balsa core repair

[jbondy]

This is an important thread, with lots of good info for folks faced with this kind of repair. Having done this both from the top and from underneath, I add my vote to the "it's better on top" crowd. Maybe if the area is open enough to allow good bracing, or you're already into the equipment needed to do vacuum bagging it makes sense to do from underneath, but for most of us, that's not the case. hen working from above, you're not fighting gravity and everything you need to access can be gotten to easily.

I totally botched an underside repair, which I atempted to try to preserve the non-skid. Because it was where the chainplates pass through the deck, I decided to make it solid glass so that there would be no core to rot in the event of future water incursion. I used thickened epoxy expecting it to hold each layer glass in place until it set. The glass sagged, and while I was trying to smooth and it up from below, the epoxy hardened, leaving voids. So I ended up filling the voids from above with epoxy, drilling holes into the non-skid I was determined to preserve. The uneven nature of the glass I had laid in from underneath allowed the thin epoxy used to fill to run down into the cabin. I had to take an epoxied piece of plywood that I covered with very thickened epoxy to put a layer underneath to seal it all up so I could fill from above. The space was so constrained that I could not block the plywood in place from below, so I had to drill through the deck and use screws from above to hold the plywood in place until the epoxy cured. Now I had more holes to fill. I should have ground out my sgged glass and started over, but by this time I was too far along. It eventually worked out, but I'd have been done days earlier if I had just gone in from above.

The above story was for a 10" by 16" section of deck. I recored the entire fore and aft decks of my Typhoon from above in less time than this small repair took from below. But individual results may vary.

[OrangeOwl]

Originally Posted by Gary M

I have an S2 9.1, which all have deck coring issues.

I happen to be looking at an S2 9.1 and the survey turned up some soggy spots in the deck. Does anyone have a recent idea on cost for these repairs (especially if done by the yard - between work and small kids the spare time for a few recore jobs isn't really there). Looking for an idea on how much to negotiate off the price.

[sailingdog]

OrangeOwl—

You're a bit OT and probably would be much better off starting a new thread asking about repair prices... it ain't gonna be cheap. It would also help if you said more about where the soggy spots were, since if they involve removing and rebedding hardware, the costs are going to go up. It would also help if you said where you were located, since someone may know of a vendor that can do the work or who to avoid.

I'd highly recommend you read the POST in my signature to help you get the most out of your time here. It has tips on searching sailnet, writing a good post, etc..

[camaraderie]

Orange....walk away. You can't possibly know the cost if there are multiple spots and to fix professionally will be a large portion of the total boat value in this case.

[US27inKS]

Originally Posted by OrangeOwl

Looking for an idea on how much to negotiate off the price.

Almost all of it.

[timangiel]

If you recore from the top, and the area to be repaired is an area with non-skid, can the non-skid be restored or are you forced to make it smooth and cover with a non-skid paint?

[NOLAsailing]

It is possible to restore the molded in non-skid pattern. Not easy and perhaps not perfect (a disclosure: I've looked into it but never done it). There's a company called GibCo Flex Mold. They make the non-skid patterns placed into the molds when boats are laid up. They also sell sheets of their pattern material and directions for how to do the repair.

Essentially, you complete the recore and fair the area. Then you securely tape of the area you'll be reapplying the pattern to (excess gelcoat will squeeze out). You pour color matched gelcoat onto the area and press the mold pattern securely into place after spraying it with a non-stick agent. You let the gelcoat cure, remove the pattern, and voila.

One very cool thing is that the company will send you a pattern kit for the asking. You bring it out to your boat, match the pattern to your non-skid, and place the order.

edit: here's a link to their basic webpage: Gibco Flex-Mold - your pattern source