Concrete repair to a wood deck

[Ramona]

I would suggest replacing as much ply as possible and then a full covering of construction ply. Sheave the deck with either epoxy and fibreglass cloth or acrylic bathroom sealant and reinforcing cloth. The stuff that's used under tiles in shower recesses. Overcoat with one of the acrylic deck paints or pool deck finishes. Try to use domestic materials used in the local building industry.
Avoid fibreglass over ply.

[jakkum]

I did not read all the comments, but having worked with steel, wood and grp, I have some ideas, perhaps even knowledge.
I'd certainly add some reinforcement in the concrete, without, it will crack.
Even some layers of birdcage gause will work. Plastering a wall asks for some fibers too.
Glass , normally used with grp could work, but glass and the very alkaline concrete do not go together well. But there is glass that is especially made for reinforcement in concrete.
Try to find that.

[Sailorbob8599]

One of your biggest concerns appears to be 'rain' so can you not rig tarps to protect your boat from the elements whilst you proceed with repairs?
Also, if you cannot afford deck type wood such as the original mahogany or teak, why not go the old fashioned way? Strip the old mahogany, repair the plywood as recommended by others, and then apply a cover of heavy canvas over which you can apply a couple of coats of a hard wearing Paint.

Canvas covered decks were very common in the boat building industry many years ago, and it's a job that pretty much anyone can do alone. Of course, you'll need to determine what modern paint can be applied over the canvas, but that's why the paint companies employ representatives . . . to give you advice.
I'm thinking of something like a two part epoxy floor paint which is very hard wearing. I used it on my garage floor some years ago, and it still looks good.

I'm assuming there are such people employed by the paint manufacturers wherever you are located . . . which is Malaysia by the sound of it.

[Ramona]

The acrylic bathroom sealant and cloth is pretty much the same as the old canvas deck.

[Cadence]

I remember cabin tops done with canvas not decks. It was in the days of oil based paint. Probably circa 1920s or 30s. It seems money is the problem. Someone suggested checking on local woods and craftsmen to replace the deck. A half assed fix is going to be only a stop gap.

If he can screw a thin plywood over a patch job on the current decking and West or System Three it, He may have something, worth while.

[Snowpetrel]

There have been a few old wooden boats sheathed in ferro cement with some success. In these cases the chicken wire and reo rods were stapled to the wood then plastered with good quality cement and properly cured. This way the ferro cement largely replaced the structure of the wood as well as waterproofing the boat.

Inevitably this was usually a last ditch attempt to keep an old rotten wooden boat sailing and it worked somewhat, though issues with the hull deck joint and floors and bulkhead bonding usually caused proplems.

Also it is hard to get complete penetration though the mesh against the wood, so often voids would be left where the armiture rusted away.

I recently read an older wooden boat magazine that featured a motorsailer that was ferro sheathed. They weren't as scathing of it as I thought WB might have been.

Saying that cement isn't cheap these days, and its pretty hard to undo with the reo in it. If it were me i'd use plywood. I certainly wouldn't use unreinforced concrete as any sort of structural repair.

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[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Cadence

............ A half assed fix is going to be only a stop gap. ................

It will be worse than a "stop gap" because at some point it will have to be undone so a proper repair can be made.

[Sailorbob8599]

Originally Posted by rwidman

It will be worse than a "stop gap" because at some point it will have to be undone so a proper repair can be made.

To do a "proper" repair takes money; and that seems to be in short supply with this owner as it is with a great many who post here.

[SV Windrush II]

Yes, money is a big issue with wooden boats because most people that purchase them make the mistake of thinking it will fit in a low budget plan. But to keep a wooden boat up its like purchasing the boat repeatedly after every few years.

I have owned my carvel planked plywood decked Mariner 40 for 6 years now and have put into it 3 times what I have paid for it already and it still needs work aaaagggg.
and that is doing 90% of the work myself!

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Sailorbob8599

To do a "proper" repair takes money; and that seems to be in short supply with this owner as it is with a great many who post here.

And making a half assed repair will cost him more because he will have to pay to undo it before he can have a proper repair done.

Maybe he can just cover the deck with a tarp until he wins the lottery.

[Lawrence]

To all of you kind enough to reply to my tale of woe, thank you for your comments, they are truly appreciated.even the ones I don't want to hear.
Some more background on the situation until I figure out how to respond to each posting individually.
The underlying problems are economic, environmental,and psychological.
Two years ago when I left the boat here I had the deck prepped for protection. I had it sealed and primed. But the tent I had made to keep the rain off leaked around the mast and rigging,and did not extend down far enough to cover part of the hull. Also water would pool between the life lines and the boom and cause tremendous stress resulting in water ingress through the cap rails where the stantions were bent over.
The grey primer caused the deck to overheat and crack and the rot started unabated.
I have had great success on several large deck covers by covering them with a cotton cloth similar to cheese cloth and painting with an oil based primer and enamel top coat. I planned to do this over the whole deck. But that was before the rot set in.
The marina offers no services, no electricity and no water and they are trying to sell out to a Chimese invester. One business offering services ashore has been evicted.
Believe it or not, I hold by the principal that if it's worth doing then do it right.
I agree with the "replace the deck "advocates. The reality is if I removed the deck down to the deck beams, as should be done, I would soon be totally overwhelmed by the task. My thoughts were to uncover bad deck portions in manageable pieces and repair with concrete and move on to the next section. I put the question out there to see if I could fix problems before it was too late.
To those of you responding from Thailand and the Phillipines, do you have a suitable yard in mind where the help speaks English, the yard can haul a 65 ton boat with a 2.8 meter draft, and what is the going daily rate ?
I hope this further explanation helps with an understanding of my dilemma.

[ranchero76]

Here's my experience, not boat-related, though.
Once upon a time I had plywood on my house deck damaged/rotten due to finishing coat being damaged. I didn't want to replace plywood - too much work. And I came up with idea to use some sort of concrete to fill the damaged spots. I also knew that regular concrete is not flexible and doesn't stick to wood/plywood very well, specially if take in consideration that deck flexes as you walk on it. So I thought - why not to try cement for tiles instead of regular cement mix? It's formulated to stick to variety of surfaces, very strong, and more expensive types of tile cement actually allow some flexibility. And it can be applied thin or thick.
So I've dried and cleaned all damaged spots, and then primed with good thinned 2K primer - to seal all surface. Then I filled all damaged spots with tile adhesive cement. Then (after cement had dried) primed all surface again with 2K primer, and then painted whole deck with weatherproof coating. And you know what? It's perfect! As long, as you will watch out and renew top coating, it's all fine! While Pacific Coast weather not as harsh as weather at sea, it's still very bad - dump and rainy.
Only one drawback - good tile cement is few times more expensive comparing to regular mortar, but still, you can do A LOT of repairs with single bag of tile cement.
Hope this helps.

[Get-away]

Cheapest yard I'm aware of is in Satun Thailand Phithak Shipyard - never used them but heard good things. Details here - l ::: Phithak Shipyard and Services :: Satun Thailand

Phuket, Ratanachai are easily capable of hauling you and doing the work, get a quote before committing though. They're used to repairing wooden boats and are quite capable. There are a few knowledgeable English speaking staff here too. Details here - Ratanachai-Slipway: boatbuliding and repair service

You don't say where in Malaysia you are, but if you can get to Langkawi, it duty free which is a big advantage for importing boat stuff and stocking up with beer!

[Lawrence]

Four years ago I sent emails to a local paint manufacturer in Malaysia asking advice about using their paint in my application. After a few weeks of no reply I visited their factory and managed to talk to the director. Ultimately he would not give advice for liability reasons. That was Pentens paint. I also did the same thing at the Chicogu and Nippon factories. I got the best response from Jotun, which is why I use their primer.
Where I am located it is 32 Kms to the nearest civilized location, and store owners have no knowledge outside of their limited sphere of influence.

[Lawrence]

I am on the island of Pulau Indah, 32 Kms to Port Klang. My last haul out was in the town shipyard in Satun, unable to properly communicate with the help, and no experience with yachts. I have visited PSS many times, mainly to find supplies. They have tapped in to the yachtie market and price themselves accordingly. I could haul out there maybe two days in any given month because of the tide.