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Soft Floor in Cockpit

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Carl Harden
Deckhand

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4 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/30/2003 : 08:34:47

The floor / deck in my cockpit is soft

and "SQUSHIE" ( technical phrase ). I assume

the coring is bad.. how do I go about repairing

and or replacing.

Carl Harden

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 01/30/2003 : 08:56:26

Hi Carl,

I've not been afflicted with this problem but have read of the solutions others found to be successful. Essentially what you're up against is draining the mush out of the flooring(spell that drilling a pattern of holes on the under side of the floor) and allowing the mess to exit. I think an outlet there allowing a wetvac to suck it dry would speed up an otherwise slow process. Having accomplished this chore it's necessary to inpregnate the chamber between upper skin and lower skin with an epoxy mix, some mentioned ROT BLOCK type mixtures. I seem to recall one person removing the lower skin and replacing the plywood flooring and the epoxying the skin and all back in place. It's imperative that the cause of the delamination be located and repaired as well, else it is sure to fail again. I suspect that the scuppers on the transom are the main culprits, but any cracks in the gelcoat in the cockpit be suspect also. You might do well to check the archives at the top of the page on this matter for first hand advice.

Good luck

Val on the hard DAGNABIT

Val Bisagni

Edited by - on

Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

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1595 Posts

Response Posted - 01/30/2003 : 18:12:34

You might want to have a look at a product called rot doctor. Try www.rotdocktor.com

Doug&Ruth
Triska (Alberg 29)
Tacoma Wa.

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Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

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1595 Posts

Response Posted - 01/30/2003 : 18:13:53

www.rotdoctor.com

Doug&Ruth
Triska (Alberg 29)
Tacoma Wa.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/30/2003 : 19:07:01

Carl,

I found this question concerning deck rot on SailNet. In it, Tom Wood describes a repair technique that you may want to try. Here it is,

<b>Repairing Fiberglass Decks</b>

I have a small area on the foredeck of my 1973 C & C that moves up and down and is soft. How do I repair this delamination and will I have to paint the entire nonskid area after the repair?

Tom Wood responds:

Yes, it could be delaminated. But chances are that the end-grain balsa that C&C used in its construction has somehow become soaked with water and is rotted. These problems are not hard to make structurally sound again, especially if the boat is laid up for the winter. The big problem, as you rightfully point out, is the cosmetic repair after the structural repair is made.

If both the inner and outer fiberglass laminations are in good shape, drill 1/4-inch holes in a pattern about one inch apart over the whole area that is "spongy." Drill back until your drill bit comes up with dry, solid balsa core. Be careful not to drill through the inner laminate—just through the outer fiberglass and the core. Do this in the fall and let the core dry out all winter. Build a tent over the area to make absolutely certain that no rain or snow gets in, but allows free air circulation over the area. In the spring, fill an empty large syringe or blank caulking cartridge with catalyzed epoxy resin and force it into all the holes. Mop up the overage, put down a piece of waxed paper, and set a few pounds of weight on the area. After it cures in about 24 hours, you can sand and refinish.

It the core comes up completely rotten on your first few holes, you'll need to cut or grind away the entire top laminate and remove all the rotted core. If you carefully cut around the damaged area with a router, die-grinder, or Dremel tool, you may be able to pry the outer laminate off in one piece. Chip and grind out all the old core, glue in new coring with epoxy, and either glue down the original top laminate that you pulled off or feather the edges and re-laminate with new fiberglass and epoxy resin. Sand and fair when done.

Now, the hard part. The work area can be sanded, faired, and re-gelcoated to look original, but this job is not easily accomplished by most sailors. Paint is the next choice, but it will leave an obvious-looking patch unless you now paint the entire deck. Covering with decking material such as Treadmaster is often the easiest—while a boat with one piece of Treadmaster on the foredeck might look odd, it can be accomplished in less than a few hours and it actually helps seal the repair.

Don Lucier, 'North Star'
C25 SR/FK
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2cc32b3127cce92e981259d130000001010" border=0>
Cradled on the hard, 200ft from Lake Erie

Edited by - on

ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 01/30/2003 : 22:25:02

With respect to core repairs, a tip I got from somewhere else (where?) and have used a couple times is, when cutting out a section of mush, chop off the blade of your jigsaw so it cuts just down to the inner liner, presuming you are working top-down (working bottom-up is for 10+masochists only). If all goes well, you can remove the entire upper (outer) glass in one piece, shovel out the mush core down to the inner liner, clean the bejasus out of everything with acetone, etc. Then butter the whole area with marinetex or epoxy slurry of choice, put down new core (I am fond of plywood), more epoxy slush, and put back the piece of original deck you removed. Cleanup and paint after, I am not a good enough workman to get so perfect a repair that noone would know, but usually from a couple feet away its invisible. And it is STRONG as hell. My wife accuses me of hanging pictures with half inch bolts, so strong is what I like. Good Luck, ron srsk #2343 1981 Orion SW FL

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