I recently purchased a 46' Kevlacat Power Cat which has had a fire in the forward stateroom. I have what looks to be a unique situation. I have done general fiberglass work over the years. Mostly fixing small holes, cracks, and doing some work with small molds. I recently bought a boat that had a fire in one of the staterooms. The glass damage was confined to a 4x4 area of the port cabin ceiling which is the underside of the foredeck. The fire was not hot enough to brown the topside gel coat or damage the deck coring. It only affected the inside layer of glass and did not affect the foredeck coring. The deck in this area is a bit spongy but aside from that is in excellent shape. My plan was to apply 2 or 3 layers of 1.5 oz biaxial mat to stiffen up that area and then reinstall the headliner. Does any one know of a process used to apply fiberglass mat overhead effectively. Any suggestions will be appreciated. All roads so far have lead to remove the complete foredeck flip it over redo the glass then reinstall. Quote was 125 BU for that work!!!!!!! Another was to flip the whole boat and do the work. RIGHT!!!! Both were rejected. Front foredeck is 22 x 22 Regards, Rick Blake "Private Reserve" Port Charlotte, Fl. 36' Nantucket Sedan Powered by Yanmar

Well there is a quick and dirty way to do it. What is the core material and how much contour is there in the surface. It the core is good and you can peel and grind the damaged skin away and bevel the edges. make up a flat panel on a tileboard mold flexible enough to overlap the edges and follow the contour. On the inside of this panel, lay up with a slow cure epoxy the reinforcement and apply some bonding paste to the top and around the edge. Raise it into position and starting in the center brace in place, and wedge with battens to press firmly into the core, If the core will handle it use some self tapping screws to help secure. Going to generate some heat so some water on deck to cool may be in order. Grind the flashing around the edge and finish as you are happy with. If you wedge it right and fasten so as to avoid voids will give you a solid inside skin. len Richard P Blake wrote: > I recently purchased a 46' Kevlacat Power Cat which has had a fire in the > forward stateroom. I have what looks to be a unique situation. I have > done general fiberglass work over the years. Mostly fixing small holes, > cracks, and doing some work with small molds. I recently bought a boat > that had a fire in one of the staterooms. The glass damage was confined > to a 4x4 area of the port cabin ceiling which is the underside of the > foredeck. The fire was not hot enough to brown the topside gel coat or > damage the deck coring. It only affected the inside layer of glass and > did not affect the foredeck coring. The deck in this area is a bit > spongy but aside from that is in excellent shape. My plan was to apply 2 > or 3 layers of 1.5 oz biaxial mat to stiffen up that area and then > reinstall the headliner. Does any one know of a process used to apply > fiberglass mat overhead effectively. Any suggestions will be > appreciated. All roads so far have lead to remove the complete foredeck > flip it over redo the glass then reinstall. Quote was 125 BU for that > work!!!!!!! Another was to flip the whole boat and do the work. > RIGHT!!!! Both were rejected. Front foredeck is 22 x 22 > Regards, Rick Blake > "Private Reserve" Port Charlotte, Fl. > 36' Nantucket Sedan Powered by Yanmar > _______________________________________________ > Power-Catamaran Mailing List -- Live Long and Prosper Capt. Len Susman, retired trikini23@trikini.com What's New http://www.trikini.com/whatn.htm

I would second Bob Austins' recommendations. The first step is to really assess the condition of the foam core. I find it unlikely that the fiberglass liner would be damaged enough to cause structural failure (spongy deck) without damaging the foam underneath. Get the existing damaged glass removed and see for yourself. If the foam is damaged, you might be able to fair it out with epoxy fairing compound - microballoons - rather than replacing it. Once you've got the foam figured out, your plan with biaxial glass sounds good. Make sure you get good adhesion with the foam, using an epoxy "grout" mixture before you lay on the glass. Staples or screws will hold the epoxy/glass until it cures. If you can do vacuum bagging that's better, but just laying up with a rubber spreader should be adequate. Use a slow hardner to minimize heat buildup. Fair out the final layup and paint. $125K sounds outrageous, but it's easy to be an armchair boatbuilder. Bob Deering Juneau Alaska