The Flipside

No flip-flopper I am - generally speaking - alas, in this case it was advised to make an exception.

Once I completed stripping the deck  I was afraid that sanding either side totally smooth might possibly go right through a couple of strips. The areas where the strips had been bent greatly had some uneven areas despite the fact that they all laid properly on the forms.

Though it is recommended in the manual, I did not want to glass in the underside first for this reason .

Instead, the plan was to (1) reinforce the questionable areas with epoxy schmutz from underneath and then (2) put the deck back on the forms, (3) sand the top with 120 and 220 grid to my hearts content until satisfactory and then (4) seal the top with fiberglass. Thereafter I will be able to safely sand down the underside of the deck and glass it as well.

I admit to also being curious to see the under-side of the deck would look like.  So I removed all remaining nails and took off the top to flip it round. Without the fiberglass encasement, the deck is still very fragile. However, the removal and flipping turned out to be easier than I had feared.

I had previously constructed a set of stands with webbing that allowed me to rest the deck upside down cuddled in a pair of web bands.

As I worked to reinforce the questionable areas with epoxy schmutz, I stretched tape across to ensure that the sheer-line would not deform and open up.

Once the epoxy cured, I felt a bit more confident about sanding the top without breaking right through the planks.