Morning all!
My (new to me) 1969 Mariner 31 had a significant, uncorrected leak on the starboard
salon wall that I initially thought was due to a failed silicone bedded portlight job some number of years ago. After removing quite a bit of soaked
plywood, I began to realize that while the window was leaking, the damage extended well beyond just that port light. I eventually discovered the nucleus of my problem is an accent trim piece that runs along the exterior of the
cabin, about 1” square. It appears over the last 50 years, the
fiberglass at the top edge of this trim piece has deteriorated to the point where it’s more
paint joining the top to the bottom than
fiberglass.
While I’m very glad to have discovered this problem, it has presented me with a dilemma. I can fairly easily replace about a 6’ by 3’ piece of 1”
plywood and glass both sides but given newer designs don’t use
core it has occurred to me that it may be easier/better for longevity purposes to
layup several layers of 1708 with
epoxy resin and just use
wood as decoration on the inside without any structural properties in the
wood. This idea is spawned from the fact that the original plywood
core was only glassed on the exterior.
Interior face was painted and that appears to be the case around the entire
salon top. The original fiberglass skin is no more than 2-3 layers and given the extreme
rot is the only thing that’s been holding the roof for many years, so any glass properly tabbed is going to be a significant improvement from its state over the last however many years.
So my question, has anyone else ever chosen to forgo a core and use
epoxy laminate with 1708 as a replacement in similar scenarios? Advantages/disadvantages? How many plys should I
layup if going this
route?
Linear Mode
Recent Discussions