Soft deck repair

[sv lark]

Oh I didn't mention that I was able to download the Gougeon book the next morning when the site was back up.

Anyway, thanks for sharing the info you did with me. It was very helpful.

[sv lark]

Oh yeah that was actually one of the first things I read about the deck repair. It doesn't describe anything about sealing off the good core or describe how to actually accomplish a smooth taper on the bevel. Does anyone have thoughts on those?

[chebba]

Don't forget to wash with rags and water any fresh fiberglass layer that has set-up prior to placing another layer on top. A fine dust forms on top of a set-up layer of the epoxy West system. This dust will greatly interfere with adhesion to the next epoxy layer. Wash after sanding. Sanding and sweeping alone will not remove all the dust. Rinse and dry. Acetone alone will not remove all the dust. Maybe some other opinions on this will help also.

[sv lark]

Thank you Chebba. I knew I needed to rinse off amine blush but hadn't realized it was necessary otherwise. I'll make sure I do.

[Warby12]

I took notes Uncivilized... my deck repair is coming soon, thanks everyone

[zengirl]

Wow! I haven't seen my boat yet (don't ask) but surveyor said "a few soft spots on deck, just drill and fill with epoxy with a big hypo needle" ??? Is this BS or will I have to have the above done to my deck also? Bristol 30 1971
Just ya or na is fine, no need to go into detail, I won't be looking at the boat til next June.
Thanks for all replies.

[zengirl]

Oh crap! Sorry, just realized it was an old post!

[DeepFrz]

Na. Don't just squeeze in epoxy. Do it right.

[Stumble]

Your surveyor is full of it. All injecting epoxy will do is create a soupy glob of half cured epoxy, wood remnants, water, and mold. It will not fix your core problem.

[zengirl]

Thanks DeepFrz and Stumble, I'll have it done the right way. The surveyor didn't even lower the centerboard to see if worked or not and a bunch of other things, like black and white photos for $400.00. I just bit the bullet on him. Thanks for your replies.

[mike d.]

Hi svlark. Before you get into this if you haven't already! Check your outside deck thickness. Mine were 1/4 + versus a single layer beneath. So I would say the external layer was the structural part. Fixing from underneath is not an issue unless you are lazy or don't understand how to do it. To say you don't want to take apart the interior finish? is a non starter. The factory did it in reverse. I understand they were working in 1 direction, but you will save the structural integrity of the deck if you go from inside. It's not rocket science, just determination to go from the inside. I did both side decks sections, inside the cabin, and into the aft lazerets in about 2 weeks. This includes taking the interior sections out and fixing the problem. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PREP TIME, AND THINK PROCESS.! I did 5 sections in 5 weeks. I was lazy , and it was winter. Heat lamps work wonders. No I am not a professional. just like you. I just read how to do it and them looked at my situation, and went from there.

[colemj]

There will be no loss at all of structural integrity from cutting the outside skin - it will be rebonded and scarfed to be as strong as new.

Both skins on each side of a core are structural, so cutting the inside skin is just as much of a structural "problem" as cutting the outside skin. The differences in the thicknesses of the skins is for other reasons. Reattaching a thicker skin will more easily result in a stronger structure than a thinner skin - unless one doesn't need to worry about making the interior skin flush and fair again. If you cut the inside skin and did not glass it back into the old properly, you have compromised the structural integrity.

Some boats simply cannot take apart the interior finish to access the bottom skin - bulkheads, integral liners, etc can make this impossible, not just lazy. I don't know the specifics of the OP's particular boat.

Mark