Hi y'all, I'm Cal, and I'm new to this forum, and to boating; but not to fishing.

I'm working on an old 14' Shakespeare cored FG hull and want to frame out a flat floor (over the original, once repaired) and some storage boxes (Rod locker, tackle, misc.).

Have any of you done something similar? How did you bond the framing to the glass hull? Epoxy/filler epoxy? glue? mechanical fasteners?

All info is appreciated, and I'm looking forward to following Btech's renovation, as we have similar boats.

Tight lines,

Cal

Im in the process of doing it right now.

Ive used nothing but mechanical fasteners. this boat had a plywood under resin floor.

Just thinking outloud here but you will probably have to make a frame to sit inside the boat and epoxy arround the outside of the frame to the fiberglass - just make sure its not HEAVY. I thought about doing this as well to mine but realized how much work it would be .... is it worth it?

It might be i dont know but for now keep looking at what im doing to mine if you have the same modle it wouldnt cost but 500 to do what im doing.

Just thinking outloud here but you will probably have to make a frame to sit inside the boat and epoxy arround the outside of the frame to the fiberglass - just make sure its not HEAVY. I thought about doing this as well to mine but realized how much work it would be .... is it worth it?

It might be i dont know but for now keep looking at what im doing to mine if you have the same modle it wouldnt cost but 500 to do what im doing.

It's worth it if you hire your buddy to do it  ;D.  4bizz is doing my boat.  It's a project i've really wanted to do with mine.  I had dreams of raising the deck 7in and extending it 2-3 feet as well as a livewell, battery storage, and tackle storage.  I started the brainstorming process and realized it was WAY out of my league.  Since 4bizz likes building I hired him and I must say, I am dumbfounded at how well it's turning out.  It's not cheap.  The final cost will be about $600 which includes a couple hundred for labor.  I'm VERY excited to get it back, it's "Grand Voyage" will be this friday.... i CANT WAIT!!!

I put a wood deck in the front end my 13' fiberglass (late 50's) Orlando Clipper after reworking the transom.  I built a frame made from treated 2x2 lumber and fastened it to the livewell/middle seat and the small front deck already in the boat.  I did not fasten it to the sides.  I then screwed 3/4 exterior plywood to the top of the frame and made a hatch lid as well.  I should have used 3/4" plywood only under the pedestal seat and 1/2" or 3/8" everywhere else because it made the boat very heavy.  I did not fiberglass it to the sides or bottom of the hull because I wanted to be able to remove it in the future.  As a result of that it is not water tight.  

I'm just in the finishing up stage of my redo.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1227978887/0#0

Before

after

before

after

All the wood used in this redo was standard plywood and framing lumber.  It was coated with minwax helmsman urethane. The only piece of treated wood I used was a 1/2" piece of ply to cover over the front deck.  I used mechanical fasteners for most of it.  I'm guessing it's added around 70lbs to the front of the boat.  I haven't had the big motor on the boat running yet to see how the driving characteristics have changed.  

Thanx for the insights guys.

Btech, I just picked up my "Dream Boat", a 2000 Fisher Pro Avenger 17 SC w/a Merc 75, 2 FF's and Bow-Mount TM. So my li'l glass boat has now become a low priority project . . . but a project none the less.

Pics forthcoming!

Cal

There is nothing like the ride of a good deep-v boat.  My first boat was a Lowe deep-v and I still miss the ride of that thing.

WOW Thats looking good - How many hours are putinto that decking? If i did it id have mor than a month lol.

Keep this in mind.  When bonding to any cured fiberglass, boat or whatever, always use epoxy.  You are making an adhesive, not a chemical bond, and epoxy is much stronger than any of the fiberglass resins, polyester or vinylester.

Once you have the structural pieces bonded in place, you can then fiberglass the assembly using fiberglass resin.

For boat construction, vinylester is much better than polyester resins.  Polyester resins will absorb water.

http://www.2ndlight.com/fusetalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=88677&enterthread=y

Here is how a guy built decks into a gheenoe, its a good write up and goes into how it was done, materials used and that sort of thing.