Is the cockpit sole cored?

timangiel · #1 05-03-2007

I have a crack in my cockpit sole that I need to repair. Is this an area that is typically cored? I have a 1979 S2 8.0 B.

Faster · #2 05-03-2007

That area is almost certainly cored... whether with balsa or plywood, there will be something in there and if it's managed to get seriously wet you will have a fair sized repair job.

sailingfool · #3 05-03-2007

I would agree that the cockpit sole would typically be cored - you can usually tell cored sections if you can look at the underside - the core section is thicker than the surrounding solid glass.

sailingdog · #4 05-03-2007

Tim-

While the cockpit sole is normally cored on boats with a cored deck, it really depends on what you mean by crack. Is this a crack in the gelcoat, with no damage to the underlying laminate? Is this a crack that allows daylight to be seen inside the boat? Or is this something in-between?

Also, the extent of the repair will be affected by how long the crack has been there. Is it new? If so, what caused it? If not, how long has it been there? Has water gotten in? If so, has the core started to rot? Has the fiberglass started to separate from the core?

timangiel · #5 05-05-2007

The crack goes all the way across the sole in a straight line from the port to the starboard side. It was repaired before by the PO who used epoxy to fill the crack. I suspect that the manner in which the previous repair was made was well intended, but maybe not the best way to go about it. The crack seems to have opened up over the winter. I would guess that some moisture got inside and froze over the winter. It is starting to delaminate along the crack now

sailingdog · #6 05-06-2007

UGH... you got some serious fiberglassing work ahead of you I think.

Paysay · #7 05-07-2007

There are, no doubt, a few existing pentrations through you're cockpit sole. You could open up one of these penetrations and see if there is any coring material in there. My 1989 Pearson has a 10" x 10" piece of 1/2" plywood imbedded in the sole at the base of the binnacle. The rest of the cockpit sole appears to be solid fiberglass. Either way, it sounds like this crack is structural and you'll have a big job on your hands.

Now, let me try to encourage you a little. Recoring a wet or rotted deck, or a structural crack in the fiberglass seams like a HUGE job. It's big, but not huge. The average do-it-yourselfer can do this. There are books like Don Casey's "Sailboat Hull and Deck Depair" and the internet such like West Systems web site that offer a lot of good advice on this topic. You can do it. You'll save a ton of money and end up with a job of which you can say "I did it myself".

duffer1960 · #8 05-10-2007

As long as you can get underneath your cockpit sole, it isn't too hard. I recored mine last spring (Catalina 38) from underneath. Yes, it was a big job, but not hard. The hardest part was washing the epoxy out of my hair every evening. There is/was a website where someone described how they recored theirs from the top by cutting out the top gelcoat/glass layer. Unfortunately I can't remember what it was. Don't be scared.

sailingdog · #9 05-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by duffer1960

As long as you can get underneath your cockpit sole, it isn't too hard. I recored mine last spring (Catalina 38) from underneath. Yes, it was a big job, but not hard. The hardest part was washing the epoxy out of my hair every evening. There is/was a website where someone described how they recored theirs from the top by cutting out the top gelcoat/glass layer. Unfortunately I can't remember what it was. Don't be scared.

Doing it from the underside is more difficult and has gravity working against you. Doing it from the top means that if you want the repair to look nice, you're going to have to take extra time finishing off the repair and gelcoating it properly. Six of one, half-dozen of the other...really depends on whether you want to be able to get the bulk of the repair done quickly (top side) and spend more time finishing up or get the repair done slowly but have less finishing work to do.

duffer1960 · #10 05-11-2007

Luckily I had bookmarked the website regarding the cockpit sole repair by removing the topside gelcoat/glass.
I still think doing it from underneath is easier.
Sole Wars I: The Phantom Balsa