Can this be fixed?

[Cheechako]

It's not unusual from condensation. How big a problem depends on if it's rotted at all. It may be 1/8" ply or etc. If not rotted you can paint it a nice light color white, cream, grey etc and it will be fine. In some ways it looks even better. Pretty hard to remove all that staining and keep it non blotchy if you want the wood grain.
On some boats it's thin ply spaced away from the fiberglass with strips. Other boats it's right on the fiberglass. Many boat cabin sides are not cored where the windows are. Solid glass. I've not had a boat that was cored in 6 boats.
Those windows may not be leaking, it may be just condensation from having heat in the boat.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Fixes leak
Opens tin of white paint

And enjoy the brighter interior it will even seem larger inside.

[Marathon1150]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Hi, Dave,

Do you want to spend a few weekends sanding lightly and varnishing? or do you want to go sailing? [All we have left is time; we never know how much; and, you get to decide how you want to spend yours.]


Ann

Exactly!!

[Mithril Bham]

Originally Posted by svfinlandia

On my old (1983) Nauticat, this was not caused by port leaks, but by condensation formed on the inside of the windows and running down on the wood below. A little light sanding, some stain and then varnish cured the problem.

Al, S/V Finlandia

Quite possibly but I have found that on boats that old ports need to be removed and re-calked anyway. Otherwise you are just putting off the inevitable. Leaks can come from strange places. May as well do it right.

[davethedog]

Thanks all and was caused by condensation. Waiting to get an idea if how much they want for the boat and then decide.

[nortonscove]

Originally Posted by thinwater

^^ This. The addiction to varnish has always amused me. A little is nice as an accent, but all-wood interiors are dark and depressing to my eye.

Yup. Kept me from buying a few boats while I was looking.

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by thinwater

...The addiction to varnish has always amused me. A little is nice as an accent, but all-wood interiors are dark and depressing to my eye.

A generalisation (aren't they always) but the further a boat sails, the less varnish it tends to have; we bought a boat in 2001 with no end of varnished bits topside and one of the very first items on our very first 'jobs to do list' was 're-varnish internally'. Eleven years and many thousands of miles later it got sold, by then the frame around the washboards was the only varnish above decks and our jobs to do list still had an item saying 're-varnish internally'
We didn't mess around with the next one: Bought it in Sept, sailed 100M to our winter marina and by the time we left in spring, there wasn't a speck of external varnish on it; the internals could've done with re-varnishing, but we never even bothered putting it on the list.

[Cadence]

Varnish is nice on old Elcos, Consolidateds and Trumpys etc. with real mahogany paneling veneer not so much.

[Crash1972]

This is an easy fix. On my boat I used Watco Danish oil after I sanded the problem areas. if I was more tech savvy I could show before and after but I'm not....... sorry about that!

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by thinwater

The addiction to varnish has always amused me.

I know, there will always be those who are amused at others afflictions.
But I'm on the road to recovery, now less than half of my "To Do" list starts with the word "Varnish".

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by davethedog

Thanks all and was caused by condensation. Waiting to get an idea if how much they want for the boat and then decide.

You may want to know how much the seller wants… if the price is right and if this is the only issue found (better confirmed by a good surveyor), which is hard to believe even with a new boat - purchase her right away…

You can do the repair in multiple ways. From a simple light sanding maybe filling and varnishing to a careful cutting of the damaged area and replacement with a new veneer (I would probably do the first).

Good luck!

[Mondonico]

Originally Posted by carlosproa

If you are not too handy, I would just fill the voids of the plywood, sand smooth and then epoxy. Sand again for grip and base coat and paint white

Why does one need to grip the trim piece?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Mondonico

Why does one need to grip the trim piece?

My guess is he is speaking of some tooth to paint on?

[Mondonico]

Originally Posted by Cadence

My guess is he is speaking of some tooth to paint on?

Oh, then he means "etch."

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Mondonico

Oh, then he means "etch."

No a little roughness for a mechanical bite rather than purely chemical. Just a SWAG as to what he meant.
Maybe he will reply.