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Brown goop

1K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  gnusailor 
#1 ·
Somewhere I read about fiberglass core disintegration and the resin becoming acidic, and that an indication was brownish weeping (staining) around hardware and windows. Now I can't find it. Did I dream it, or was that real?

Also, I am looing at a cheaper (< $3k) Merit 22 with a repaired hull... cracks around the centerboard trunk, which I understand is common. If they are properly repaid, are they safe and secure, or do I need to keep looking?

... and while I am asking... what is the possibility of a mast warping from being tied down too tightly and heating in the noon day sun... so to speak?
 
#3 ·
... Did I dream it, or was that real?
It seems you are combining two different problems with fiberglass boats: blisters and rotten core material.

Blisters involve the destruction of the gel coat and the outermost layer of the hull by pockets of acidic solution in the exterior layer of roving under the gel coat through the process of osmosis. It rarely affects the structure of the hull itself.

Core rot involves the destruction of core material, usually balsa wood or plywood, between layers of fiberglass, usually on the deck or cabin of the boat, although some fiberglass boats have cored hulls, either above-the-waterline or completely. Brown water seeping from fittings through the deck or cabin are an indication that the core material is rotting.
 
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