Pics from the Boatyard

[zeehag]

beautiful.

you tired of me saying that yet??

[minaret]

Thanks! I get lots of PM's regarding these but hardly anyone posts but you Zee. Surprised there's not more questions on the thread....

[zeehag]

mebbe folks are intimidated somehow--i think your gorgeous work deserves a huge kudo! not enough folks in this world are appreciative of nor enough able to do this kind of work--especially at the level at which you are functioning--awesome and deserving of more praise than just i can give.
it is definitely a difficult trade and artwork such as yours is definitely a worthy endeavor. i bet it feels great to make something come out so awesome!

[tropicalescape]

I have a question about a boat im trying to sell for a man.It has to do with a chain plate knee,,it has water intrusion and it is plywood encapsulated in fiberglass.I can get to it by sticking my hand into a cabinet in the head but thats all..I cant remove the chainplate unless I destroy alot of good wood work..I can reach into the cabinet and stick my finger down into the knee and fill delaminated and wet wood .It is about one inch of bad stuff and then its solid..can I just dig the bad out and inject some resin or something you might recommend into it? ..the chain plate has seven bolts and only one is in bad wood.I can get a heat gun inside the cabinet to dry it out after I remove the delaminated wood..any suggestions would be appreciated..Thanks DVC

[minaret]

If it's a boat your selling then I'd recommend just explaining to prospective buyers what the problem is and adjusting the price accordingly. A chainplate knee should be fixed properly and anything else you might do, such as filling in the rotten area with some pucky, will be obvious to a surveyor and will raise red flags for him. I'm guessing if you can just get a hand on it but it's still obviously got rot it's probably worse than it looks. A moisture meter will tell you if it's rotten throughout or not, but the chainplate and bolts would probably have to be removed first unless theres a nice metal free section of knee to get a reading on. If it was my boat and I was keeping it I'd remove all plywood, rotten or not, and replace it with Coosa board and relaminate with fresh backing plates for a knee that would last just about forever. Since it's being sold, I'd suggest you stay away from a quick fix and just be honest. Thanks for asking my advice and have fun!

[sctpc]

I also have one. My boat is 26 years old was stored for 10 under cover its like a 5 / 10 year old boat and the deck is gellcoat, you talk of painting wouldn't that be the last thing you would want to do? and how would you look after it besides just polish?

[minaret]

So your boat has 16 yrs of exposure. Sounds like your gelcoat is getting oxidized and doesn't look as good as it once did, and polishing it is not bringing it back. If we are talking about smooth finished gelcoat on the decks, such as waterways and bulwarks, you can wet sand the oxidization out and polish it back to original condition. If we are talking about gelcoat non-skid thats a whole different thing and would depend on whether it's molded skid or abrasive. Which is it?

[sailcruiser]

I read and admire without saying much. Im learning and absorbing but will ask if a question comes to mind. SC

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by minaret

If it's a boat your selling then I'd recommend just explaining to prospective buyers what the problem is and adjusting the price accordingly. A chainplate knee should be fixed properly and anything else you might do, such as filling in the rotten area with some pucky, will be obvious to a surveyor and will raise red flags for him. I'm guessing if you can just get a hand on it but it's still obviously got rot it's probably worse than it looks. A moisture meter will tell you if it's rotten throughout or not, but the chainplate and bolts would probably have to be removed first unless theres a nice metal free section of knee to get a reading on. If it was my boat and I was keeping it I'd remove all plywood, rotten or not, and replace it with Coosa board and relaminate with fresh backing plates for a knee that would last just about forever. Since it's being sold, I'd suggest you stay away from a quick fix and just be honest. Thanks for asking my advice and have fun!

He knows about it and does'nt want to take the boat apart to fix it and we can stick a screw driver down about an inch and hit solid wood and it is above the first bolt..any thoughts other than total tear out..thanks..DVc

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by minaret

So your boat has 16 yrs of exposure. Sounds like your gelcoat is getting oxidized and doesn't look as good as it once did, and polishing it is not bringing it back. If we are talking about smooth finished gelcoat on the decks, such as waterways and bulwarks, you can wet sand the oxidization out and polish it back to original condition. If we are talking about gelcoat non-skid thats a whole different thing and would depend on whether it's molded skid or abrasive. Which is it?

It mainly smooth finished, except the walkaways to the bow have like skid mat thats was molded. Is was sky blue gelcoat and the whole deck only has one chip where the winch handle was dropped in the cnr of a seat.

[minaret]

Remove the rotten portion you can reach. Saturate the rest with acetone and then very carefully apply heat to dry it out. If it's in a cabinet a space heater on low in the cabinet for a week or two might do it. Seal the exterior first to make sure it's not getting more moisture while you're drying. When it's totally dry saturate the rest with CPES/Smiths or tropical WEST thinned 50% with MEK. While you are still in the chemical bonding window fit a new strip of ply to make up the part you removed and set it in WEST thickened with cabosil. This will prevent it from getting worse at least, and may actually be a decent repair though I doubt it. Put a moisture meter on the rest of the knee first if you dont want to waste your time patching a knee that's just going to be completely rotten in a few years. Do it right and it'll fool a lazy surveyor (most are)if you're lucky. But it's still a patch and not a fix.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by sctpc

It mainly smooth finished, except the walkaways to the bow have like skid mat thats was molded. Is was sky blue gelcoat and the whole deck only has one chip where the winch handle was dropped in the cnr of a seat.

So are you considering paint because it's oxidized? Not sure what your question is. The pics of a deck job I last posted are Awlgrip with Griptex for the skid pads. All paint.

[sctpc]

Is there a way to revive instead of painting?

[hogfighter]

Minaret, your work is gorgeous!! Thanks so much for sharing those pics.

[olaf hart]

With the balsa core deck repairs, it looks like you refit the glass section you cut out of the deck after the new core is in.
Is that so?
If so, how do you ensure a strong join with the surrounding glass deck?