Covering a soft foredeck - idea

[Maka]

Its the Cat fix. Cover it up.

The problem is the core is continuing to deteriorate. The longer you wait to fix it properly the more expensive it gets. Wait long enough it will cost more to fix than the boat it worth.
Ive done core replacement on my boat. Its a nasty job. But ya gotta do it.

[Elie]

The balsa cored deck is in fact a beam and balsa most be attached to both skins to maintain its physical property and strength. If the deck has soft spots, it simply means that it has lost its beam support capacity.
sticking a waterproof menbrane won't make it strong again. And keep in mind that that structure of forward deck is part of the whole frame of the boat. Rigging tension, even walking on it will become a risky problem for the integrity of the whole structure. Your solution is like closing the barn door after the horses have fled. At least, you can try to solidify the link between the upper and lower fiberglass skins in spots by injecting epoxy structural putty between the skins in as many places has possible.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by skwanderer

Cost me $30 of rubber sheeting and an hour of my time. And more waterproof integrity than a blue tarp slung over the bow.

I've yet to estimate time and costs for truly rehab'ing the deck proper.

Deck repair due to moisture ingress is partially how I make my living.

There is a 99% chance that the moisture ingress is due to deck fitting bedding failure.

The repair you have made will not stop moisture ingress, as the material is not sealed around the deck fittings where they are leaking.

So moisture is still going to get in, but now, the moisture that previously could have gotten off the deck by evapouration can't.

In effect, you have made matters worse. Water will run down the pulpit stanchions, and deck fittings under the roofing material, where it is now trapped.

This problem didn't start yesterday.

It may have started 10 years ago, when the bedding of an existing deck fitting failed, or a new deck fitting (perhaps the windlass) was installed (improperly).

So initially, a little water got in. With each rain or deck wash, a little more got in.

After a period of time, likely at least a couple years, the wet core material (most likely balsa) started to rot.

This made the deck soft and subject to flexure, which caused the hairline gelcoat cracks you see at the stress points.

With each passing year, the water and core rot migrated further.

Even if you meticulously removed and rebedded each fitting, it would prevent more moisture ingress, but the core rot and skin delamination would continue to spread.

The $30 bucks and 1 hour you spent the other day, would have taken care of the whole job if detected at the errant deck fitting 10 years ago.

Unfortunately, the work you did the other day, will do nothing to minimize the work yet to come.

So you would have been better off to save your time and money, to put against a proper repair ASAP.

Proper repair includes:

1. Using a moisture meter and percussive soundings to determine the extent of moisture, rot, and delamination.

2. Removing all deck fittings in the affected area.

3. Removing the rotted core (from top of bottom) by first removing the FRP skin.

4. Replace the rotted core with proper material. (I commonly use plastic honeycomb.)

5. Replace the FPR skin that was removed.

6. Finish with your materials preference.

7. Rebed the deck fittings (hopefully with resin potted holes this time).

Any delay or stop gap measure, just means the job is going to be bigger and more costly, to the extent where it may not be worth saving the boat.

This is one of those jobs where a temporary fix, is more costly and time consuming than just fixing the problem.

If you're capable of DIY FRP repair and don't count your time, this could be done properly for as little as $100 in about 10 hours.

If its rainy season, build a 1 x 3" spruce frame with tarp over top to keep water off while you work. A weekend will do it right.

If you hire it out to an FRP pro (someone who truly knows what they are doing, not just a guy in a yard that will let you pay them to attempt it), it will range from about $1000 to $3000 depending on your finish expectations.

Either way, your gonna have to do it, if you had spent the $30 bucks on lottery tickets you may have won enough to hire it out. It would have been better spent, and saved you an hour of effort.



Just sayin'.

[KiminAK]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

If you don't have time and money to repair, how can you have time and
money to repair it twice.

Temporary repairs are false savings and security.

It always pays to do it right the first time.

Rod, I would like to live in your world where I have the money, the time and the energy to do everything at the perfect moment. Sometimes, I have to put things off, and the OP is trying to limit the damage in the meantime. Seems smart to me.

[Elie]

Intesting way to repair a moit deck, and I agree with your analyse of the cause of this problem. I've been informed of other technique to remove moisture and reattach the two skin agian. Holes(1/4 in) on the perephery of the delamination, and a much bigger hole in the center of the problem area . Just then plug the outlet of a shop vacuum cleaner and let it run for hours. It seems that a large volume of air will dry the core after a while. Injecting epoxy resin into would finish the job. I wonder if this technique is applicable in some cases, when delamination is not too bad...

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by Elie

Intesting way to repair a moit deck, and I agree with your analyse of the cause of this problem. I've been informed of other technique to remove moisture and reattach the two skin agian. Holes(1/4 in) on the perephery of the delamination, and a much bigger hole in the center of the problem area . Just then plug the outlet of a shop vacuum cleaner and let it run for hours. It seems that a large volume of air will dry the core after a while. Injecting epoxy resin into would finish the job. I wonder if this technique is applicable in some cases, when delamination is not too bad...

You may be referring to a technique I described in this thread...

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2270759

It is possible it may work for this application, but if the area of rot is as big as the covered area, normally the original non-skid would be damaged t0 the extent that top skin replacement would be easier / faster.

I purposefully only used the word resin for that thread.

In fact, if the boat is polyester FRP, I use polyester resin, which shatters popular belief about all that is right on boats, as I conveyed in a following thread about using polyester instead of epoxy resin, when polyester has adequate properties, because it is safer and costs less (which for a moment I thought was gonna lead to cyber fisticuffs. ;-)

But if one wishes to use gelcoat to finish the holes (especially with a little negative mold taken off the non-skid, polyester is definitely the way to go.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by KiminAK

Rod, I would like to live in your world where I have the money, the time and the energy to do everything at the perfect moment. Sometimes, I have to put things off, and the OP is trying to limit the damage in the meantime. Seems smart to me.

This isn't a case of that.

It's a case of if one can't afford the effort or cost to perform a proper, critical repair affecting the integrity and value of the boat, that is most certainly going to get worse if they don't, they should just sell it to someone who can and will.

I see way too much of what happens when people buy a great boat and then ruin it, by not performing essential repairs in a timely fashion.

As I said, for as little as $100 and 10 hours can fix this properly, and for good, even better than original.

If one doesn't have the money or time, then what the heck are they doin, besides wrecking a perfectly good boat?

(Besides that, the $5, 1/2 hour ingress prevention fix, would be to dry the base connection of all affected fittings and run a bead of exterior mono around the perimeter and over the mounting screws to keep more water from getting in. Still won't stop the continued deterioration though, but will help stop more water from getting in, for a while, if there is little or no movement in the fitting.)

[thruska]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Make sure you investigate the core. I have trouble believing the water is getting in thru the glass. More likely from a pulpit fitting leak or etc. Anything's possible I suppose though...

X2
Hairline gelcoat cracks are seldom , not always culpri, but the deck fittings ae are most often the cause of inrusion, in my experiences
Im not one to believe condensation will intrude to deck/ ceiling although could be possible in a bad build.
Frankly, i doubt that your quickfix will really fix anything . Not any more than a used waterbed liner and 5$ of duct tape.
If you have soft deck , intrusion has ben going on longer than you'd like to believe , imho.
Fix it properly and permanently asap.
Thers a boat on the yard here with the furler deck stay ripped out, rot from intrusion . It then demasted .
Good luck .