# fiberglass advice?



## sjd0004 (Mar 7, 2010)

I've got a 98 pathfinder 17t that needs some fiberglass work on the cockpit floor. Its got two small cracks on the front of the cockpit and one long crack running laterally down the port side. I am probably going to do the fiberglass myself but I am not to experienced with the finishing aesthetics. would it be cheaper to cover the repairs with seadek pads or to repaint and nonskid


----------



## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

after building and painting a boat, if seadeck is possible I'd go that route cause most likely you'll be able to see where you repainted it against the factory finish.


----------



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Interdeck non-skid paint is relatively inexpensive. Easy to apply, pretty durable.
SeaDek is comfortable and adds a nice touch to any hull. But you'll pay for the luxury.


----------



## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

i have a few spots on the floor of my sled to fix and when i do i'm going with seadek simply because of the nice feel but if your good at sanding glass and resin you can can paint it with some non skid and get decent results too


----------



## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Stevo,

Your boat most likely is NOT painted but purely gelcoat. 

There is a big difference in the definition of "crack". Is the crack only through the gelcoat or does the crack go all the way throught the fiberglass? If the crack is only through the gelcoat, that is an easy fix. If the crack is through the glass, then you have a much bigger project. Need to know before making further suggestions.


----------



## sjd0004 (Mar 7, 2010)

The crack goes beyond the gellcoat. If you put substantial weight on one side of the crack you can see it flex and see the actuall fibers. This is why I was thinking seadek because that would be a fairly large repair to hide without glassing the entire floor.


----------



## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Why spend the money on seadek...go to kmart and buy a bath mat. 

No matter what you throw on top, you have to fix the crack before covering it up. 

Got a picture?

A long crack is odd because most cracks are the result of hiting something or in the case of a deck, dropping an anchor.


----------



## sjd0004 (Mar 7, 2010)

I don't have any pictures yet but I will by next week. I believe the crack runs down the stringer. I'll keep the project pictures posted. This is going to be a budget project so maybe seadek is out of the picture, besides their website is not very user friendly.


----------



## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

long crack usally means a bad stringer-----rotten or delaminated----not fixing it correctly means swimmin home


----------



## Frank_Sebastian (Oct 15, 2007)

Hi Stevo,

You may want to think about what Ducknut and Topnative are saying. If the boat is on a trailer you can get under it and push up hard under where the cracks are. If the outer skin of the hull is moving under pressure at all, then the stringer or stringers are likely bad. If that is the case,(and it happens a lot) then anything you do to the floor will be like putting lipstick on a pig. Replacing stringers can be done by a newbie, but it will require a lot of work and how to. I hope this is not the case. 

Best regards,
Frankk


----------



## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

You guys were reading my mind but I did not want to say it without pictures.


----------



## sjd0004 (Mar 7, 2010)

Sorry guys I can't seem to get these pictures to upload. I just bought the boat and after beating the hull and running the boat in rough water I don't think the stringers are bad. I figured the motor and trailer were worth the 3k that I paid for the boat anyway. I'll keep trying the pics and thanks for the concern.


----------



## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

u need to determine what caused the crack or you will be saying ----mayay mayday---no fun doin that!


----------

