Re-decking

[Garry R]

After I did the Firefly I wrote this for someone so thought that now we have a dedicated forum for repairs etc it might be opportune to post it. Sorry about the length.


This was for a Firefly so you will have to adapt but the principle is the same. Hope this helps.

Taking the gunwhale rubbing strake off makes a big difference to the ease of the job.
You don’t need to take the inwhales off. Remove the old ply first and take off the rubbing strake in one piece if you can - they can be a bit flimsy. MARK AND NOTE accurately THE SHROUD ENTRY HOLES IF YOU HAVE THEM!!!!! A good trick is to measure from the bow to the centre of the holes and from gunwhale to centre of the hole marking the position on the hull as well. Anyhow once you have decided on the side of the ply you are going to use (they have distinct colours I find) put your sheet of ply on one deck and line it up nice and straight along the length of the boat and overlapping the outside of the boat and draw a line along the inwhale underneath using the inwhale as a guide. Flip the board over and use a jig saw to cut the ply roughly along that line which should of course roughly follow the line of the inside of the deck where it will butt against the inwhale. Cut it with a fairly smooth cutting blade so that it doesn't rip the ply edge too much but not so proud that you will be cutting away for ever when it comes to fitting. Now line it back up again on the boat and do the same with the outside of the boat - pencil line and cut again a little proud but this doesn't matter quite so much as you will eventually plane it off flush. Now ensure that the edge of the inwhale and the stringer is really clean and free of old glue - a sharp chisel will ping it off if it is aerolite or a gentle heat gun if it's epoxy will do the trick. Give the chisel a really good heat up first is a good idea as you will find that you will need to heat the wood less and reduce the chances of burning/charring. Keep the gun moving. You also want to make sure that the inwhale is at least 4mm above the stringer that the new deck will rest on otherwise you will have the ply sitting proud and sanding back will scrub away the top layer of veneer. Test it with a wee scrap of 4mm ply all the way along. It's better to sand/plane the inwhale down slightly to meet the ply if you see what I mean.

Now push the rough cut deck into place against the inwhale - it will be miles out!!! Now mark the position of the transom on the new deck with a pencil mark and this is the point from which all the removal of wood for fitting will start. Take off the "high" spots with a small sharp Stanley plane first all the way along allowing the deck inner edge to get ever closer to the inwhale. Take a bit off and line the deck up on its mark with the transom every time and just keep working away - it's a pain but you'll figure it out until you get a really tight joint. Once you have that done to your satisfaction you want to fix the deck in position with a pin at the transom fitting the ply tight to its inwhale joint. MARK VERY ACCURATELY the joint between the foredeck and side deck and use a VERY sharp Stanley knife to cut this along a steel edge - score lighly and take many strokes to cut it through. I tend to cut it at a slightly back angle so it comes tighter to the foredeck (It's easier if both the fore and side decks are new). Cut it in position supported underneath with a piece of scrap ply so it doesn't try to close itself at the joint as you push down. This is a really crucial joint as if you get it squint and you try to square it up it pulls the side deck forward a fraction and then the curve to the inwhale goes out of alignment. Once you have this done you can glue it - I used brass pins and also spring cramps to get them fixed again make sure your joint area is clean before you start so that the ply beds down to the level of the inwhale (read earlier). Once the glue has set plane, the outside flush to the hull following the line of the hull from the keel up so that you do not dig in too far and leave a gap when you glue the rubbing strake back on. It really is a question of clamping it and testing God knows how often. It took me a couple of days to do the redeck so it's not a quick job.

Sand down gently with 120 grit and use G4 pond sealer (3 coats) to get a seal then the Blakes or International to finish. Ed's idiots guide to varnishing should be read from here on in.

Hope this helps

You can certainly give me a call -

01651 872590

Regards

Garry

[ACB]

Thanks very much as I'm about to do the Albacore!