Trojan Boat Forum

Well I actually just bought the 36ft. Tri Cabin. It's a 73 and to me it's beautiful, although it needs allot of work. She's been stored in a barn for 13 years - that's a long time not to be in the water.

I have been reading the Trojan Forum for the last month and I look forward to the day when I can answer questions on the forum for others. I know that day will come very soon, with the things I plan to do with this beauty.

Although I could come up with a bunch of genric boat questions I have a few Tri cabin questions. The first is the Aft deck was replaced with Walmonized plywood and I would like to fiber glass the deck. Have any of you Tri cabin lovers ever glassed your rear deck? Do you have pitcures, especially around the transom drains? I'm also planning to replace the rear cabin wall with Starboard. Anything I should watch out for?

Anyways, thank you in advance for your help.

Welcome aboard Bob, your going to love this place. My back deck (cockpit) area has been replaced with plywood and I painted it with four coats of polyurethane and some anti slip. Though it's functional I don't like the look so I'm getting ready to put on some rubberized deck coating but haven't decided what kind. I have restored several wood boats in the past and have realized that condensation can be something to think about when planning your fiberglas covering. Can the wood breath from the over side? and is this area going to be exposed to year-round weather with extreme temperature changes where condensation moisture may build up between the wood and the glas with no way to dry out causing rot in an area that may have to be cut back out again in a few years. Two of the three old Tollycrafts that I restored were glas over wood and it was alot of work to isolate the areas of rot that needed repair because the fiberglas had to be removed before the wood could be replaced. However, these boats were 15 to 20 years old at the time of restoration and afterward I didn't keep them long enough to see any ill effects. The third old Tolly was 30 years old and wood with no glas. The original painted hull was in excellent condition and only needed refinishing. Through it all I still see more really old wood boats(no glas) than I do composit(glas over wood). If I were to restore another wood boat I would definately choose a wood boat with no glas. I don't know your particular situation and this may not effect you but in some areas condensation can be something to think about. and again welcome aboard.

if you completely seal the plywood with epoxy you won't have any problems with condensation. If water can never get in the wood in the first place rot won't be an issue. Just make sure to seal the underside and edges before you place the deck, then glass the topside and you'll be set.

Mike

Thanks Mike and wowzer52 for the insight. I never considered moisture between the fiberglass and wood. In the winter months the boat will be stored in a big barn. Would a similar moiture problem occur with urethane or is the ability to add a coat of urethane from time to time an advantage?

Bye the way this deck is screwed in place and flush.

Mike, you mentioned sealing the plywood (underside with epoxy). Might it be better to let the underside breath and leave it uncoated, the ventilation in the hold below might keep it dry that way?

If you are going to go the epoxy route, definitely seal it completely. Once it is sealed you create a closed environment withing the encapsulated wood, with a stabilized very low (low enough that you won't have to worry about rot) moisture content. And if you do go this route and decide to screw down the deck rather than glue it down (with and epoxy glue) you will want to over drill the screw holes, fill with thickened epoxy, then drill the filled holes to the correct size. Again, this helps to make sure that the wood is completely sealed. If you end up deciding to go the epoxy route, check out the repairs section at http://forums.bateau2.com/ . While this sound like, and is a lot of work, you will end up with a solid finished product.

Good Luck,

Mike

Thanks Mike. I guess I was considering glass/resin only from my experiences with an old Owens I refurbed over 25 years ago. I don't think epoxy was on the list of ways to protect your boat back then. Anyways I started studying that webb site which definitely has allot of good info.

Thanks again. Bob

Hey Bob, Ya, the website has a lot of great info and a lot of great people that will help you out when needed. And there material prices are hard to beat. (not affiliated except as a customer) I'm in California and buying material there and having it shipped here from Florida is still cheaper than I've been able to find anywhere else. Except for the plywood, although they have great prices on that to the shipping makes it cheaper for me to get locally. Make sure you register on the site, follow the directions exactly don't fill in more that what it specifies until you are approved, it's kinda a funky thing with there registration.

Again, good luck,

Mike