Rebuild of '75, 23' center console begins

[take a potter]

Originally Posted by strick

Yours may be dry. The wood core when wet can expand and contract due to freezing and thawing....weakening the glass..take your boat out in rough water then split the keel. This is one of the spots where we have seen these boats fail. Ask me how I know. Better to take it out and replace with composit for peace of mind.

Strick

Thanks for the explanation.

Keeping in mind I live in boat materials waste land, anything would need shipped in unless it is a construction material, what composite would be used for this?
The existing core appears to be a 1 1/2" by 2+" solid wood piece almost looks like cypress. With about 1/4" of glass laid up and tabbed in.

Edit to add... what would you think about just reinforcing the keel stringer layup that is there now. I could add 2 layers of 1700 on top of 2 layers of 1708 12" tape, and could offset the tape by 3". That would get me new 1708 tabbing out 8" or so on each side and a couple layers of 1700 wrapped on to the keel 3-4" each side.