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Hands-on advice and instruction.
By Paul Esterle — Fall
2004
PLINK, PLINK, PLINK, THUNK! That was the surveyor’s hammer hitting a soft spot on the deck. If you’re the person interested in buying this boat, it might be a good time to look for another. If it’s your boat, get ready to lower your asking price or shell out some serious greenbacks to fix the problem. Either way, prepare to educate yourself about deck leaks and how to fix them.
DECK CONSTRUCTION
Most fiberglass decks utilize a “cored” construction technique. During construction of a deck, what becomes the outside of the boat is first built up from gelcoat and fiberglass reinforcing layers. Then a core material is applied.
This core can be one of several materials, such as a variety of plastic foam or small blocks of end-grain balsa. Squares of plywood can also be used in flat areas. The cracks between the individual pieces of core should be filled with resin.
After the core material is bonded in place, another layer of fiberglass laminate is built up from layers of fiberglass reinforcement and resin. This surface becomes the inside of the boat or overhead. The use of two layers of fiberglass with a core in between produces a lighter, stiffer deck than fiberglass lamination alone.
PROBLEMS
Problems develop because of common boatbuilding practices. Hatch and port openings are cut out and the fittings sealed in with a sealant. Holes for mounting deck hardware are simply drilled through the deck, or the hardware is screwed into place though the deck and core.
All is well for a few years, until the sealant begins to break down or crack. When this happens, water starts to leak in. You may not notice this at first because the water may not be leaking below—but into the core of your deck instead.
The core becomes saturated with water, and the bonds between fiberglass laminate layers and the core begin to break down. Your deck becomes soft and flexes as you walk across it. Wood cores rot, and balsa ends up looking like wet oatmeal.
Other problems arise when the core isn’t properly filled. Remember those spaces beween the pieces of core? If they weren’t totally filled with resin, water that’s leaking in can travel long distances and saturate the core far from the source of the leak. Don’t assume that no leaks showing below equals no leaks.
The techniques for repairing major sections of a deck with a saurated or “wet” core are beyond the scope of this “Hot Sheet” and should be considered a major project.
SOLUTIONS
You will have to investigate and determine the condition of your deck fittings and openings before proceeding. You’ll need to pull a fitting or even a hatch to determine if the core is exposed. Eventually, you should pull everything and re-bed to be safe.
The best solution for preventing core damage is to seal the core. In the case of a hatch, port, or other opening, this means removing the item to expose the edges of the deck opening. If the core is sound and dry, consider yourself lucky. You get to skip the next section.
If the core is wet, it should be removed. You may hear stories of magic compounds that firm up rotted wood or bond to wet wood; don’t believe them. It took years for the core to saturate and can take almost as long for it to dry out. Once the bad core is removed, it can be replaced with similar material bonded in place with epoxy.
>> Next page >> Part 2: Once the core is sealed from any further water intrusion, you can move on to rebedding the hardware, ports, or hatches. Page
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