"you mean you used to have your drain plugs right around here? yeah, the bailing/drainage part is something I didn't give much thought to. I did think about keeping the rowers bench pane open and using the rubber mat you'd find at a…"

"Steve, I'm not as familiar with the strengthening properties of fiberglass, particularly in that orientation as I am with wood. But what Dave described is pretty much the way my Tatman boat was designed in 1996 as mentioned in my post…"

"ooof... I wouldn't put my approaching 190 pound butt up on 1/8" plywood supported only by cleats.  I would mount a 1x4 from the stem to the casting brace underneath witht he 1" face supporting the underside of the deck. At…"

"i am using 1/2" cheap ply on my floor boards. I have a 14' tatman kit and have sliced the floor boards into 6 pieces; 3 horizontal pieces are then halved. This way they are removable. I am in the process of epoxying the boards to seal them…"

"just threw down some 10oz weave on the bottom of the deck board. I'll probably epoxy 2 strips of 1x4's flat to the bottom and glass those as well. I think that should make the deck strong enough to stand on, just hope the cleats hold…"

"wait you guys just screw that in and it seals up real nice? you mean i can stop using these stupid thing?"

"I dont sand.  big ole brush, on a HOT sunny day.  slop it on until it won't take anymore then sponge off the excess.  Usually the wood sucks it up until it puddles.  I use homebrew oil."

"Whatever you do don't leave any "wet spots" or puddles  hoping they will continute to soak in.  Wipe it all up untill its "dry'.  Otherwize you might end up with tacky spots and and a real  mess ."

"i'll give the wet sanding a try. and yes you got the order correct. was varnished. i removed it. then sanded a bit with 60 grit. applied 8 coats of oil now just by brushing it on."

"Jack, he is also posting is rebuild on Montana River Boats which I also follow, so I knew his story. Rick Newman"

"Oops, sorry.  My bad.  I guess I misunderstood the chronology.  I'm glad he did it your way. Jack"

"Steve, as I understand it your boat had origianlly been finished with varnish but now you have removed it. When I apply Penofin I use 400 and 600 grit wet-or-dry and rub it in until it shines. Then I wipe of the remaining "sludge"…"

"So you sanded, then varnished, and now you're putting on oil? Jack"

"Steve, that sounds like a plan.  One quick modification to what I wrote above.  I measured them, yesterday, and those side cleats are only 3/4" x 3/4" with kerf cuts every 2 1/2".  That sounds kind of light, but…"

"I updated the photo to be of my boat :) sorry for the misleading photo. Ok so, I could glass the deck to make it stronger. I could also put in a 1x2 on end going from the bow stem to the knee brace. I could use 5200 for those bonds? Then I should…"

"Steve, I'm renovating my '96 vintage Tatman boat, right now.  At the time, Greg offered a front compartment kit that included a 1/4" vertical panel with a cabinet door in it just below the knee braces.  To make the…"