Replacing/raising the deck without full refinish

Basketcase · #1 07-18-2019, 08:18 AM

Hey all. In the next year or so I plan to replace/raise the deck on my 20 Sceptre. If I don't want to go to the trouble of refinishing the whole top half of the boat, what is the alternative? I'd be very doubtful that the gelcoat could be blended at the seam. What do people do?

My deck is solid actually. No soft spots but I suspect wet foam, at least on the starboard side. It lists a tad at the slip. maybe an inch. Only other thing I can think is that the battery is farther outboard on that side than the battery on the other side by about a foot or so. Could that make a significant difference?

I would be shocked if there wasn't some wet foam. Boat is a 78 and all original.

DonV · #2 07-18-2019, 10:14 AM

"I'd be very doubtful that the gelcoat could be blended at the seam"

You are correct! If you are good with fairing and sanding, you will need to use your talents.....a lot! Then after that you will have to paint or gelcoat the inside, plus do the anti-skid. No biggie!!

Basketcase · #3 07-18-2019, 10:29 AM

So really, there isn't a good way to do it without refinishing the whole cap then. Just thought maybe someone had a good way to make it not look odd going from the original gelcoat on the sides of the liner, to new gel/paint for the deck and part way up the liner.

Respraying gel or paint plus all the finishing I'm ok with. Just don't really want to pull all the trim, engine, windshield, gauges etc in order to completely refinish it.

DonV · #4 07-18-2019, 12:22 PM

It's been a while since I looked at a 20' Sceptre's floor. The way I would do it is cut out the floor leaving 1 1/2" all the way around the edge, remove the floor so you can get to the stringers, foam, inspect the gas tank, make repairs, etc.. Make a template of the "new" floor area all the way around to the inner liner, cut 3/4" coosa board the same size off the template, cover with 1708 on both sides (maybe two layers) and bond on to the 1 1/2" lip you left. Glass the coosa to the inner liner and fair. You could just paint up the sides 6" or so the same color as the floor and get good results if you color match. Your new floor will be 3/4" higher if you use coosa, there are other options.

Basketcase · #5 07-18-2019, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonV

It's been a while since I looked at a 20' Sceptre's floor. The way I would do it is cut out the floor leaving 1 1/2" all the way around the edge, remove the floor so you can get to the stringers, foam, inspect the gas tank, make repairs, etc.. Make a template of the "new" floor area all the way around to the inner liner, cut 3/4" coosa board the same size off the template, cover with 1708 on both sides (maybe two layers) and bond on to the 1 1/2" lip you left. Glass the coosa to the inner liner and fair. You could just paint up the sides 6" or so the same color as the floor and get good results if you color match. Your new floor will be 3/4" higher if you use coosa, there are other options.

Thanks, Don. That was pretty much my plan except probably use 1.5" foam for a bit of a lift from original. Trying to figure out how to retain the gutters and through deck drains. (I like them). I thought about actually making a mold of the existing deck to put on a table and make the new deck with because I like the setup so much, but that's a lot of work and materials that may not have a lot of gain.

My main concern was the line where the new finish stops. One thought I had was maybe Line-x for the non-skid and up the sides a bit. This boat gets used as a work boat/pickup truck and I've got some good stains/scratches from lumber, propane tanks etc. The linex would add durability, and hide the transition from old to new finish. But...will it look good and how easy does fish blood and squid guts clean off of line-x? lol

flyingfrizzle · #6 07-21-2019, 02:11 PM

If you were just worried about the wet foam you could remove the gas tank and cut windows in the side of the stringers to remove the foam. You would have to scab up the sides with some type of retainer when your re-poured the foam back. I think you could get just about all of the old stuff out just from the fuel cavity. This may work since you said your deck is fairly solid and if you don't need to raise the deck I would hate to cut out a good one. I glassed over my thru flour drains and ran them threw the rear wall to the sump and then just pump the sump out. I trailer my boat and it isn't in the water more than 8 hours at the time though. I would want external scuppers drains out the transom if left in the water over night or if I went offshore. I think with the scupper lines crossed I would have problems with water coming in at rest but if you load yours down for work it may need to be raised. The pre 73 4 stringer hulls need to be raised but you can get by on the 2 stringer 74s up if kept light enough. Just a thought. It would save you a lot of work if all you want to do is remove the foam.