Replacing plywood

[Celeste]

Hi,

I did have some minor water damage inside the 77 13' Scamp that I am renovating. In a couple of places, the plywood which is attached to the sides of the fiberglass shell (i.e., not the floor), needs to be replaced. In particular, the curved piece that is used for securing one of the main dinette benches needs to be replaced, as does the piece just under the front window over the sofa.

I am assuming that I will cut a new piece of plywood with a jig saw and then glue it to the underside of the little fiberglass "shelf" that protrudes out from the shell. And I am assuming that I should use two part expoxy to do this, and just clamp it in place until the epoxy cures.

Is that right? Are there any threads that deal with this issue?

Many thanks for any help,
Celeste

[Raz]

Use the google search option which is the lower blank in the search feature ( just above and to the right). A search of "scamp floor" will produce hours of reading. Lots of good stuff. Raz

[freddo411]

There lots of opinions on how to go about this type of repair. Here's a thread where I asked a similar question, and got lots of good answers:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ons-49422.html

In my case, I purchased bondo-brand fiberglass resin (which is a two epoxy), some fiberglass cloth at a local harbor frieght. Any autosupply place will have this stuff too.

To do the repair:
* cut a cardboard template to make sure it will fit right. Then cut a piece of plywood to match the template.
*Prepare the resin with the hardener, then using a disposable, cheap paint brush, to cover the replacement plywood (both sides). I did this before installation.
* Surface prep: sanded/wirebrush the surrounding surfaces. You must remove any paint. Resin will bond with exposed fiberglass.
* Installation: Prepare more resin; put the board in, cover the board and the surrounding area with resin. Gingerly place the glass cloth over the board and edges, then carefully add resin on top. This was surprisingly fussy, as the cloth will come apart if you touch it after it meets the resin.

I wore sugical latex gloves. These allow you to use your fingers to smush the resin as needed.

Use something to apply force to bring two surfaces together. You can use screws, then take them out when you are done, then bondo the holes.