Advice needed: Soft deck around Stanchion

[bepawi]

I recently bought a 27ft O'day....there has been heavy leaking around 2 stanchions and the area is soft.....I would really appreciate any advice on repairing the deck and rebeding the stanchions....Looking forward to your advice.............

[Beersmith]

Download and read this:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/...aintenance.pdf

Goes over what you need to do to repair the core and re-bed the stanchion.

[JKCatalina310]

This guy is a fountain of information. Check out his blog and he has just about something for every maintenance task you need to do.

Here is the one on "potting" deck hardware.

Good luck.

By the way, I love the O'Day 27's. My friend has one and it sails great.

[L124C]

I recommend Don Casey's book "Sailboat Maintenance". It's a little pricey, but covers almost everything you need to know regarding maintenance on a sailboat. Having said that, I have never heard of good results with the blow dry method he suggests as an alternative to removing and replacing the core (which he also covers). This specific repair has been covered in detail in this forum, in both articles and threads. I recommend searching the forum before posting.

[sailingdog]

I wouldn't recommend Don Casey's instructions, as he still recommends letting the sealant cure before fully tightening down the screws, which is a good way to almost guarantee the hardware leaking.

Maine Sail has good instructions on bedding deck hardware.

[sailor50]

Try Git Rot.

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by sailor50

Try Git Rot.

Git Rot is pretty useless on WET BALSA CORE OR PLYWOOD....

[mitiempo]

No epoxy or product like Git Rot will adhere to wet core. It will cure but without good adhesion to its surroundings it is useless.
Drying core by drilling a few holes doesn't work except for the core very close to the holes drilled. The only way to do a proper repair is to remove the wet core, replace it with new dry core, and glass over it. It is much easier to do from the top but can be done from below - messier and a lot harder to do a good job though.

[L124C]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

I wouldn't recommend Don Casey's instructions, as he still recommends letting the sealant cure before fully tightening down the screws, which is a good way to almost guarantee the hardware leaking.
Maine Sail has good instructions on bedding deck hardware.

Casey's not the only one who recommends that procedure with caulk. Personally, I've become a recent convert to Butyl Tape instead of caulk, and there is an excellent sticky on the subject here.

If your stanchions are installed with "screws" instead of through bolts, I think you have other issues, which I would certainly address when repairing the deck (or even if the deck didn't need repair!).

On most boats under 35 feet, I say...get rid of the stanchions and the lines that are attached to them, thereby eliminating the problem altogether (and others IMO) . But then...thats another thread (search for it if interested)!

[QuickMick]

this book has a great section on your project, as well as many others too:

Amazon.com: Spurr's Guide to Upgrading Your Cruising Sailboat (Spurrs Guide) (9780071455367): Dan Spurr: Books