So I have a Garvey type boat made from fiberglass that I recently replaced the floor and stringers in. The boat has no gunnels similar to a Carolina skiff. I would like to add a generous 14-16 inch gunnel to the boat Similar to the snow goose Garvey posted a few days ago. I plan to build it from 3/8 marine ply then give it to my friend who does fiberglass work to attach it to the boat. The fiberglass guy wants to use 1.5 Oz Mat and poly resin two layers thick. I thought to just use 6 Oz cloth anyone care to weigh in? I'm going to do a second post with pictures. In the front I made a template for the plywood to get the crown where I liked it. It should have 1 3/4 of crown on the front deck.
South Jersey

Are you thinking of adding gunnel height, a crowned deck or both?

---

Carl
Mobile, AL
DHBP Member since 1998

"Life is too short to drink bad beer."
Disclaimer: This post and/or report is not a substantiation of or reflection on the true accuracy of the present surveying methods. It is only a report on or comment concerning local observation and/or results. Your results and observation may vary based on your location, local water conditions, food supply, weather conditions and migratory patterns "

Not much height just a crown to shed water with the crown the gunnel height should be about 21"
South Jersey

That would get a hard no from me. He must work with fiberglass and not wood/fiberglass. You want epoxy resin and cloth for a strong bond with no worries of delamination instead of poly and mat that is prone to fail. Why not tackle it yourself? Epoxy is not hard to work with. Easier than poly in my experiences.

Eric

Good morning, Josh~


As you know, I am (too?) fussy about boat terminology....


I am guessing what you want to add are "side decks" about 14 to 16 inches wide - so that you would have a
"decked-over Garvey" with a (roughly) rectangular cockpit. Is this correct? Do you plan to add a foredeck as well?


BTW: Another term for the side decks - especially on work vessels like Garveys - is "washboards".



Framing is important. The carlins - longitudinals either side of the cockpit opening - should be clear lumber, maybe Mahogany. The carlins can be supported by bulkheads at either end and either quarter knees or struts amidships.


Here's how I did it in my Sneakbox RED-LEG:






I agree heartily with Eric. The decks should not be covered with polyester resin but with epoxy. I covered mine with 7-oz cloth set in epoxy resin. If you thought they would undergo heavy traffic, you could use 2 layers of 7-oz cloth or a single layer of 1708 biaxial with mat.


I hope this helps. I'd be happy to give you more details about the framing if you like.


All the best,


SJS




Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

Steves method is the correct way to deck the garvey, We called them wash boards.
As for fiberglass, all we ever used was polyester on the workboats but I'm just a simple broken down clam digger,

Frankly, you can just marine paint the decking top and bottom, thin the first coat to get it to "soak" in, that would save you weight too.

Thank you all for the replies. Tomorrow I plan to purchase some lumber to get started I was going to use cedar. My shop is not big enough to fit my boat unless I take off the engine so I guess it's coming off. I do prefer epoxy because of the smell polyester produces. 5 minutes into using poly my wife complains. What type of structural putty would work best going from the polyester fiberglass hull to the wooden bulkheads? I have wood flour on hand but was unsure if that would work or is a good choice.
South Jersey

One more question where can I get brass hardware ? Looking for something online.
South Jersey

Josh

I use wood flour and cabosil for gap filling bonding. Probably a little more wood flour as to make sanding bearable. If by brass hardware you mean fasteners I think you are really after bronze. Brass is too soft and shears too easily. Hamilton Marine and Jamestown Distributors are my go to providers.

Eric

Yeah I mean "red iron" as my grandfather would say. But yes I am mistaken I defiantly need bronze. This morning I picked up 5/4 mahogany decking at a very very good price. I ordered a sheet of 3/4 Marine ply that should be in tomorrow.
South Jersey

Josh

Excellent lumber haul. Nice start to the the project. Looking at your existing boat it seems to me like you could use plywood to make knees and epoxy and glass them to the inside of the hull and then deck over the tops. The mahogany can be your strongbacks and cockpit coaming.

Eric

That's my plan Eric. I got all that mahogany for $68
South Jersey

I use McFeely's for square drive bronze screws. I understand about challenges over traditional screw heads.

https://www.mcfeelys.com/...onze%20boat%20screws

Rick

Richard

Square head and star head (torx) drivers have become very popular in recent years. I seldom use a slot head anymore unless it is a restoration and I'm sticking with original fasteners to maintain period correctness. I keep a healthy supply of torx screws on hand along with impact driver heads organized by size. I use them all the time and they are awesome for softwoods because you don't have to make a pilot hole. But when it comes to boat building I still like Reed & Prince, aka Frearson head bronze wood screws with a pilot hole drilled with a Fuller counterbore.

Show anyone these days a Frearson head and they'll think it is a Phillips, understandably because they look similar to the untrained eye. Try installing a Phillips screw with a Frearson driver, or vise-versa, and it won't go well. The reasons I like them are they are a traditional fastener used by the likes of Chris Craft and Lyman. To me they just seem to go hand-in-hand with wooden boat construction. But more so they drive without slippage. The driver doesn't "cam-out" of the screw and strip the head like Phillips when you torque them. Screws also fit the driver snugly, meaning you can push the screw onto the driver and then orient it anyway and it won't fall off. Maybe the best part is there is only one driver size. Unlike Torx and square you don't have to match the driver to the screw. One driver fits all. A really nice feature that simplifies life a bit when using them.

Just my thoughts on the matter...

Eric

Eric,

Understand. I also watched Tales of a Shipwright YouTube channel and his tricks for dealing with screw slots.

Just an option. Why I hesitate to post anything on the internet.

Rick Lathrop

I hope you didn't take my post as some sort of correction to your suggestion for fastener. I totally agree with the suggestion you made and was pleased to learn of the source. I didn't know they existed. I was merely stating what I've been using and a couple features I like. Thank you for your participation.

Eric

Thanks Eric,

I found out about the McFeely's screws on the wooden boat forum. I like the square drive for torquing down bottom planks to chine logs. Always had issues with phillips and screw slots caming out and tearing up the heads. Tried using brace and bit with no luck.

Rick

Josh~


Bronze is the way to go - but getting harder and harder to find. Any marine salvage places down your way?


Here's one source (I have not used them):


https://duckworks.com/buck-algonquin-bronze-herreshoff-style-cleats/?sku=BA-00CAB450&gclid=CjwKCAjwqJSaBhBUEiwAg5W9pzzyPyhqILq53dbDV4_gf1diONba3yBI03LNYDFfDTt3eMI4AXU41hoCHMoQAvD_BwE




I've used Hamilton Marine for 40+ years - always happy with them:


https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/inet/storefront/store.php?mode=searchstore&search%5Bsearchfor%5D=bronze+cleats


Jamestown Distributors is my "go to" source for many marine supplies - but I see no bronze cleats.


On the other hand< I mostly use galvanized cleats and paint them the same as the duckboat. I fasten them with s/s bolts.


Hope this helps!


SJS























Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

Hi Joe,

I have built several garveys, all have a washboard along the top of gunnel. I've included some pictures of how they are normally framed. You may be able to modify it to work for your project.

Luke

Nice workshop and garvey. Either you scored some vintage locker workbenches or you are working from a surviving tech school.

Eric

Thanks you my design will be similar with plywood knees supporting the wash boards. I posted the template plywood I used then a finished knee I made from two layers of 3/4 ply. The knees will be spaced 48" apart with framing in between. I cannot find any 3/8 marine ply. Locally I can only find 1/2 inch thickness and it's marine fir not Okume.

Josh

How are you going to handle the rub rail to deck interface?

Eric

I will post a picture if I can later my plan is run the plywood flush with the outside of the existing fiberglass boat gunnel. Then glass from on top of the new wash board down with a slight radius. Gluing the ply with epoxy and wood flour/cabosil as you suggested then reinstall the rubber rub rail. If that makes any sense. I will try to include a picture but this lack of availability of 3/8 ply has me looking all over for the right material.
South Jersey

Steve

You mentioned finding bronze cleats is getting hard to do. That has been my observation as well. However, I do know of a foundry in PA that will cast bronze if you can give them a pattern. So if you want to reproduce cleats, or other bronze boat hardware, I can help. The cost is a lot lower than you might think. Probably lower than the reclaimed boat hardware on ebay.

Eric