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Installation Part I
It was time to purchase the materials for the recore. I contacted my now friend Russ from Maryland and he pointed me to Baltek Inc. (201) 767-1400 in New Jersey which is the manufacturer of Decolite which is an end grain balsa covered with a fiberglass coating that comes in 32 sq. ft - 4’ x 8’ sheets, in 1/2" or 3/8’ thickness, with one sheet costing about $180.00. I opted for the 3/8’ sheet for a lighter lay-up in the boat. When the matting is laid down and fiberglassed, it will come out to about a half inch anyway. Although Baltek is the manufacturer of Decolite, they're not a distributor. I asked them to lead me to a distributor here in Jersey and they were able to find one called Mahogany Corp. in Mays Landing (609)625-8101. I immediately gave them a call to confirm if they had it. When I got someone on the phone I told them what I was looking for and their first question to me was "is this for a fishing boat or a high performance boat with high speed in mind", right there I knew I was in good hands.
The following day I was on my way to the Mahogany Corp 2-1/2 hrs from home. When I got there I was surprised to see that not only did they carry Decolite, but they were also fiberglass specialists in all forms of boating, from sailing to drag racing. Along with my order of Decolite I also added to the order, a 5 gallon pail of Mahogany’s Polyester Resin Solution : stock number M625-2, Mahogany Catalyst Hardener : stock number 9090P, and Mahogany 2oz. fiberglass matting : stock number FTM17A, of which they will cut to any size(s) needed. I ordered 2 pcs.12’ x 32". Total price for everything listed was $307.76. When my order was ready, they left it out on the loading dock for me to load onto my truck. I went to pick up the 4 x 8 sheet of Decolite thinking it was going to be heavy. When I picked it up I couldn’t believe how light it was. It’s amazing how something so light could be so strong. I started working on the core almost as soon as I got home. Even though the old balsa was completely removed and the area was smooth, it was still clear to see where the old balsa was. This was good, as it would allow me to make a pattern out of cardboard. I went to a local sheet metal shop, knowing that when sheet metal is delivered they lay it on 4 x 8 sheets of cardboard. This would work perfect as the cardboard would be smooth with no wrinkles. I now had the cardboard and was ready to make my patterns. I cut the cardboard in half making a 2 x 8 sheet to work with. I laid one sheet where
the old balsa was and traced it out on the passenger side of the boat, then I did the drivers side with the other sheet. I now had my patterns and with a pair of scissors I cut out the areas on the cardboard that would not be getting used. From there I set up a pair of wooden horses and placed the Decolite on top. I then took the cardboard patterns and placed them on top of the Decolite. I traced the patterns out on the Decolite for both sides of the boat, then with a Black and Decker jigsaw and a blade that was designed to cut wood and fiberglass, I cut out the patterns that were now transformed onto the Decolite. Goggles should always be worn during this process as chips of wood from the jigsaw fly around endlessly during cutting. From there I cut two strips from the Decolite that were 2" wide, by about 7’ (the length of the new patterns). They would run along the bottom of the Decolite once the patterns were installed. I would shave the edges of the 2" strips to allow me to smoothly fuse the new balsa into the bottom of the boat . The smooth edges would also be easier on bare feet, and make installation of the carpet easier, while keeping it from tearing when walked on. Any edges that could be seen, would be sanded with the belt sander. (Note : After cutting or sanding any edges from the Decolite, you should always coat the edges with resin for a water repellent bond.)The new core was now ready and the fiberglassing would now begin. I used a painters pail and roller to start with. I would have everything ready as I was aware that once the hardener was added to the resin that I would have minutes to set the new core before the resin would begin to set itself up. Without a doubt, one side of the core would have to be done at a time. (Note : Resin is very flammable and produces vapors. Any work with resin must be done in a well ventilated area.) I placed one side of the new core up against the side of the boat in an easy to reach area. Then I mixed the resin and the catalyst hardener in the painters pail at 1/2 ounce per gallon and mixed it with a wooden spoon. I then soaked the roller in the resin until it was saturated then rolled a thick coat onto the passengers side of the floor, coating only where the old core was. When the coat was so thick that it started running, I picked up the passenger side pattern of Decolite and laid it where the old one used to be. I then followed the same process for the driver side of the boat. I knew I would need a lot of weight on the new balsa core for a few days while the resin would be setting up as to prevent air pockets. I had a stack of 2 x 4’s in my garage, so I cut a few down to fit from one side of the boat to the other. I would place the 2 x 4’s underneath the inside of the boat to make bridges going across, similar to boat cover supports. I would have one going across behind where the front seats would be, another in front of the splashwell, and another in between those two. While my brothers held the bridges in place I then took measurements from the 2 x 4 bridges to the floor so I could cut smaller pieces out of the 2 x 4’s to make braces. After cutting a dozen, I had my brothers hold the bridging back in place as I jammed the braces in from underneath the bridging down to the floor in a vertical fashion throughout to distribute the weight evenly so that bowing would not occur in the newly laid balsa patterns. I would now have to keep the braces in place for a few days to allow the resin to set itself up.
After a few days in the now warm sun (late March) it was time to start laying down the fiberglass matting. I still had my cardboard cutouts from the balsa and my plan now was to lay the matting out on top of the cardboard and cut the same pattern as the core, but onto the fiberglass matting, except this time I would leave 6" of overhang all the way around so the matting would exceed the balsa and be able to fuse itself into the floor of the boat. Now that my patterns were cut from the matting, it would now be time to start fiberglassing. After removing
the bridges and the bracing, I then mixed another batch of resin and catalyst hardener at the same 1/2 ounce of hardener to one gallon of resin. (Note: This mixture can be cut in half or less, as long as the same ratio applies.) Using a new pail and roller, I then rolled a thick layer onto the top of the balsa, then I laid the fiberglass matting pattern onto the passenger side of the boat. Because of the quick setup time of the resin, I would complete one side of the boat before starting the other. Before the matting could set itself up, I took a 4" wide paint brush and dabbed at every inch of the matting, paying close attention to the ends where the matting would fuse into the floor. When the matting was completely saturated, I then took a squeegee like the one used for tinting car windows and went along the matting working my way from the side of the boat down to the center of the floor. This would remove all the air pockets under the matting and eliminate excessive resin from building up. While that process was setting up, I cut several more strips 8" wide. I would fiberglass these strips in around the perimeter of the core, laying 3 - 4 strips on top of the 6" overhang of Decolite. Toward the transom I added another 4 strips. These strips combined with the ones already cut would not only be fused into the floor, but would also be fused into the transom, using the same technique as when I glassed the core. After all was done on the passenger side I then did the driver side using the same method.