Houseboat Repairs, Fixing Fiberglass - Soft Decks on Gibson houseboats

by Darren
(Toronto)

Houseboat Repairs - Any tips on fixing fiberglass soft decks on older Gibson houseboats. I have soft lower decks on my 1986, 32 foot Gibson houseboat.

My question is ... how much of a job is it to re-do the decks. I have done the top deck already and that was not that bad, but as for the lower decks.

I really can't find any information on how to rebuild them. I have searched the net and found nothing. Any help would be great.

Thanks, Darren



Reply - Answer
Well Darren, sorry to hear about your soft decks. Unfortunately you are not alone, as it is a common occurrence on older fiberglass houseboats, and is not just limited to Gibsons.

Generally speaking, all fiberglass boats will suffer from some degree of fiberglass delamination, or seeping water damage. The marine enviroment is harsh, and water can infiltrate everywhere, and in some areas, the freezing weather doesn't help.

On a positive note, fiberglass decks are all repairable, and it is just a matter of breaking the project down into smaller bite sized bits, and slowly buy surely, you will one day be proud of your new solid rebuilt decks.

As you already have some background experience with re-doing the upper decks on your houseboat, you will find that the lower decks are very similar.

You will have to inspect and verify the extent of the water damage, so to see what or how much of the deck you will be rebuilding.


The only real difference with doing the lower decks is that the surfaces are smaller and of irregular shapes. You will have to get into the bulkheads to see how the structural supports are placed.

The rest of it is removal, rebuilding, and redoing the fiberglass. If you're inclined to see and learn the tips and tricks of fiberglass repairs, have a look at some of the great fiberglass repair dvd's and videos available.

I wish there was some type of "magic pill" that I could send you, but unfortunately when it comes to repairing soft fiber-glass decks, there's no easy way, just the right way, and it does require plenty of elbow grease :)




Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their fiberglass houseboat repairs and experiences. Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found near the bottom of this page.


Thanks again for sharing, IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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