Over in 'Maintenance' I ran a topic about fixing my leaky roof and removing carpet glue.

The roof started leaking into our bedroom back in June of '09. Back then I pulled up the carpet to see if I could find the source of the leak, but the only apparent "maybe" was a thin line about 4' long. Thinking it was probably a crack in the glass cap I got some mat & resin and glassed it over. It didn't leak the rest of that season, but the next year the roof started leaking again, this time in buckets. That was when we couldn't spend much time on the boat due to taking care of my business and ailing parents, so since then I've had the back portion of the roof covered with tarps and a heavy area rug. The roof hasn't leaked, so that's good...

Last year the Chaparral got all our free time, but this year I vowed to take care of it. Saturday I took a deep breath, and uncovered the roof...

It was probably a good thing to let it sit 2 years, because when I removed the rug & tarps, there was no problem whatsoever finding the source of the leak! The fiberglass had delaminated from the wet wood underneath and split in several places. The BAD thing about letting it sit 2 years was the wood rot I found....







However, I'm not afraid of cutting holes in a boat OR patching wood so I grabbed a Skilsaw and started cutting...





As you can see in the pic, the dark wood runs back quite a bit. I determined I should cut back two more joists worth. I cut the hole to 24" wide and 62-1/2" long, and added some nailers to the end joists. The wood at the near edge had been wet in the past, but now was plenty dry and in good shape other than where the nails has corroded, so I just drove in a few new nails on that edge...




Went to HD and had them cut the plywood for me... fits nicely and feels nice to walk on now, no spongy places. The day was near done so it's covered up again till next week...





I love (read: HATE) plywood these days, the roof HAS 5/8" plywood but now that size is 19/32". Doesn't sound like much but considering the old wood has swollen a bit over the years, the new patch is a full 1/16" below flush. Moving up to 23/32" (the new 3/4") would've put it at 1/16" ABOVE flush. Can't win. I'm thinking of leveling it with Bondo glass-mat filler. I've used similar stuff before, great stuff! But I'm leaning towards filling up the cavity with aluminum-- I have gobs of aluminum at work, black anodized and well-sanded on both sides. I thought I'd glue the aluminum down with some 3M 4200, and seal up the edges while I'm at it, and the next day a finish coat of the bondo, or some glass & resin....

Then comes the fun part-- Instead of going back to carpet as originally planned, we've tentatively decided to coat the entire roof with roll-on Rhinolining or Durabak, or---- suggestions?

-------------------------

1988 SkipperLiner 53x14
1995 Tracker Party Cruiser 32 *for sale*
2003 Chaparral 260 SSI
2000 Allegro Bus 40' DP

That's the nice thing about plywood, it's easy to repair.

-------------------------
Willie
She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw

It's a shame that a person can't source a big enough piece of the vinyl flooring they are utilizing on some pontoon boats. It would be perfect for applications such as yours, a good durable, waterproof, and UV resistant surface that would totally resist water penetration. But as to a source of it in wide widths, can't even suggest one...

-------------------------
Respect Our Outdoor Recreational Resources
Leaving Only "Footprints in the Sand"

2003 5.3 Chevy P/U
1972 35' Crest Pontoon Houseboat
2007 90 hp. Yamaha

That's a nice day's work. You identified the problem, cut it out, replaced the plywood, and you are ready for the finish. Bamby, I THINK the top deck of the Myacht houseboat uses a one-piece membrane for the roof. It is a heavy vinyl material that is supposed to last at least 10 years in the hot sun. I have one parked next to me and I don't remember seeing a seam.

I've also been considering just covering the roof with a sheet of black EPDM rubber roofing. They use white on most RV's these days, but it's about 4x the cost of black. I replaced the rubber on the Party Cruiser roof about 2 years ago using some black EPDM, a piece 10' x 24' was only $100. Other than a 50' piece would be heavy, it's real easy to work with, and as long as you get the sides snug to take up the slack, you don't even need to glue it down.

BUT, that would mean carpet or some other flooring...

BUT! and this may seem dumb to some of you, but Ikea has this 12x12" interlocking wood over plastic patio flooring, that would work great on a rubber deck! It's $35 for a 9 pak-- not the cheapest stuff but at $3.88 a foot it's a far sight cheaper than the imitation teak flooring I saw at the boat show! (which was proudly advertised at ONLY $20 a square foot! EEK!!)

Here's the Ikea stuff...





-------------------------

1988 SkipperLiner 53x14
1995 Tracker Party Cruiser 32 *for sale*
2003 Chaparral 260 SSI
2000 Allegro Bus 40' DP

I used that rubber roofing for the front part of my houseboat roof (the part where nobody's allowed to walk) and it worked great. The roofer I bought if from even gave me a couple of leftover, half-empty cans of white "acrylic" paint that they use to cover it. The white paint helps deflect the heat and has held up great. It's been about 5 years and still looks good. I don't think I'd want it on the lower, "party" top though.

Are you able to cut that stuff to size? I would have to see it in person, but I might like that in the upper cabin of my boat. We have carpet now and it just gets wet with traffic.

in 2000 i completely rebuilt a 1980 15x43 crest houser. on the roof i used a commercial grade vinyl and pvc mixture. it was like rubber roofing but much stronger. it had tabs every 3 feet to screw it down to the roof. i talked to the guy who bought it and he says it still looks great even after 12 years but it was 1300$ for a piece 45 feet long and it only comes in 20 ft widths. i wouldnt suggest putting it on a roof you were going to walk on alot though.

-------------------------
1991 gibson 44 executive
454's
norwich,ohio
docked on the good ole ohio river in marietta

If you maybe screwed your plywood down and didn't glue it? I would suggest pulling it back up and padding your rafters, or sistering new holding them up to the needed height, to get the new plywood up to the level of the old. If you glued it and it's not easy to remove, then I suggest just fiberglass and matting. I did the Durabak and at this point am pretty well satisfied with the result........but I just did it this past Winter so can't be totally confident yet. Top and mid decks I did 50/50 mixture of smooth and textured, then a coat of smooth. I felt this would make them easier to clean and they don't need to be as rough since they are relatively dry decks. The lower deck is a coat of full texture followed by a coat of smooth since it would be the wettest deck. Time will tell if my mixture idea's work well.

-------------------------
Dan
Lake Monroe
Bloomington, IN
1986 Gibson 50'
Twin 454's

One more "bright idea" which still remains to be seen. I did not use any texture where the decks wrap over the sides of the boat. We did 3 coats of smooth on all vertical surfaces to keep them from holding dirt.

-------------------------
Dan
Lake Monroe
Bloomington, IN
1986 Gibson 50'
Twin 454's

A little late posting up, but oh well...

I decided to pull the plywood and just shim it up from the bottom. This 19/32 plywood seems to be closer to 9/16, it took a full 1/8" worth of shims to level the patch. I shoulda just bought the 23/32, but I didn't want it too thick either. Anyway, the shims worked great. BTW the Bondo-glass worked nicely. his is the first layer of bondo, after rough sanding...




Here's the second layer before sanding...





All sanded and feathered, ready for glass & resin. It's actually quite smooth, feels better than most of the factory seams, so I'm happy. As you can see from the shadow, the sun was heading over the mountains...




The wind was also kicking up pretty bad, so I did the glassing the next morning.

I hate fiberglass... Love the smell (the admiral, not so much) but I just hate working with it. I forgot rule number 1: even tho the can says "spread resin over fiberglass mat with a brush", DON'T use a brush! I don't know about anyone else but all a brush does while trying to spread resin over glass mat is pull the mat apart and make a freakin' mess. Oh, and having enough resin to start with helps... I paid $16 for a quart, had to get another quart for a second coat. For 4 more dollars than 2 quarts cost me I could've had a gallon. And the ultimate pisser, after I get done, I FOUND a brand new gallon of resin under the flybridge...
:rolleyes: ... Found it by accident while looking for a fold-up table. Oh well, just part of me & Murphy's onging relationship!


It ain't real purty but I was going for functional, since it's just going to be covered up. And for now, it'll be covered up by this roll of EPDM rubber sitting next to the patch...




The local roofing place only has this in 10' widths, I was hoping for larger, but this works. I had them cut me a 12' wide piece that will span the width of the roof...




I had to unbolt the back half of the railing and a couple of the canopy posts so we could get the rubber in place. I bought new razor blades so I could cut the rubber to fit over the railing bolts, but it turns out the railing & bolts did a fine job of poking their own holes. Pretty easy, actually. It went down nice & flat, turned out great.




The 10' extends from the edge of the cabin out back to about a foot under the canopy, well beyond any leak sources. I still have to trim the long sides and seal all the edges, and cut a new piece of blue carpet... but it got late, I got tired, no rain is forecast, so that'll be next weekend. We just put the red rug down and setup the furniture. The bar and chairs are a new addition. The bar may get moved, but where it is, it takes care of our one pesky support pole and there's still room to stand inside and act like a bartender! And, it's half in the sun and half under the canopy--perfect for us since the wife likes sun, I like shade!







============================

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to just do the whole roof with the rubber top. It's extremely easy to work with, and pretty cheap at 68 cents a square foot. If I go with a Rhino-type topping we'll have to remove everything from the roof, and I may be in for a ton of prep. With rubber all I'll have to remove is the AC unit and the flybridge. For prep, I just have to sand down any lumps of old stuck carpet and sweep up. The railing & canopy will just have to be loosened & moved just long enough to get the rubber in place. And I have to remove the flybridge anyway so I can paint it..

BUT, not sure I want to continue with carpet. But I still have enough of the same carpet to cover the roof 2 more times or so there's no cost to worry about. Or, the EPDM will be a great non-slip surface for the Ikea stuff. Might just go buy enough to do the back section and see how it works out!

For now, I'm happy!

-------------------------

1988 SkipperLiner 53x14
1995 Tracker Party Cruiser 32 *for sale*
2003 Chaparral 260 SSI
2000 Allegro Bus 40' DP

Edited: 05/16/2012 at 06:14:07 PM by FranticallyRelaxing