Replacing a deck questions?

[Bushwacker]

Although the concept of "isolated soft spots" is appealing, and might be credible on a Moesly or Potter model with balsa core decks, the boat in question is a later model with a plywood core. Because the grain in plywood runs parallel to the surface, it wicks water in all directions much faster than balsa core where the end grain is perpendicular to the surface. Even though a sonic inspection may indicate it's OK, a moisture meter would be more accurate, and I suspect that once you open it up, you'll find that the core is pretty wet all over, although some parts might not have rotted out yet. This is a common finding in transoms. If you have to remove the console and derig everything anyway, then it's almost as much work to repair isolated spots as it is to replace the whole deck, so I wouldn't do that much work for a partial repair that you know is only temporary.

There is one temporary repair that might make sense and is even less work than pulling up some of the deck, and that's Git Rot! I think it works best on wood thats just damp and not totally rotted however, because you'll have to use a LOT of it if core is totally gone! An injection of thickened epoxy/cabosil might make more sense in that case. If you drill a bunch of 1/4" holes in the deck where it's soft, use a shop vac to suck out as much water as possible, and then saturate the core with denatured alcohol, the alcohol will absorb the water and then evaporate, helping to dry out the wood. Might have to do the alcohol "rinse" several times and use a heat lamp if you're in humid S. Fla., but it'll do a pretty good job of drying the wood, and once you get it dry, it will readily absorb the thin epoxy. Git Rot isn't cheap, but I think Jamestown Distributors has some generic equivalents, and it's still much less work than pulling up the deck and might not require pulling the console. I think forum member EggSucking Dog did such a repair on his 20 MA. He hasn't posted here recently, but might be worth sending him a PM, as I'm sure he could give you better first hand advice!