# building a small casting deck



## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

why not starboard ? 

:-?


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## airbornemike (Oct 2, 2013)

Well I'm way up north in illinois so material like starboard, coosa.....aren't readily available. I guess I could order it, some of the info I was reading says to wrap 3/8 to 1/2 " plywood in fiberglass. I plan on covering it in seadeck so it really doesn't matter. Would the starboard be heavier? How would it compare in strength to plywood? 



> why not starboard ?
> 
> :-?


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

with something that small and removable i would go with starboard.
after you buy plywood / fiberglass / resin /hardener / labor, you can get a piece shipped.

weight cant be much diff.


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## MAV181 (Aug 26, 2010)

Home depot carries starboard.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Starboard is great material but it may sag so you would have to brace it


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## airbornemike (Oct 2, 2013)

I'm leaning towards coosa board, weight is a real issue. Can I just epoxy and paint it? I'd like to keep from playing with glass.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

> with something that small and removable i would go with starboard.
> after you buy plywood / fiberglass / resin /hardener / labor, you can get a piece shipped.
> 
> weight cant be much diff.


This is the truth.

I thought Coosa needed glass, but could be wrong.


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## Brad_M (Mar 6, 2014)

I bought 1/2 a sheet of Coosa board to use for floor reinforcement on my "big" boat. I was relocating all 4 batteries to go  under my console. It cuts easy, sands easy and doesn't have to be laminated (not the Bluewater anyhow) before use. I did however laminate mine with a skim layer of 2 part epoxy after I painted it. More to keep the paint in tact though. 

I'll look around and see who I bought it from, but I think it was Boat Outfitters. Because it's so light shipping was very reasonable. I also think you can get a piece cut close to your final dimension, which would be cheaper yet. 

I want to think with shipping I paid around 170 for a 1/2 sheet of 1" thick material. Shipping was a 1/4 the price of what Starboard was going to be.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

> Well I'm way up north in  illinois so material like starboard, coosa.....aren't readily available.  I guess I could order it, some of the info I was reading says to wrap 3/8 to 1/2 " plywood in fiberglass. I plan on covering it in seadeck so it really doesn't matter. Would the starboard be heavier?  How would it compare in strength to plywood?


I have been considering the same thing.

Starboard is plastic. It is tough and inert. It requires no epoxy/glass, which is good since epoxy will not adhere to it anyway. It is more resistant to UV light than ply/glass composite, so you don't have to paint it. Plywood would be stiffer and probably a bit lighter unless you got carried away with your lamination schedule. Weight would likely be a wash for a piece that small and will come from the frame primarily. I don't know about Coosa. You will have to make a platform frame to mount the Starboard on, but you have to do the same with ply or Coosa composites also. No sheet material is meant to span a gap flat without a frame underneath. 

I could make one out of ply and it would look good and be strong, but I am past my boat building phase for the time being and would much rather use said boat than putter around laminating little pieces of my next project. Due to this, I will be using Starboard just to save myself time. 

Nate


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## swampfox (May 9, 2007)

The glass is just for weather protection mostly in this case. So just a single ply would do the trick. If you used plywood it could just be coated in epoxy for protection. Depending on how you build it.


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## airbornemike (Oct 2, 2013)

So I would not need any cloth?  Just coat said plywood or coosa with epoxy than paint and lay the seadeck on top?


> The glass is just for weather protection mostly in this case. So just a single ply would do the trick. If you used plywood it could just be coated in epoxy for protection. Depending on how you build it.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

> So I would not need any cloth?  Just coat said plywood or coosa with epoxy than paint and lay the seadeck on top?
> 
> 
> > The glass is just for weather protection mostly in this case. So just a single ply would do the trick. If you used plywood it could just be coated in epoxy for protection. Depending on how you build it.


I disagree. Based on my experience, I feel you must at least radius the edges and cover them with a light glass tape for an area with that much sun exposure. I only epoxied and painted my ply rubrail and I have checking on the edges. I should have glassed it. The tape doesn't have to be heavy. A tooling cloth made to seal bright work would be perfect. Chesapeake Light Craft sells a 4 oz cloth that Is the perfect weight, but no 4 oz tape. Regardless of the weight of tape you get, you'll also want peel ply to get it to adhere to that radius.

Nate


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## airbornemike (Oct 2, 2013)

Hmm ok, conflicting views, um what exactly is checking? I've never worked with epoxy or glass.


> [quote author=222A31212C312D262E2A2826430 link=1411777492/11#11 date=1412018866]So I would not need any cloth?  Just coat said plywood or coosa with epoxy than paint and lay the seadeck on top?
> 
> 
> > The glass is just for weather protection mostly in this case. So just a single ply would do the trick. If you used plywood it could just be coated in epoxy for protection. Depending on how you build it.


I disagree.  Based on my experience, I feel you must at least radius the edges and cover them with a light glass tape for an area with that much sun exposure.  I only epoxied and painted my ply rubrail and I have checking on the edges.  I should have glassed it.  The tape doesn't have to be heavy.  A tooling cloth made to seal bright work would be perfect.  Chesapeake Light Craft sells a 4 oz cloth that Is the perfect weight, but no 4 oz tape.  Regardless of the weight of tape you get, you'll also want peel ply to get it to adhere to that radius.

Nate
[/quote]


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## tomahawk (Mar 9, 2012)

https://www.google.com/search?q=pai...eshooting_truck_paint%2Fphoto_08.html;799;499


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

I would use 1/2" ply with 2 layers of 1 1/2oz chopped strand matte with polyester resin on each side.  

1 Gallon of polyester resin weighs 8lbs will wet 30sf of 1 1/2oz chopped strand matte.  1 layer of 1 1/2 oz matte is 1/16" thick when saturated with resin.

If you have never done glass work before seek help from a pro before beginning. You have to have the tools and know how to do a good job. If you dont you will end up with a partially laminated part with tons of air bubbles that will eventually lead to soft spots and rot.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

> Hmm ok, conflicting views, um what exactly is checking?  I've never worked with epoxy or glass.


Conflicting views?  You ain't seen nothin' yet.  There are generally four ways to do any boat repair: no wood, titanium cored, carbon/Kevlar laminated, Teflon coated coolness; epoxy/ply; polyester/mat; ghetto ******* fabulous (usually treated ply/dimensional lumber/deck screws/porch paint composite/the duck boat sites have a lot of this).  Weight and longterm durability are generally inversely associated with cost, prerequisite skill and sexiness, although exceptions exist.  For instance, I am proof that the average beach ape can make something reasonably light, durable and attractive using epoxy/ply on his first try with no adult supervision.

You have to do some homework on each approach and decide what fits your style.  I recommend the tutorials on Bateau.com, but I am sure there are others.

Checking is when the wood underneath expands or contracts and causes the overlying epoxy to crack.  Marine fir is notorius for doing this, but the exposed edges of ply are apparently susceptible also.  You combat it by laying cloth on the area of concern.

Nate


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## swampfox (May 9, 2007)

I made a poling platform way back on a b60. I just used plywood and coated it in epoxy. It lasted for over three years. When I sold the boat it was in the same shape as the day I did it. No need to over complicate a table


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## tailchaser16 (Sep 23, 2008)

I just use my cooler.


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## airbornemike (Oct 2, 2013)

Thanks for all the replys, I think for my first go round I'm gonna keep it simple. Going with 1/2 coosa and this to coat it content://com.sec.android.app.sbrowser/readinglist/0922214150.mhtml


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## airbornemike (Oct 2, 2013)

Went with 1/2 plywood, need to hit it again with the palm sander. Epoxy kit is on the way.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

You should be fine. 

Some people try to get too technical on these forums sometimes. I would never consider using starboard for decks, but that's just my personal preference. Not that it cannot be done with it, I just personally wouldn't consider it. If it was for a fiberglass boat, I would use 6lb density foam, laminated with 1708 glassed in. But not necessary. 

My buddy and I did this on his duck boat and used it for two seasons of duck hunting, and two years of fishing Flamingo. And his, all we did was treated wood with some outdoor carpet. 

After two years, we ripped it all out completely (was still in great shape) and went with sheet aluminum, aluminum bracing, and some rivets. We actually removed the center bench and livewell, added a false floor, front and rear decks, flushed out the inner hull sides to install horizontal rod holders, then painted the whole thing camouflage. Once that was done, we went with camo Hydroturf. That looked way better and lasted forever. We were going to add poling and casting platforms to it, but he ended up selling it and buying two Gheenoes, one with a mud motor and one for fishing. He sold one, and is considering selling the other and buying a SaltMarsh Skiff.


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## airbornemike (Oct 2, 2013)

Thanks, I had to get something going and agonizing over materials wasn't gonna finish the project. 



> You should be fine.
> 
> Some people try to get too technical on these forums sometimes. I would never consider using starboard for decks, but that's just my personal preference. Not that it cannot be done with it, I just personally wouldn't consider it. If it was for a fiberglass boat, I would use 6lb density foam, laminated with 1708 glassed in. But not necessary.
> 
> ...


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