Canvas deck cover for a Wild Duck??

[TarkaWD]

Hi, I have recently acquired a Wild Duck which needs a bit of work . The other night I slept on board to get a feel for her... and got a bit wet! There are a few drips from the ceiling, nothing too serious but annoying nonetheless. It turns out that the last owner removed the canvas that was covering the deck as it was getting tatty. The deck is made from tongue & groove pine, it has been painted and doesn't show any signs of rot. What I would like to know is how to best re-seal the deck. Shall I recover it with canvas, or is there a better way? It seems to me that the tongue & groove will naturally trap the water in it's grooves. Could someone give me step by step instructions please, I am new to this.

Many Thanks,

Brendan.

[Eventide Owners Group]

Hi Brendan,

I know we have spoken, but I thought I would reply on the forum as well so others might see it and comment.

There are several ways of attacking this....

Hopefully there will be no soft or rotten patches first, due to the dreaded fresh water geting into the wood....

You could clean back to clean timber, open out the seams and fill them with Sika Flex, then sealing the timber with a sealing varnish or the like, with non slip grit added for safety.

Better to strip back and fill all the seams with epoxy, then epoxy a thin layer of marine ply on top. This will mean all the deck fittings will have to come off and maybe even the toe rail round the edge. Major job...

You could strip off all and reseal with sikaflex, then go back to traditional painted canvas on deck. should last a few years, did so first time round....

Of course if you find any extensive rot, got to 12 mm ply instead of the pine planking, and glass cloth and epoxy the lot... but that is a real job, best of the lot but will take a lot of effort.

To finish off then you could paint and sand the deck, or do as I did and fit shaped panels of 'Treadmaster', the 3 mm thick cork mat, with diamond shaped non slip finish...

any other thoughts.....

cheers,
John
Eventiders