Bow cap coring rotted - 20 Seafari
 

I'm not 100% sure what the area I'm referring to is called. Here is a pic:


http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/.../RottedCap.jpg


I was going to patch the existing hole and reinforce with some plywood underneath. Ended up discovering that the whole area is rotted out. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have started cutting from the top that extensively without getting advice first.

I know ideally I would remove the whole cap and fix it that way, but I would rather not if I can help it.

I was thinking of cutting the fiberglass skin off the effected area, removing the bad core, replacing it with new core, and then fiberglassing over the whole thing. Does this sound like the right way to do it? Would 1/4" Starboard be a good choice for a core?

Coring
 

First do yourself a favor go to the very first post in the repair section...Here we go again.

Spend sometime in there before you do anything else. I mean it .


After you have read through that then ask as many questions as you want.

One short answer No on starboard.

If you feel up to it, then click on my rebuild link and check out response # 49 that should also answer some questions.

Where are you located in FL.?

The affected area is not on the boat.

I'm in south Fort Myers.

I did a bunch of searches for different combinations of "rotted bow cap replacement" and the search filter kept omitting all results with "bow" and "cap" in them. Made it hard to find anything relevant. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Not sure what you mean by this.

Right now you are very new to all of this.

Introduce yourself and tell us about your self and your friend!

Nothing sticks to starboard.

Read here we go again. And again.

Plan
 

After reading through both the recommended threads, and a few others, I came up with the following plan. Hoping for your guys opinions or recommendations.

First, I'll brace the underside of the cap(crown?) to support it so that it keeps its shape.

Next I'll cut out all of the rotted wood, leaving at least a 3" lip around the edges.

I'll bevel the edges 12:1 and prep the inside of the bottom skin.

I'll install a balsa core with cabosil and then layer 1708 over the whole thing.

I need to score the balsa so that it will conform to the shape of the hull correctly, right?

I did some fiberglass work today(First time), I think it turned out pretty good, I will post some pics tomorrow.

Well done. maybe not balsa. Keep reading grasshopper.

Cheers,
GFS

synthetic?
 

Are you referring to a synthetic like divinycell?

I had considered it, but balsa properly taken care of should last a good while... hopefully by then I'll win the lotto and be able to completely restore the boat.

I'm going to do the project today, I'll sand it tomorrow after it cures, slap a coat of paint on it to protect the epoxy(I plan on painting the whole boat after I redo the transom this winter) and then install all of the anchor hardware on Tuesday morning.

If everything goes according to plan I'll be putting her into the water on Tuesday morning. I'll keep you guys updated and post some pics. I appreciate the advice.

Balsa Core
 

You should be able to buy the balsa core already scored.

I like the idea of balsa most everywhere else, but I would consider the area under a cleat to be similar in stress to the transom. So something a bit more robust. I don't like plywood in general, but right under the cleat might be good. I am not sure if there are different strengths or densities of divinycell, but if there are, I would get one of the stronger/higher density versions for the ~square foot or do under the cleat. Or put load spreaders between the cleat and cap. Basically a construct a reinforcing plate so that the loads on the cleat dont make it locally break the fiberglass under the edge of the cleat "feet". I suppose THOSE load spreaders could be starboard and added after the fact and be beveled to look pretty nice.

Well, I called every place that I could find on Google in my area and none of them carry divinycell or balsa in 3/8". Looks like I'm going to have to order it from somewhere or drive out of my area to pick it up. Anyone know a place in SW Florida that carries, or can order, core materials?

As far as extra support for the bow area(cleat, anchor roller, etc.) I was going to mount epoxy coated plywood underneath the bow cap area. Similar to how Dennis did it: http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...anchor+bracket

Ended up ordering a 3/8" piece of scored divinycell.
I also decided to switch from epoxy to vinylester resin for this project.

The plan has evolved to the following:

I'll sand down everything and bevel out the existing fiberglass 12:1 along all the edges.

I'll patch any holes in the bottom skin, possibly even laminate a fresh layer or two of 6oz depending how flimsy it feels after I sand it. I'll let all that dry and then re-prep the area.

I'll laminate a layer of 6oz cloth on the bottom of the divinycell and then while it's still tacky glue it down with a layer of Fasco 110 applied with a caulking tube. I'll weight it down on the top overnight while it dries.

The next day I'll trowl down cabosil into the scoring and along the edges so that its nice and smooth. Then I'll laminate 3-4 layers of 1708. I'll let that dry overnight.

Then I'll put a layer of fairing compound over the whole thing, let that dry, sand it down and paint it. At this point I will also mount plywood on the underside of the bow area to support the anchor hardware.

I'm not sure what else to use to cover the fiberglass itself, I am eventually going to paint the boat so doing a gelcoat didn't seem like the right thing to do.

I'll post pics as I make progress.

I order to make it look good you should fair it out with fairing compound and then throw a cheap coat of paint over it.

I don't know where you are getting your supplies out, but since you are in sw fla. check out

fiberglassservices.com

There is no core under the bow cleats. It's solid glass, ~ 1/4" thick. I added 1/2" thick plywood under those cleats and then a couple layers of 5/16 plywood reinforcement, approx. 15x15 under bow area including under the cleats when I added anchor bracket.

That would make sense, structurally. I can't tell what is going on in the picture supplied- he mentioned rot- and it looked like there was wood in there? Or is that some sort of delamination?

Core
 

There was a 3/8" balsa core between two layers of glass which extended from 4-5" below the hatch to 2-3" from the hull. There was significant rot(some areas were completely gone).

I think after I get the new core in I will build up some reinforcement like Dennis did.

I also am going to coat the inside of any holes I cut with epoxy. I don't think the divinycell, being a synthetic, will be affected by water, but I still don't want any getting in.