Sounds like you got a lot of deck damage. The deck lamination is made of balsa and some plywood when water gets in there it eventually turns to wood pulp which is what you have. The question is how bad, or how far did the water travel. Everywhere it got to on a 1975 boat by now is bad and needs to be cut out. Again you cut out the TOP layer of glass which is 1/4'” thick remove it and then remove the balsa lamination. Which is ½” thick then re fill the cavity with plywood and then replace the glass skin. I am NOT telling you to cut deeper than the first layer of glass. The stringers are further down.
Now I will tell you the best way and why.
Remove the T-top
Remove the center consol.
Remove all the top layer of glass (skin)
Remove all the balsa and plywood
Replace all with plywood
Replace old skin with new glass.
Fair it out and then paint.
Why – your CC and T-top are screwed into Wet Wood Pulp. It’s just a matter of time when you will hit a good wave and pull up the CC screws and t-top screws from that wood pulp. While you are at it, my bet, if the transom hasn’t been done it is in the same shape as the deck.
As for pictures go to the main screen of Classicseacraft.com then go to SeaCraft Galleries go the 23’ click on Fellowship and look at approx 70 pictures of my boat from beginning to end.
Again you might want to down load that West marine file and read a bunch of it that really helped me when I got started.
A 1975 Potter 23’CC SeaCraft is a true Classic. The fiberglass is ageless but the balsa and plywood is not. If you do it the Best Way it will serve you another 30+ years.
Best of luck and sorry to be the barer of a major project new, but sounds like the band aid approach isn’t going to really cut it for you.
Maybe you need to get some one with a lot of knowledge to check out the deck for you maybe it is still in that one side or ¼ or ½ of that side. My concern is all those screws that hold down the CC and the T-top are they screwed into good dry wood or wet wood pulp.
FellowShip
Just for the Grins
