BS1088 PLY (wtf have i just paid for................)

[Greenheart]

Nice job! Although your ply isn't likely to suffer as much in that application, as mine will, underfoot in a dinghy.

The labour I'm putting in to fit my flooring is considerable...so I'll be truly pi55ed off if it all looks like a mushy wet magazine by the end of the season.

 

[rogerball0]

Nice job! Although your ply isn't likely to suffer as much in that application, as mine will, underfoot in a dinghy.

The labour I'm putting in to fit my flooring is considerable...so I'll be truly pi55ed off if it all looks like a mushy wet magazine by the end of the season.

Cheers Dan, i was surprised how knackered the bottom 12 inches of the old ply was, i lined it over 10 years ago so not bad going i guess, thats what gets my goat is the effort of templating, shaping, coating etc a piece of ply that can sometimes end up looking like pages in a book.

FWIW based on what i've found quality-wise anything thats getting constant foot traffic and or exposure to weather i sheath in lightweight glass cloth as its cheaper to do that than take a risk on a sheet of ply costing £200 and then pouring loads of time into processing it to potentially still encounter problems.

 

[Greenheart]

Glass cloth sounds like a good solution for preventing the surface of the ply from excessive wear...always assuming the moisture which a dinghy-floor will routinely encounter, doesn't cause serious delamination.

I'm tempted to coat my 9mm in epoxy, then reinforce the edges with a sort of glassfibre capping. It'll probably end up so shiny and slippery, I'll need to face it with Treadmaster, costing more than the ply did...then I'll be really furious when the ply crumbles...

 

[rogerball0]

Yeah thats certainly how i went about the companionway lid, sheathed under over so overlapping on the edge to totally seal the ply:

To lose the slippery finish peel ply the plywood after you apply the cloth, when removed it will give you a ribboned texture which you can apply a couple of coats of matt varnish to:

 

[Greenheart]

Very tidy. I can only hope to achieve something as neat and resilient-looking as that, in my cockpit.

 

[rogerball0]

It may look tricky but its quite simple; the above was done by rolling on a coat of neat epoxy onto the ply, lay skinny cloth (100g or less) on the wetted ply then roll out cloth until saturated with 4" mohair roller or a squeegee using some heat from a hair drier / hot air gun and do the same with peel ply and bobs yer uncle.

 

[Greenheart]

Very smart, and a great effect. My only concern would be that I will have spent more on epoxy to protect the ply, than on the wood itself!

 

[rogerball0]

You can get a mini pack of wests for £20 or an 'A' pack for £40 not crazy cheap but once coated will last a good while.

 

[Greenheart]

Yes, I bought two of the small West Epoxy packs last year, plenty left in one, but I reckon I'll need another in the bigger size before my floor is finished.