ROTTEN TO THE CORE

[DONCONVINCER]

The panels in the rear of my boat where the gas tank mounts on one side and the battery and trim pump were mounted on the other were rotten. When I removed the panels and ground the floor to bond in the new panels I saw small dark spots under the glass. On closer inspection it looked like there was rubber inbedded in the glass. Well curiosity got to me and I dug it out. What a suprise!!! The core of the floor had rotten spots. Apparently, originally there was something that aligned the panels that had punctured the top layer of glass in 2 places on each side. By the time I found good wood I had 4 holes dug out to the outer shell about 3" to 4" in diameter.(The core is about 1/2" thick) I filled the holes from the bottom up with about 4 layers of "Tiger Hair". About 6 hours later I was back to bonding the panels to a good sound hull. It makes me think what does the floor look like under the engine where the bilge pump is screwed through the glass

After 27 years, I guess lots of things can show up if you dig deep enough

[Chris]

Here are some pics of the work Don is doing on his boat.

http://checkmate-boats.com/images/memberpics/DONCONVINCOR.jpg

[Chris]

http://checkmate-boats.com/images/memberpics/DONCONVINCOR2.jpg

[Chris]

http://checkmate-boats.com/images/memberpics/DONCONVINCOR3.jpg

[Chris]

http://checkmate-boats.com/images/memberpics/DONCONVINCOR4.jpg

[Chris]

http://checkmate-boats.com/images/memberpics/DONCONVINCOR5.jpg

[Chris]

http://checkmate-boats.com/images/memberpics/DONCONVINCOR6.jpg

[Chris]

http://checkmate-boats.com/images/memberpics/DONCONVINCOR7.jpg

[Chris]

http://checkmate-boats.com/images/memberpics/DONCONVINCOR8.jpg

[JUPITER PULSARE]

HEY DON, IN THE LAST PHOTO IT SHOWS YOU GLASSING IN A SHEET OF PLY TO THE STARBOARD SIDE OF THE MOTOR. I HOPE YOU GLASSED THE BOTTOM OF THE PLY TO ENCAPSULATE THE WOOD OTHERWISE YOU MAY HAVE ROT AGAIN!!!

[DONCONVINCER]

The boards have 2 coats of resin on both sides before they were installed. The panels are "glued" down with "Bondo Glass". After the panels were set they were covered with 2 layers of cloth and resin going up the sides of the hull and down across the floor. I also left space on the back edge of the verticle pieces at the transom so any water that gets under the panels will have a way out

[JUPITER PULSARE]

IT'S A MESSY JOB BUT SOMEONES GOTTA DO IT!!

[DONCONVINCER]

Yea,what a mess... I replaced the seat mounts, the front section of the floor and rebuilt the seat frames 3 years ago. I hope I'm done with rot repairs for a long time. The problem with rot is that I don't discover it untill I take the boat out the first few times in the season, then I spend most of the summer doing repairs.