Fiberglass Boats with Ply Decks

[purplerobbie]

Are fiberglass boats with ply decks a bad idea?
I was looking at Saltram Saga's in the boats for sale bit and they all seem to be fiberglass hull and ply decks.

After my last boat i would never consider a boat that had teak over ply but some of the Saltram's have had the decks glassed over does this work or do the decks still rot away?

Rob

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Robert,

Fibreglass boats with a ply deck are heavy so may be slower but perhaps more comfortable.

Glassing over ply works provided it's done right and all holes are treated prior to adding a screw or bolt,

Even fibreglass boats have lots of ply in them, the sail tracks and winches are often fixed thru' ply that is glassed in under the side deck.

I hope this helps.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[saltramsaga]

I´ve got a Saltram 40 with ply-deck on laminated beams, covered by one layer of glass/epoxy and paint, and treadmaster on top. Great deck! Of course you have to treat the holes for fittings with epoxy, so they are waterproof, but you can place additional fittings everywhere, not like on a lightweight sandwich-deck where you have to think about replacing the internal stuff (balsa or foam) with something strong.If plywood is used on the boat it should be marine grade, not the cheap stuff sold at DIY´s and it will last for decades. Yard -built Saltrams all have marine grade ply .

 

[pjobson]

I have a saga 40 with ply decks. The ting to do is to keep the water out and I must say that the rigidity and build quality of the saga means that I have not yet found anywhere where the decks have flexed to create any cracks or other areas of water ingress. I have re-painted the decks with high-build epoxy since buying her as an added precaution.

One issue that I found was water getting in just around the cockpit coaming. This was difficult to locate and the deck underneath had been wet for a number of years (there must be a break in the glass at this point due to the deck finishing and the cockpit starting at a different level) - even so, there was very little damage.

The thickness of the plywood is amazing and gives a real good feel factor with regard to overall strength.

 

[dulls]

I´ve got a Saltram 40 with ply-deck on laminated beams, covered by one layer of glass/epoxy and paint, and treadmaster on top. Great deck! Of course you have to treat the holes for fittings with epoxy, so they are waterproof, but you can place additional fittings everywhere, not like on a lightweight sandwich-deck where you have to think about replacing the internal stuff (balsa or foam) with something strong.If plywood is used on the boat it should be marine grade, not the cheap stuff sold at DIY´s and it will last for decades. Yard -built Saltrams all have marine grade ply .

What year is your saga as it appears the later sagas have glass decks but i maybe wrong?

 

[dulls]

I have a saga 40 with ply decks. The ting to do is to keep the water out and I must say that the rigidity and build quality of the saga means that I have not yet found anywhere where the decks have flexed to create any cracks or other areas of water ingress. I have re-painted the decks with high-build epoxy since buying her as an added precaution.

One issue that I found was water getting in just around the cockpit coaming. This was difficult to locate and the deck underneath had been wet for a number of years (there must be a break in the glass at this point due to the deck finishing and the cockpit starting at a different level) - even so, there was very little damage.

The thickness of the plywood is amazing and gives a real good feel factor with regard to overall strength.

What year is your saga as it appears the later sagas have glass decks but i maybe wrong?

 

[pcatterall]

Teak over ply works ok if the ply is epoxy sealed and the teak glued rather than screwed. but I suppose ply plus teak is quite weighty?

 

[dulls]

Teak over ply works ok if the ply is epoxy sealed and the teak glued rather than screwed. but I suppose ply plus teak is quite weighty?

Weight on a saga is most probably not an issue.