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Cored deck soft spot repair

57K views 80 replies 41 participants last post by  Hudsonian 
#1 ·
Hi,
I know this has been asked here before, I did a search on this forum and many others but still have a few questions. I’m new to doing work on boats and I just recently moved into my ’76 Catalina 27. I got the boat for a pretty good price and it seemed very solid. I also did have several people in the know (as far as boats are concerned) tell me the same.

I have been noticing a few smaller soft spots on the deck lately (forgive my terminology or lack there of) near the edge of the deck on the side where the mast stays are bolted down. I have one soft spot on the port side that is about 2-3 sqft and another in the same place on the starboard that’s about 1 sqft. I’ve been doing a lot of research about how to fix this. I am a bit concerned with the location of the spots due to the fact that my rigging is bolted there, which is most likely what caused it anyway (water seeping through the bolt holes.) I did notice that it looks like some glass work has been done in that area on the port side before so maybe its possible it wasn't done right the first time. Either way, Im planning on waterproofing all my bolt holes on deck when I figure out what I’m going to do about the soft spots.

I’ve read about the “drill and fill” options where you basically pump epoxy into the core but have found very few people actually advocating this. I know that injecting epoxy into a hole full of wet (Im assuming) plywood isn’t going to solve anything, but I live aboard in a marina in the Tampa area, it rains a lot, and if I start cutting my deck apart to replace an entire section of core, I have no idea (whether being in a boat yard, or in my slip) how I’m going to keep everything dry. Im not even totally conviced I can do it myself. Im pretty handy but Im not completely sold on the idea of tearing into my deck. Is there anyone out there who has done this themselves or who has had success with the drill-and-fill method? Any thoughts at all? I am planning a haul out towards the end of the year (after the rainy seasion) so I could do the work while on the hard but it will all still be weather permitting.

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Nick
 
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#2 ·
I would first suggest that the rigging attachments of your shrounds to the chainplates and the security of your chainplates is most important; however, the soft spots in your deck would be more of a cosmetic than a structural problem. I'm assuming your chainplates pass through this deck and are fast secured to structures beneath the deck. I have repaired several areas of my deck across the state from you, but also in rainy Florida. I far prefer the removal of the layer of fiberglass above the wet core and replacing the core. I used a rotary tool (like a Dremel) with a cutting wheel to remove the deck top layer and scraped out the sodden core. After this task, that can be completed in a couple hours, you can brush in a thin layer of epoxy to seal your work from the afternoon thunderstorm. After positioning your new core and grinding it to a level prepared for replacing your deck plate, you can again finish your morning work with a brushing of epoxy to seal for rain. Be sure to "feather" the seam at the perimeter of your repair to extend the surface area of the bond between your new deck surface and the old so that cracks won't develop outlining your repair. Take care and joy, Aythya crew
 
#3 ·
Well, I have 3 side stays on that side, and all of them are in the area of the soft spot. They are bolted directly into the deck with a small piece of aluminum ( about 4 inches long) on the inside of the cabin as a backing plate. Ive looked at other setups of chain plates where they are built into the corner of the structure and mine are not light that. My deck is just glassed into the corner of the hull and I have a single timber support right under the mast that holds up the deck. My prime concern is that if the deck gets too soft, those stays might start to come up and then Ive got a full thickness problem. My second concern and the only reason I got this deep in thought about it, is if there is water in the core causing the delamination, its only a matter of time before it spreads across more of my deck. Am I right? I am perfectly comfortable in leaving it and writing it off as a causmetic issue if it doesn't get any worse. I just won't step there if I don't need to, but Im concerned that next year, theres going to be another square foot worth of soft and the job gets bigger.

I appreciate that you walked me through the job, that helps a lot. Thanks, I guess I just needed to hear from someone who's actually done it out in the elements. I know I can attach the stays to the toe rail to do the job and I will definitely make improvements to my chain plate situation when the job is done. I plan on painting the entire deck shortly after I finish the job.

You mentioned feathering out the finish to prevent cracking, but you never mentioned actually glassing over it after its done....Would you glass it or just epoxy it since Im basically just replacing the old glass back in its place? Also, as far as getting a new piece of core to fit, is there any trick to that? There is a slight curvature to the deck and I have a feeling that its not going to be the easiest thing in the world to get a brand new piece to just fit in nicely. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks a lot for all the info so far.
 
#5 ·
You mentioned feathering out the finish to prevent cracking, but you never mentioned actually glassing over it after its done....Would you glass it or just epoxy it since Im basically just replacing the old glass back in its place?
If your deck core isn't rotted away or wet, but just delaminated from the fiberglass skin- then just filling with epoxy will be a permanent fix, without any glassing.

If the deck core has been left flexible long enough, the flexing can fatigue crack the fiberglass under and over the core. In this case, you'll need to re-enforce these cracks with new cloth, especially from underneath. On my C22, one of the cockpit benches would flex like 1" down when stood on, and I found the fiberglass underneath the core cracked through. After epoxying it back together, and covering the crack with new cloth from underneath, it's good as new.
 
#4 ·
I've had excellent luck using a "drill and fill" technique for soft decks on my 1974 Catalina 22. It's important to dry the deck core completely first- I was lucky and mine was already dried out. I've heard you can dry it out with many small holes, and displace some of the water with a solvent, like acetone.

On mine, I drilled a few holes, and glued film canisters over them with a hole drilled in the bottom- as funnels. I kept these full with unthickened west system epoxy, and pushed on the deck with my hands to "pump" the epoxy between the fiberglass and the wood core. After hardening, I removed the film canisters, chamfered the holes with a drill bit, and filled with gel-coat patch. It's been one year, and these parts of the deck feel more solid than the rest of the boat still.
 
#6 ·
As an alternative filler consider either chopped glassfibre or chopped carbon fibre in resin which you can buy in large amounts quite cheaply from automobile repair supply shops. I have used the carbon fibre variety as a core when filling in a cut out in a sandwiched ply and glassfibre bulkhead.
 
#7 ·
Awesome info....Ill look into the chopped glass and resin. Im sure my core is wet, before I do the repair, I need to fix a lot of improperly installed hardware on the deck thats been leaking. (Im almost positive its the chainplates leaking most of the water.) Anyone ever used CPES? Ive been reading about it and it seems like it works really well if the deck is dried completely. Also, Im planning to hollow out and make an epoxy bed around my chainplates so this doesn't happen again.

Casioqv
how big were the soft spots you fixed? I have a pretty large but narrow area, approx. 5 ft. x 1 ft. along the portlights where the port stays are bolted into the deck.

Im looking seriously into CPES but Im thinking it would be better, and not much more work or expense just to recore.....I just dont like the idea of cutting up my deck when Ive never worked with fiberglass before.

Thoughts anyone?
 
#8 ·
Sync

How did your repair go?

I have recently purchased a 1974? Catalina 27. Guess what... a soft spot around the stanchion nearest the side stays. Fortunately it is small and contained to that area immediately around the stanchion. However, the proximity to the stays does concern me. The last owner lived aboard and did not sail or maintain the boat as she should have. It looks like the stanchion should have been re-bedded or at least sealed because it appears to have been leaking for a while. The soft spot appears to only extend about an inch maybe two from the base of the stanchion.

I am curious to hear about the experience, technique and results.

Anyone else with Catalina soft spot experience is welcome to chime in.

My previous boat (the one soon to head to craigslist) is a Catalina 22... love/d it... but I wanted a little more room inside.

Thanks

Wingnut247 Washington State
 
#9 ·
I have some wet spots on my 33 Morgan's deck near the mast boot. The boot is completely sealed, but nonetheless there are wet spots. I talked with a fiberglass repair guy at the marina who said he can fix the problem by drilling a few holes in the top of the cabin, then attaching a Hi-Vac to the lowest hole and over a period of a few days, draw the water from the balsa core. He then pours acetone into the highest hole while the Hi-Vac is still running and draws it through the core to finish the drying process. Next, he pours a very slow drying Epoxy into the highest hole, again while the Hi-Vac is still running. When the Epoxy resin reaches the Hi-Vac he shuts it down, waits about 4 days, then seals the fares the openings. He said the process essentially solidifies that portion of the core that was previously wet, adheres it tightly to the surrounding fiberglass, and does not add a significant amount of weight. No, it's not as good as new, but if everything goes well it should last about 20 years, which is longer than I'll probably be on Planet Earth.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how the repairs progress,

Gary :cool:
 
#11 ·
This, like most other "quick-fix" methods generally results in a pretty lousy repair. Epoxy does not adhere to wet core materials as a general rule and this type of repair doesn't really dry the core out. In most cases, the water has taken months to penetrate the balsa core, and unless the core has disintegrated almost completely, it will take a long time for it to yield up the water it has taken so long to absorb.

Letting the epoxy saturate the area in this method will make replacing the core material when you do a proper repair job much more difficult. If you're going to fix this, please do it the right way and remove one side of the laminate, clear out the wet core material and then replace it and then glass in a new skin to replace what you removed.
 
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#10 ·
A couple of steps I would take

Congrats on the recent purchase. Good luck with her.

If it was me, here is what I would do:

1) The water coming into the deck is the first problem. This is likely leaking around penetrations for deck hardware (i.e. the bolts that hold down stanchions, cleats, jib tracks, chain plates, etc.). This is called "re-bedding" and is not uncommon; I have a 2001 Catalina 310 and I have to deal with this issue this spring. I would suggest you go to Maine Sail's site and searching these forums for details on how to do this.

2) If you core damage around the deck hardware, you should fix this before you re-bed the hardware. Again, not uncommon (I have this issue around one of my stanchions). And again I would recommend you look at Maine Sail's site and search the forums for details on how to do this. It is called "potting".

3) Then, if the deck damage is bad enough, look at the epoxy injection or core replacement.

Hope this helps.

JK
 
#19 · (Edited)
Thank you sir... may I have another.

Congrats on the recent purchase. Good luck with her.
Thanks

If it was me, here is what I would do:

1) The water coming into the deck is the first problem... I would suggest you go to Maine Sail's site and searching these forums for details on how to do this.
GREAT site link. Looks like the way to go. I have rebedded a small sailboat before... while I feel like I did a good job, I see now that I could have done a little better. (Flare/counter sink) Live and learn... I will try this technique at the end of summer on the rest of the boat (that is not leaking yet) as well as the repair to the current problem spot.

Very helpful thanks.

2) If you core damage around the deck hardware, you should fix this before you re-bed the hardware...
Yes... otherwise I'd seal in the moisture and the problem would get worse.

3) Then, if the deck damage is bad enough, look at the epoxy injection or core replacement.
Yeah. With it being a small area (and not under the mast or vital chain plate), I think I will try the epoxy injection first (time and money being a factor). If the problem comes back... I will re-core.

Hope this helps.
JK
Yes Thanks.

Now two new questions...

1). How fast do you think this problem will spread?

2). The weather is crappy for the next couple months. Temperature in the 30's to low 40's and rain right now. What can/should I do to prevent more damage with "quick" damage control fix?

Thanks

-Wingnut247
 
#12 ·
I'll let you know if it works! :) I'll also let you know if it does not work. I was told that using the Hi-Vac system that 99-percent of the moisture will be removed, but it's not something that takes a few hours--it takes days of constant high-vacuum suctioning before the acetone is injected for the completion of the drying process. At today's labor prices, the cost of replacing the core and then re-doing the deck surfaces would likely be higher than the cost of the boat. Hey, if I get another 10 years out of this old tub, and I don't loose too many of my body parts in the next decade, I'll be more than happy with the repair. A decade from now both me and the boat will be ready for the scrap yard. ;)

Cheers,

Gary :cool:
 
#13 ·
Gary,

PLEASE keep in mind that acetone can SOFTEN and can potentially DESTROY any bonding you have left between the balsa and the glass skins. I have seen the results of both drill & fill and vacuum dried/filled decks. I can assure you it is a band-aid at best. If the boat was hand laid the resin usually just rides the kerfs but the acetone has already softened the bond so you really get...well .. a high tech solution that really solves little... You can almost always excavate and do it right in less time. You still have to fix all your drill holes anyway so paint or gelcoat are going to happen either way. I often wonder if any of these yards charging an arm & leg for these "solutions" ever have a cut away section of deck they can show a customer? I know why they don't...;)
 
#16 ·
TravelinEasy—

Doing a core repair like what you describe isn't rocket science and doesn't require a whole lot in the way of esoteric tools or knowledge.

Depending on the size of the area, your skill at fiberglass repair, and such, you could probably do this for less than $500 or so in materials in a weekend. Several of the boating magazines have had articles regarding this exact subject in the past five years.
 
#17 ·
West describes the procedure that Dog and Maine are strongly suggesting here.
 
#18 ·
I will be dealing with this type of repair in the coming weeks so I have an interest in this thread. The repair solution SD and maine are proposing makes sense in my circumstance with one small but important problem, the cosmetic finish of the deck after the repair. I have minor water damage(as far as I can tell) around one of my stanchion bases and could "fix" the problem by drilling holes thru the non-skid, and then re-paint the non-skid(currently non-diamond finish). If I cut thru the deck to repair/replace the core as suggested I will have to re-gelcoat.
So, does anyone have any advice or can you point me to a resource that can provide info on how to apply gelcoat? I understand that I will not get a perfect colour match but I am hoping for something close.

Any thoughts?

John
 
#20 ·
I will be dealing with this type of repair in the coming weeks so I have an interest in this thread. The repair solution SD and maine are proposing makes sense in my circumstance with one small but important problem, the cosmetic finish of the deck after the repair. I have minor water damage(as far as I can tell) around one of my stanchion bases and could "fix" the problem by drilling holes thru the non-skid, and then re-paint the non-skid(currently non-diamond finish). If I cut thru the deck to repair/replace the core as suggested I will have to re-gelcoat.
So, does anyone have any advice or can you point me to a resource that can provide info on how to apply gelcoat? I understand that I will not get a perfect colour match but I am hoping for something close.

Any thoughts?
Just this:
WEST SYSTEM | Projects | Fiberglass Boat Repair and Restoration - Repair non-skid and get professional results

And MAS Epoxies sells FlexMold - which provides the manufacturer non-skid pattern.

(follow the links)
 
#21 · (Edited)
Greetings all, if you use a ink refill syringe small holes on 45 degree angles pump in unthickened epoxy, this will bond together and gives good results. If using from undernithe small hole lets the wet area drain and can be blocked with a match or twig. when you have drilled your holes put some tape over the same selotape or insulation tape, pierce with needle of seryinge when epoxy ouses out wipe and place heavy weight over to keep constant pressure over area when cured remove weights and tape this should leave a nice neat neary, undetecable repair. Weather is a joke from God we just make use of it so enjoy what he gives. GO SAFE
 
#22 ·
Soft spot projects have a tendency to grow. These are pictures from a spot spot project last winter in my cockpit sole. The plan was to cut out plywood core around pedestal and replace it with solid glass. The boat was indoors in a heated space and had about 2 months to dry out. After cutting out suspect area we checked surrounding area with a moisture meter and found water had migrated. Ended up replacing entire cockpit sole. Plywood in aft area, solid glass in are where rudder posts and pedestal penetrated the sole and balsa in forward area of the cockpit. I ended up having it done professionally although I would have done it myself if I had the time. Cost around $2700

Things we found out. Once water saturates a core there is no good way to completely dry it out in place. Areas where there are deck penetrations should be solid glass. I probably never have to worry about this area again.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Hey there,

Im going to revive this thread because I just finished my recore and I figured I would share my experiences and a bunch of pictures with everyone. I really couldn't find very many people with definite answers on how these things were done and I got a lot of mixed opinions from people who had never done it. I did find a lot of good information both on and off this site, and I figured I would give a little back. I did learn that a lot of people would consider soft decks to be a reason to write off an old boat. After actually doing to work and seeing exactly how involved it is, I really think it can be very practical for someone with reasonable handyman skills to do themselves (barring situations where the entire deck needs to be done). If a 3-5 foot section of soft deck is the only major thing standing between you and the boat of your dreams, its very doable. So, with that being said, heres the story:

I had a soft deck along the starboard side between the windows and lifelines which was approx. 1 foot x 8 feet stretching all the way along the side involving the areas where the chain plates went through the deck, as well as the area where the lifelines were mounted. I figured out that my portlights, which leaked every time there was a heavy rain, were the reason the water was getting into the deck. I also suspected the chainplates so I also dealt with them, noted below. Dealing with this area was extremely complicated by the rigging and lifelines so I was forced to have the boat hauled and blocked, I also had the boat demasted. Fortunately, I already had other reasons for having the boat out and demasted so it was easy to justify spending the $$. So, after removing the chainplates, (which needed to be replaced from water damage) I took a hammer, marked the dull areas, and took my 4 inch angle grinder and carefully cut through the top laminate only and set it aside. (I was careful not to damage it because it was going to be glued back in place instead of reglassing the whole area). This was pretty easy because the area was completely delaminated and mushy. Heres what I found:


The plywood (1/2 inch plywood FYI, to the other 70's Catalina 27 owners out there) was completely soaked and had a nice dirty rot smell to it. It was quite lovely. It then took me about an hour or two with the same grinder and a very course wheel to grind all the rotten wood out down to the smooth lower laminate. Catalina, I found out, likes to skimp on the lower laminate, using one single layer of 1.5 oz matt as a lower laminate. So naturally, I ground right through it to the headliner, which only extended to within an inch or so of the deck to hull joint. Momentary panic led to an easy fix where I took 1.5 oz glass mat and extended the headliner to the hull. It can't be seen on the inside unless you lay on your back on the counter top, and even then, it looks pretty good. At this point, I had created a lower laminate of the deck that would hold water, or the laminating resin I was going to use to glue to the new wood in (important if you dont want to clean up a mess of resin seeping into the cabin.) Heres what it looked like when I was done cleaning it up:


After doing this, I realized how easy it is to accidentally grind all the way through the bottom layer. Expect it, it will happen. Just be ready with something to patch it so you can continue with the job and pretty it up later.
At this point, I had completely gutted an 8 foot section of deck in a little less than 3 hours, (not including removing all the deck hardware).

The next step would be to let dry if necessary, clean with a good degreaser and make sure you have a good surface for bonding.

For the new core, I bought a grade A-B 4x8 sheet of marine ply (1/2"), which was about $70! (Didn't see that one coming). They only sell it in 4x8 sheets so take that into consideration. I used less than half of it for the project...
I then took the top laminate pieces which I cut out earlier and, with a pencil, used them as a stencil to cut the new core to fit.

I bought all my supplies from Fiberglass Coatings Inc in St. Petersburg, FL. They are very knowledgeable and have absolutely everything you need for a fiberglass project. One of the reasons this job was successful was there are several people there that used to work for big name boat builders. It was a huge help to have those guys for advice. He had advised me to use a bonding putty for the laminates, however, after trying it, I found it too hard to work with and went to a polyester resin thickened with cavacill (Spelling??). I thickened it to a toothpaste consistancy and spread it as thick as I could on both the lower laminate and the core material, mushed it down, placed sand bags on top for weight, and sunk wood screws through the bottom laminate into the wood to draw it down. I then covered the project to protect it from the morning dew, and let it cure overnight.


In the morning, I mixed some more thickened resin and poured it into the voids between the cracks where the new core and old core joined, and anywhere else it needed.
At this point, the new core was still square and had a bit too much thickness in some places, and had to be built up in others. This was one of the things that originally worried me about a project like this. Think about it, you have a boat with many curves, concave and convex areas. If you ask for core material at the supply store, they give you a completely flat, 4x8 sheet of ply. This is probably the hardest part of the whole job, making everything fit naturally.

I once again got out my trusty angle grinder with the course wheel and started grinding down the wood in the places where the upper laminate needed room to sink. I had the top skin set aside within reach so I could dry fit it every so often to make sure I don't grind too much in any particular area.


After I ground down all the areas that needed to sink, I then started marking all the areas that needed to be built up. I mixed about a qt of thickened polyester resin (a little thicker than before) and spread it with a large putty knife and a paint stirrer as a squeegee, smoothing it out as much as I could. After that dried, I took the angle grinder and ground it down smooth, dry fitting the skin and grinding some more until it fit snugly. I actually had to do this step twice before I got it completely right, mixing a second batch of resin and grinding again. Heres what it looked like after that:


After all that is done, It was pretty easy. Clean the under side of the top skin, make sure the core was sanded smooth and clean, mix another batch of resin, same as before, slap on a thick layer on both sides, and mash down. Put down plastic and sandbags and let it sit overnight.


After letting it cure, all there is to do is glass in the seams. I took the grinder and ground a 2 inch wide gutter along the entire seam of the project. This gives you room to take strips of glass mat and reinforce the seams for strength.


I then cut 1 inch wide strips of the 1.5oz mat and glassed in the seams with two layers, came back with the grinder to smooth it out, and followed up with a thickened epoxy and put a layer over the seams with a squeegee. This helped as a final step to smooth out the seams and fill any last minute voids. One last go over with the grinder and it was ready for paint. I used the epoxy as a last step instead of polyester because it is a lot stronger and harder and it readily bonds to just about anything, including cured polyester resin. However, I was careful to make this my last step because, once I used the epoxy, I could no longer go back and use polyester in that area. (Epoxy sticks to polyester, but polyester doesnt stick to epoxy).
So here it is:


After this picture, I spend several hours with a sander to smooth out any remaining bumps and some acetone to clean up stray drops of resin. It cleaned up much nicer but I dont have a later picture. During the project, I also found it a perfect oportunity to make epoxy beds for my chainplates. This gave me a lot of peace of mind that it wont destroy my deck again if they start leaking in the future. I would really recommend everyone do this. Over the course of the last year, I've done this to pretty much every piece of deck hardware I have.



This entire project cost me just $250 in supplies and 3 days. It only really took me that long because of curing times, and I could have done it maybe $30 cheaper if I new what I know now about the putty.

Also, there is a huge debate on this site about what is better or more cost/benefit effective: Drill and fill options like CPES or just recoring. After this project, I also decided to use a product called Stop Rot on another, much smaller soft spot on the other side of my deck. Ill keep you posted on the longer term results of both.

Well, this has been extremely long winded, and I'm not the greatest at explaining things, but I hope this helps everyone else thinking of taking on a project like this... Feel free to message me with any questions. I really have been wanting to put this experience down in writing because I don't think there are enough people out there speaking from experience on this topic. I really found it hard to find pictures of actual recore jobs or people who had successfully done it before. I hope this answers some questions.
Comments anyone?
 
#26 ·
Whoever came up with the drill and fill method should be shot on sight. Or even better, drilled with holes and filled with something painfull, and then shot. Yes I'm bitter.

All the deck area on my boat was drilled with holes in a 2x2in grid pattern and filled with epoxy. The decks were not soft, so maybe this method does "work". However, there were large areas of rotten core, and soaking wet core. I probably pulled gallons of water out of my decks. The boat had always been stored inside heated so this wasn't an issue. I have no doubt that one winter in freezing conditions and the boat would've been FUBAR.

So I'm doing the proper core repair, cutting the top skin off, pulling out the balsa core and replacing. Not a bad job really, but made so so soooo much worse by the idiots doing the drill and fill bs. Really fun to pull the top skin and the core out when you have an epoxy column to cut through every two inches, and a pile of nasty half rotten wood half epoxy layer on the bottom skin to grind off. Someone's previous "repair" has increased the time on my end 10x easy.

Drill and fill should only be used in delaminated areas that have a completely dry and sound core. Otherwise you're just giving the finger to whatever poor sob comes next.
 
#28 ·
Great job ... but I would still make some changes

Very nice job, and thank you for sharing! I have pretty much the same job in my close future (in a month or so).

There are two things that I am thinking about doing differently than you. One is to use epoxy all the way. I know it is more expensive than poly resin but with all the labor involved, I don't care if the materials are 20 bucks more or less, I want the best material, period.

The second is, instead of using one long strip of plywood, I am considering cutting it into several smaller pieces (not sure yet how small) and basically butt-end them with thin epoxy seams between them. This is for two reasons. First, as you emphasized, the deck is not flat as the plywood sheet which required you to do quite a bit of grinding and sanding. I hope to minimize this by using smaller pieces. Second, plywood is known to transport water along its grain. If, Heaven forbid, there is another water intrusion in the future(despite the counter measures you describe and that I will also adopt), I hope that it will then stop at the boundaries between the pieces.

Comments welcome!
 
#29 ·
I like the idea of separating the core into smaller pieces. I wish I would have thought of that. I did it in two pieces. I also cut the topskin off in two, more manageable pieces. I definitely recommend that, it made my life so much easier when I went to relaminate everything and replace the skin. Its also a good idea just to use epoxy all the way through. I didn't know enough about the difference between the two until I had already committed. I just went with what they recommended. Again, you can't very well disagree with someone who used to build boats for a living, at least I couldn't at the time. I did use almost 2 gallons of boatyard polyester by the time I was done though...its about $40 a gallon, so that would have gotten a bit pricy....But I agree, if you're going to go through all those headaches, you might as well do it right. Use epoxy, use poly, just stay away from that bonding putty....

As for the drill and fill option, I think it has its place in the very small and isolated areas. If it is less than 2 square feet, and hasn't spread farther than that, there isn't that much moisture there.....As long as you dry it out as much as you can, I don't see a problem with it. After doing a full recore, theres no way I would go through all that trouble for one or two isolated spots....Just my very humble opinion..... Anything bigger than the 1-2 feet, I wouldn't use it. There are plenty of people in my marina who have used that method with success. I live next to a guy who has been a naval engineer for 30+ years and has fixed his deck several years ago using Rot Stop. Its still solid as a rock.... Again, small isolated areas of course.

The area I used it on was only about 16" x 8"
 
#30 ·
The best Non-Skid resurfacing I've seen lately is Kiwi-Grip. You can find the details at Anti-skid Boat Decks from Pachena LLC - KiwiGrip anti-slip deck coating

BTW: after reading dozens of posts pertaining to the drill & fill technique, I'm having serious, second thoughts about having a full core replacement done. At this point, though, I'm awaiting estimates from at least three sources. It's just amazing at how lackluster these folks seem to be. Two weeks and no responses to phone calls or emails. You would think they would want to make some money, but I guess not.

Good Luck,

Gary :cool:
 
#32 ·
Most boats were built out of poly with a bunch of secondary poly bonds and did petty good

BUT every piece of original poly secondary bonded bulkhead or other part i have repaired came apart to easy

Any of the original layup done in one piece is brick sh## house strong

So they will both work with the correct technique BUT i have found epoxy to have a lot more ability to be blended with different fillers and hardeners
 
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