Bump on the Deck, Port Bow (Base of Pulpit)

[allanpeda]

I am ignoring it right now and just sailing, but this fall I really should cut into this bump and repair it. The bump is about 3 inches diameter by the base of the pulpit. Maybe I have at most 9 inches of deck to cut out. The finish is sort of a diamond texture. The marine surveyor said everything was fine last fall, so I am not expecting horrors.

I am assuming I can do this. Concerns about finish are secondary, though of course I want to match as best I can. This is a 1989 Catalina that I have owned for under a year. I think the bump came up this wonderfully frigid winter (I left her in the water).

She will be hauled and covered this fall. What's the presumed plan here? Cut a tapered plug out, buy some 1/4 high density foam, epoxy this stuff in? how would I match the existing finish?

Videos / books to read? If I hired someone to do this, how badly would I be raped?

[zeehag]

look into deck repair--- isnt just a plug you can cut n paste. for a 6 inch bubble, you willneed to expose the affected decking and go from there-- you willneed to ultimately feather in a large area of new deck over new core magterial. isnt just a 6 inch cut n paste. goood luck. may your deck be dry around the bubble.

[HopCar]

If it's a cored deck, I'd bet you have water in there. You won't know how big a problem you have until you cut into it. Don't wait too long, it will just get worse. Don't cut all the way through the inner skin. If it's a saturated core, you'll cut off the top skin, dig out the bad core, put in new core and then make a new outer skin. You need to figure out how the water got in there in the first place and fix that too. Look for fasteners and hardware that needs to be re-bedded.

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[minaret]

I've repaired lots of diamond skid, and I can tell you it's one of the most difficult cosmetic repairs we do in the boatyard. Don't try flex mold, it's a nightmare. Here's what works for me, and they give me all the diamond skid repairs in our yard. Use an area of your deck which is large enough for the required repair and in good shape to make your own diamond mold. It needs to be stiff enough not to wrinkle or be unfair ( like flex mold will), but still be flexible enough to take the camber of the deck without a lot of weight on it. I like to go gelcoat heavy and then back it with a 10 oz. matt or two, depending on size of repair and needed camber. Once your repair is finished and faired,mask well and vacuum bag the mold into wet color matched gelcoat, being careful to mate the molds skid pattern to the deck. When its cured, pull the mold and use wet sanding paper on the edge of a painters stir stick to blend the edges. Sometimes I use jewellers files as well.This is the only method I've ever seen make a perfect repair on diamond skid. It is very advanced and not for the amateur. I've talked many clients into sanding off their diamond skid and replacing it with griptex because it's faster to do a whole deck that way than to make a diamond repair. Good luck!

[allanpeda]

Okay, so can I assume that I can get this patch done in about a month, leaving the final cosmetic finishing for later if necessary? It's not something that has to be done in one shot (I hope)? Maybe I can get this done in late Sept / early October.

Yes, I know, I might find hellacious rot permeating the entire boat. Lets think happy thoughts.

[minaret]

By "bump" do you mean an indentation from an impact, or a blister? If the latter, you probably have a serious problem. A three inch blister in your deck would be huge and almost certainly indicative of a serious moisture intrusion problem. Deck stepped masts often have plywood core in that area. Buy a moisture meter and find out if you have a problem before letting it sit longer, you don't want it to grow.

[allanpeda]

Raised bump. I am sure I have a moisture problem. I will fix it this fall. Worth the extra few thousand dollars to keep sailing until then.