Cockpit floor reinforcing

[madyottie 82]

I've noticed a small crack and slightly soft feel to one of the GBE's cockpit floors.

 

I can do a repair good enough to get by, with no long lasting bad side effects, but I'd like to get some thoughts on a strong, light layup, that can hold a couple of large adults bouncing around on it. Something to do when I finally haul out, perhaps.

 

She's an original, all glass GBE, with no significant mods other than higher aspect blades all round. I'd like to keep her that way, but stronger is better!

[erice 732]

again bill will know

 

but if it's sold glass

 

could you cut some 10?mm foam to fit underneath

 

then glass it up with vac bags?

 

or cut a bit of foam to drop on top

 

then glass it down with peel-ply and bricks?

[Tim C 23]

I'd suggest grind the cockpit floor from above. Vacuum, or carefully glue (as in resin with filler such as West 411) 10-15mm PVC foam of 80-100 kg/m3. If it is plain foam drill 3mm holes in it every 80mm or so, so the air can escape. With careful thinking, some plastic, timber and weights this could be done without vacuum if you didn't have access to a pump. Clean up and fair the foam, then lay on 600+ gm/m2 of e-glass. Ideally triax or quadrax if you can get it, as the load is impact so distributing the load in many directions is the aim. If you had 2-300 gm/m2 cloth you could do it in multiple layers and directions to make up 600 gm/m2. Remember to bog or peel ply the laminate while wet. Fair and paint. Simple (Easy to say that!)