Rotten core on forward deck, how would you fix it?
 

**Note - not a SeaCraft but similar design and build construction**

My boat is a 1987 and someone poorly sealed a pie plate on the forward deck of my boat. Unfortunately this has lead to a good amount of rot that extends outward of the pie plate at least 6" in almost all directions. 6" is as far as I can reach with the tools I had without cutting into the deck.

The pie plate leads to a decent size storage area. I'm thinking about ordering (or making) this trapezoid hatch and installing it into the deck where this pie plate was. This would give me better access to that storage area and allow me to cut out more of the deck to hopefully get to solid wood.

https://www.gulfstreamcomposites.com..._trapezoid.htm

A full deck replacement is not in the cards at the moment so I think my options are as follows:

1. Core with 1/2" marine ply imbedded in epoxy.
2. Core with some sort of composite material that I am not yet familiar with
3. Pour with Seacast

Anything else I should consider? Any other tips for getting as much of the core out as possible and also being able to replace the core with something?

https://i.imgur.com/F3JKlgwh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gD0fgFGh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tb3J75Bh.jpg

I seriously doubt there is any viable wood left in the area so the best bandaide fix might be some putty or composite combo of both. Not sure how you would pour the RJ but if you could seal it somehow it may work to some extent. Like SeaCrafts, older boats usually need lots of rehab once the decks and transoms go soft. Not much you can do other than to remove and recore or replace. Go Birds....

Still thinking about this and I just thought of another option. If opening up the hole for the larger hatch doesn't get me to clean wood, I would at least gain some room to put some power tools underneath and then I could cut out the inner skin and replace from underneath.

Sounds like I need to google how to make a some hatch molds.

Search it here. Someone posted a link recently about this very subject.

Just a thought you don’t mention the thickness f the deck but you can buy empty caulking tubes and get clear hose to slide into the void, nd onto the tube.iwould try getting some PCs ofstarboard or ? Tall enough to bridge the open gap(1/2) and 3/4-1” wide to except the screws for the new hatch temp put in place then install the hatch and drill mounting holes .remove hatch mark sides of starboard pull then cut a few slots etween the mounting holes big enough for the plastic tube to be pushed in then set up your filler in the tubes and go at it

Did you see my post on your previous thread?

Vezo

This is what I'd do ( I had a similar situation - and this is what I did ). My rot only extended about 2" around the hole. But, if you can clean out the bad wood, this would work:

First, you must dig out the bad core. I used a set of Allen keys put into a drill chuck to get the horizontal mush out. I used a compressor and vacuum to blow/suck to clean it out as I went. Take your time and get the mush out. Then, let it dry. I put plastic on the bottom of the hole, held in place with Gorilla Tape. I put a computer "muffin" fan over the top to exhaust air out from the hole - taking moisture with it - for a few days. If you can, keep a hearing pad on or around the area to help with evaporation.

When I was ready to fill with epoxy, I re-taped the hole from the bottom with plastic and Gorilla Tape - make sure you get a really good bond or you'll have a mess ( for such a big hole, I might use a 1/4" of plywood covered with plastic, screwed into place ( do not go through the deck !) - use Mortite ( like a clay ) sandwiched between the ply and the underneath of the deck, around the whole thing to avoid the epoxy from dripping out.

Then, mix up epoxy and a lot of chopped fiberglass ( must have a good flowing consistency ). I used a syringe to put through smaller access holes, but you could just poor into the void to fill it up. This will self level so if the boat is not level, neither will your epoxy be ( try to level the area - use a level and adjust trailer as necessary ). Depending on the area to be filled, it could 'drink' a lot - so be ready to mix another batch with chopped glass.

This is a very fluid mix so be sure that your 1/4"/ plastic/ mortite/ screw-job is leak proof.

Once dry, you could drill through to make a new hole - or, you could use Gorilla tape around the circumference of the opening to create a 'wall', so the epoxy stays within the area you want to fill - so you don't fill the inspection plate hole. This is how I did it and the Gorilla Tape held perfectly, keeping the epoxy contained where I wanted it.

My repair is rock solid...

I'm basically at the point of letting the wood dry out. I'm goign to pour acetone in there to help with the drying/kill the rot spores. Your repair was my original game plan but the rot extended much farther than I expected. As of now the core is removed about 5" surrounding the entire deck plate hole. but I know it extends farther. I think I need to cut the hole bigger so that I can get farther reach so that I hopefully get back to goo wood. If my new hole is still not large enough then at least the hole will be big enough for me to get tools in there to cut out the bottom skin and replace from underneath. I just don't want to cut the top skin because the gelcoat is still in such good condition.

I did, thank you.

Abl1111 and mine are basically the same type of idea but the calling tubes allow for more material to work with

Can you take a picture of the entire foredeck?

There may be a more effective way to do this.

Just a reality check...I had an area approximately 8" x 12" on the starboard side of the console that was soft. surrounding areas were still solid. Yet, this is what I uncovered.

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...1&d=1543346697

Ask and you shall receive

https://i.imgur.com/tegEwXjh.jpg

No doubt! I had a similar situation with my Whaler. It was a side console boat and the deck felt rock solid. I would have painted right over it if I didn't convert the boat to a center console. In order to do so I had to dig a rigging tunnel in the foam and once I started digging I found rot. Ended up replacing the whole deck on that one!

This boat has much thicker top/bottom skins and actually still feels solid. I was planning on pulling that pie plate and just glassing any exposed wood and then sealing it back up. It wasn't until I got in there when I found the rot.

Anyone with one of these older boats with original transom/deck/stringers is kidding themselves if they think they are rot free. That being said, they are still surprisingly tough even with the rot.

Haha! Second BW Sport 15 refurb here. Classic ‘82 overbuilt in custom 5/4” Mahogony. All stock configuration, to scale, however all SS hardware unseen, MAS epoxied and covered in 12 coats of Spar.

‘88 pulled interior, created rigging tunnel, given a cc from a builder in Charleston, pre-‘08 crash, mahogany front door, like 1.5” thick base, to be hinged, custom fuel tank and fuel cell. Everything but a livewell. Couldn’t fit it.

Ever stand up and drive a 15? Absolutely sick. Continuous wave member, Tower of Power with like 120 hp to prop. I didn’t drive it because I could not stop laughing! Like hanging ten on a surfboard, but never stuffing!?! Unexplainable. Trying to find a low hour Yam 90 2 stroke and manual jack plate, same as ‘82 with F60. Too much Fun!

Vezo

OK Enyar, I like u but it’s time for a reality check and this is not to be mean or disrespectful.
Your boat has deck cancer and it is way worse than you think. There is only two options. One is to live with mash potato deck which is perfectly fine or two, recore/replace. No amount of band aide repair will make the slightest difference and there is no need to spend anymore time or money until you are ready to replace the whole deck. Sorry, that is just the way it is as sure as the Eagles are not going to the super bowl.

You have a cool vintage boat that is likely worth restoring as long as you want to keep it long term. If not, use it for as long as you can without sinking any more money into it and then sell it.

Enyar-

See the photo below for my recommendations.

Basically, I would cut the top skin only for the foredeck according to my highlighted brush strokes. The key is to leave yourself a 2 or 3 inch border all the way around so that you have something to glass back to. Grind the gelcoat off the 2 to 3 inch flange.

Once you have the top skin removed, if it is in good shape grind off the gelcoat on the inside edge of the cut roughly 2 inches all the way around. Set it aside.

Dig out the soaking wet core. When very clean and dry, scuff up the top side of the bottom skin and place a piece of 1.5oz mat over the bottom skin. Wet it out and then use an air roller to make sure there are no air bubbles and the resin is distributed evenly. When it turns green and is starting to set up, you can bed in a new core (either marine plywood or a composite like coosa of the appropriate thickness--slightly thinner is my recommendation because you can always add more glass on top) with core bond or thickened resin. Place something heavy on the core to ensure proper adhesion. You may want to even drill some pilot holes in the core so the air and resin underneath have a place to go.

When that core sets up....now you need to determine how much glass you need to add on top of it that so that when you set the original skin back on, it is at the same height of the flange you left during the cut out.

Ideally, you would wet out another piece of 1.5oz mat on top of the new core and while that is wet, lay the original skin on top of it. The bottom of the top piece of the original skin should be clean and scuffed up. Right before you set the original skin down, you should roll some resin on to the bottom of it and then set it on the wet 1.5oz mat that you laid on top of the core.

Now, put some weight on the original skin and let it set up overnight.

When it is cured, grind any resin that overflowed out of the seam. Then cut to size (maybe 4 inches wide) fiberglass (or buy a roll of it) and wet it out and lay it over the seam that you cut in step 1. Once it is cured, you will need to grind it smooth, apply fairing compound, sand smooth and regelcoat. If you are neat and play your cards right, you will be able to save the interior portions of the molded in non-skid and the only area that will look new or different, is the 4 inch wide smooth band that you fiberglassed and regelcoated.

Obviously, this is a very, very simplified description but should get my point across. There is more than one way to do this but with some guidance, this is manageable size project for someone without a lot of experience.

PS - if the rot stops in that area - great! If not, you would need to follow the same process for the two area to the left and right of that big fish box.

I would remove the top skin and save.Exposing the rotten core and leaving the bottom skin.Clean all the bad stuff out (usually small squares of ply) and replace coring with epoxy and reattach the skin.

Rotten Balsa Core
 

This is basically what I did to repair the rotten balsa core in my Seafari stepdown several years ago; still less deflection than when it was brand new. Made a shallow cut to the top skin with a 1.5” cutoff wheel on a Dremel. Used a flexible drive to keep the Dremel motor away from the fiberglass dust so I didn’t ruin it- lesson learned!

Are you guys repainting the top skin afterword or how are you making this look nice?

Also, this would be a good place for using Carbon Core (honeycomb) as a core right? No screws/ everything would be through bolted or glassed.

On my Seafari my cuts in the stepdown were where the floor became tangent to the fillet radius in the corner at the vertical wall. I used some caulking or easy to sand filling material to fill and fair the crack. Fortunately the cuts are probably less noticable than on a cut in a flat area. Good luck.

Did some more investigating this past weekend and I think moose is right, I need to recore that entire front area. I drilled some test holes underneath directly ahead of the port/stbd hatches and althought its not rotten, its definitely wet. I'm buttoning it back up as-is for now until I have a game plan in place to do the whole thing. I'll likely buy 3 new fiberglass hatches and try to coverup my cuts with kiwi grip.

I didn't want to be but in my late night Margarita induced rant things just get said. ;) Don't loose too much sleep about ascetics at this point. If you plan on keeping this hull for the long run you will eventually have to get into the entire deck, transom and stringers. Right now run and fish that thing like you stole it. The best times you will have on that boat are ones that are not spent working on it. If it is safe and reliable get to it and have a ball. Trust me, trailer queens aren't nearly as fun as a beat up, blood stained battle wagon unless your fun happens at the sandbar.

That's what I'm thinking about right now. The good news is the top deck is separated from the lower deck with a section that's 100% fiberglass. The rest of teh deck has 0 screws in it except for teh leaning post (console is glassed) so hopefully that still has life in it. We shall see! Time to start reading about kiwi grip and making fiberglass hatches.

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...ht=hatch+molds
Read this.

Excellent, thank you.