said he never used more than 4mm on the boats he built. Dale obviously used 6 mm on this one, but George seemed to think that the 4 mm would be fine, and fresh decking will look better than I ever could have made the old decks look.

George said that if the decks were 4mm they could be ripped out easily, but he thought 6 mm would damage the frames if you pulled on them.

[david harrell]

if you can get the fasteners out you can use a router set to the thickness of the deck to cot the deck off the framework. this works very well and leaves the framework clean. have done it many times. much better than any other way i've tried. wouldn't use any thicker than 4mm. no need. any other questiones you can contact me at passionplayboatworks@yahoo.com. i will be glad to help.
david harrell

[ZUL8TR]

decking remove

if you can get the fasteners out you can use a router set to the thickness of the deck to cot the deck off the framework. this works very well and leaves the framework clean. have done it many times. much better than any other way i've tried. wouldn't use any thicker than 4mm. no need. any other questiones you can contact me at passionplayboatworks@yahoo.com. i will be glad to help.
david harrell

That's a good idea. What did you do to remove off stringers where the router wouldn't go?

[david harrell]

if you mean along the coamings and such i find that a small hand plane with a blade that goes all the way to the edge works the best. a good SHARP wood chisel also works or a combanation of a standard block plane and wood chisel to clean out the corner [ you'll see what i mean if you try it ]. all these methods require that the fasteners be removed. if you can't get them out you can use a nail set and punch them thru the deck. hope this helps.
david harrell

[Yellowjacket]

David,

I haven't gotten into the taking off the decks yet. I found some other things that I wanted to do before the redecking and the wife has been ill, so I've had to back off on boat work for a couple of weeks.

I did get a rotozip for fathers day and I was thinking that I could do what you are suggesting with that. It doesn't have big bits, but I have plenty of 1/4 inch die grinding bits that will mill off the decking along the ribs. It's just going to take three passes to mill off a 3/4 inch worth of deck over a rib. I was thinking I could go around the nails pretty easily with that and with a die grinding bit it won't care if I bump up against a nail from time to time.

[johnsonm50]

if you can get the fasteners out you can use a router set to the thickness of the deck to cot the deck off the framework. this works very well and leaves the framework clean. have done it many times. much better than any other way i've tried. wouldn't use any thicker than 4mm. no need. any other questiones you can contact me at passionplayboatworks@yahoo.com. i will be glad to help.
david harrell

This is a good idea, you can go around the fasteners if unremoveable & grind them down later too. Might be a good idea to have a spare bit or 2. Many boats are built with 4mm decks.