Teak to Fiberglass pulpit change

[CAGE RATTLER]

Mainly swapping it out to fiberglass for more strength for an anchor roller and eventually a windlass install, but also to modernize the boat a bit. And no more teak maintenance on the pulpit will also be a plus.

I have an ongoing thread of my projects since i bought the boat but wanted to post this here to see if I could get some suggestions since I'm certainly not a boat repair expert by any means.

Here is the link to my thread on page 5 where you can see the pics where i removed the teak pulpit and anchor locker hatch.
http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/32644-85-Amberjack-255-re-power-amp-Modifications/page5

The pulpit I'm using isn't wide enough to cover the hatch opening or i would just cover it with the pulpit, but now I'm going to have to close in the hatch opening and this is where I'm not exactly sure how i should do this.

I'm planning on cutting or grinding an angle along the edges of the opening and also angle the edges of a piece of 3/4 marine plywood so it will sit in the opening with support on all the edges.

All the edges & the new plywood will be sealed with epoxy resin before install.
Then i will glass it all in with matt & cloth for strength and to build it up and then finish it off with a finishing gelcote.

Sounds easy enough but after some research, alot of people say not to use polyester gelcote over epoxy resin and others say its fine as long as you clean the amine blush off after curing and sand it down well before putting on the gelcote.

I want to use the epoxy resin for its bonding strength over the poly resin but if its going to make the gelcote to epoxy bond weaker, im not so sure thats a good idea.


Any thoughts, suggestions or tips how i can do this differently please reply cause i hate going into a project when im not sure im doing the right thing.

Heres some pics of the hatch opening............

 

[Big Island Lifer]

I have been thinking through this scenario for a while. My thought was to run 2 support rods (aluminum, stainless, or even epoxied wood) underneath the pulpit in the underside of the anchor well perpendicular to the long axis of the pulpit and thru bolt the windlass to the support rods to distribute the pull across the deck. They would extend as far as space would allow.

In your case it would alleviate the need to make your fiberglass patch/ fill to be structural in nature.

Just a thought. I look forward to seeing your solution.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CAGE RATTLER]

Thanks for the reply.

I will definitely be using some type of bracing or backing plate from underneath.

I figure that will give me strength from pulling pressure and if i angle the cuts on the patch, that gives me strength the opposite direction.

My main concearn now is should i use epoxy resin or polyester resin. And should i use gelcote or paint.