soft deck

[petelesperance]

theres a wee bit of moisture in the balsa core on the deck of a boat im interested in, its not to expensive this boat very nice and i love it but there is a wee bit of softness. Now can a boat get away with this strength, structural integrity wise?

also, are stress cracks in the gelcoat on the deck grave to the structural integrity aswell? thank you

peter

[Vasco]

What make is the boat? Where is the moisture? What is a "wee" bit. How big is the wet patch? The fix is usually very time consuming ranging from injecting epoxy to cutting out the deck and replacing the core and re-glassing. One wet spot might not be a problem but usually if the deck core is wet it won't be just one spot unless it's near a poor hardware installation.

[petelesperance]

its a 1977 shark 24 special made for the ostar, a wee patch is about 3 feet square, and it is directly behind the cockpit towards the stern. time really isnt a concern i suppose> thanks for your advice

[Vasco]

Was this the Shark that Bob Lush sailed in the Ostar? Because if it is he added a bit to the stern to make the minimum length.

[petelesperance]

mm it is. it looks very nice

[George Elliott]

Does anyone know what happened to Bob Lush? I was in Bluffers with him for a couple of years, met up again in Charleston and just missed him in the Bahamas in '93. Heard he went back and lost 6 pac. Thanks George

[Vasco]

Bob's still around. He's still got six-pack. Was in town recently for some eye surgery. I've seen him on and off for the last ten years in my travels. As for the soft deck, it's from Bob extending it to 26 feet to meet the Ostar requirements. If the price is right I wouldn't worry too much about that patch, it can be fixed.

[George Elliott]

Hey Vasco Thanks, the next time you see him say hi from George on Thalia, I'm in am Samoa. Cheers George

[rebel heart]

3' square is a pretty good sized area. If it's not structural you can just pump some epoxy into it and call it good. Or you can cut that section out and replace it, like patching a hole. Epoxy is pretty simple.

There seem to be a lot of cracks in laminate; I wouldn't take it too seriously.

For all of this of course (and a gazillion other reasons) you need a proper marine survey. Super valuable.