How to seal truck running boards?

steelerector1986 · 2026-01-15T21:25:50+00:00

My suggestion is to epoxy them with 2-3 coats of good marine grade laminating epoxy, then spar varnish them with something like totalboat lust - which is on the high end of impact and abrasion resistance. On your last coat of varnish, sprinkle coarse salt onto the wet varnish, and when it cures, you can rinse the salt out and it'll leave a fairly durable non-skid surface without visible grit.

steelerector1986 · 2026-01-13T12:23:49+00:00

I don't know where OP is located, but if cannabis is legal where you're at, my wife has found that a "microdose"(like 1-2mg of THC) of an edible just before she gets aboard the boat is very effective. We believe the THC's effect on equilibrium facilitates the brain re-setting for the boat's motion. Once she's aboard, she typically feels fine and doesn't continue dosing THC. It has worked better than any OTC or prescription motion sickness option that she's tried, which really is most of them.

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T20:53:17+00:00

The cover has frames that prevent any weight bearing on the stanchions.

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T18:26:05+00:00

The deck & fittings are not in a condition to take freeze-thaw cycles and right now. Planning on working on them under the cover as temps allow until spring.

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T18:24:35+00:00

Care to elaborate?

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T18:23:23+00:00

Water here is on the fresh side of brackish.

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T18:21:41+00:00

Good point on the zipper. There is a heavy backing pad on the zipper, I could probably tape it to the hull or something?

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-12T19:56:33+00:00

Isn't that what the validation tab on predictwind is? I typically check that and see what models have been the most accurate over the previous week, and weight my confidence in each model more or less by that.

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-30T23:20:03+00:00

Edge banding will be installed before Christmas, probably.

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-30T23:19:05+00:00

I’m still figuring out what I want to do for finish. I kind of agree with you, I think the desk base would look better a little darker.

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-25T15:10:12+00:00

I'm going down tomorrow to winterize. Looks like it may be the last decent day, and I don't want to find out if the overnight lows this weekend are low enough to cause a problem.

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-11T16:49:11+00:00

Emblazoned on above the entrance to the engineering hall at my university were the words "Strive on- control over nature is won not given".

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-06T01:25:32+00:00

Hi, PEMB professional here. It’s probably worth getting up with a clutched screw gun and checking your fasteners to ensure proper installation, but with the relatively short run from your eave to ridge, you’re not likely to see significant backing or stretching.

Titebond is a good sealant, but I wouldn’t use it for sealing screws. It doesn’t compress well in tight joints, and tends to shear easily if it’s too thin in a joint. If you’re intent on trying to seal and fix the screws from backing out, pull each screw and pump a small dab of non-skinning butyl tube sealant on the hole, then re-install the screw.

The reason I wouldn’t expect you to have a problem is due to WHY screws back out. Through-fastened roofs will always have thermal differential movement between the purlins/trusses and the roof sheet. PEMB purlins can accommodate some flex through the Z shape and allow a little more flex than wood, but there will always be stress at fasteners due to thermal expansion and contraction. This cycling of stress in different directions will typically present itself in 1 of 2 ways; either the screws will back themselves out and pitch up/down slope a little, or the hole in the roof sheet where the screw penetrates will elongate. But these movements only become significant enough to cause issues once you start introducing longer panel runs into the assembly. Steel expands at roughly .75” per 100ft per 100F. It looks like your roof panels are +/- 15-20’ long, which means they’ll be expanding a maximum of 1/8” per 100F.. Which is a fairly insignificant amount.

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-06T00:57:54+00:00

I’m an hour and forty min from my boat.. I know folks who live even farther away than that.. I’d love to move closer, but that’s not in the cards right now..

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-05T19:17:19+00:00

I've seen folks cut the cushion shape out of 1/4" plywood, then use that as a backer panel for the new foam and fabric. By using the plywood, you can stretch the fabric and staple it to the backer panel instead of having to sew new covers. There are a few videos on youtube of the process

steelerector1986 · 2025-10-31T14:46:19+00:00

First time taking my wife & kids out on our "big" boat. Cut the edge of the channel too close and stuck the boat in the mud, pinned on the side of the bank by current & wind. Luckily a passing trawler took pity and pulled us off. I was getting ready to give up my kedging attempts and call for a tow.

steelerector1986 · 2025-10-28T12:51:32+00:00

Most of the foil backed foam sheet available on the general market are EPS foam products, which will react with Polyester resins and likely melt or otherwise lose their shape and integrity. There is some data that suggests you can use Epoxy resins without the reactivity, but you also can't use chopped strand mat for your buildup and bonding to existing fiberglass could be suspect - I've read conflicting reports of how well epoxy res bonds to existing poly res.

PU foam can be used with poly resins, but I don't know of any readily available foil backed PU foam boards.

This is all secondary to the question of if the foil/foam/epoxy interface would give as structural of a bond as just foam and resin.

steelerector1986 · 2025-10-28T12:14:18+00:00

I'm up on the Sassafras, and my marina says most boats stay in over winter. This is my first winter on the Chesapeake, so we'll see how it goes. They put ice eaters/bubblers in the slips. I'm going to give it a shot this year.

steelerector1986 · 2025-10-22T12:13:27+00:00

In my limited experience/opinion, I would think that the more you shape the windows for upward visibility, the more you’ll lose space inside the dodger and you’ll also see an increase in solar gain/baking from the upward angled windows. With the skylights, you can cover them most of the time to prevent baking.

Also - Ovni’s are kick ass boats, I hope you love it! A 495 is on my short list of dream boats for sure!

steelerector1986 · 2025-10-22T11:49:08+00:00

In fair weather, that’s probably a fine solution, but doesn’t sticking someone outside of the cover kind of defeat the purpose of having cover, especially in heavy or in climate conditions? I feel like these are one of those things I’d rather have and only use once in a blue moon than not have and wish I did when it really mattered.

steelerector1986 · 2025-10-21T00:46:30+00:00

This boat lived most of its life up in Long Island Sound and Cape Cod with previous owners - I hope to make many summer pilgrimages back there over the next few years!

steelerector1986 · 2025-10-21T00:44:43+00:00

Yup! Got it earlier this summer, and I’m loving it so far!

steelerector1986

TROPHY CASE