water in the core

[Kevin Brown]

I'm in the middle of a big one. There are several areas where the core of my '81 H27 is saturated. Two months agon I removed all the fitting and drilled a few hundred holes into the core from above to dry it out. I've had the boat covered in a boat shed with a dehumidifier running 24 day for two weeks now. Still turning up water when I drill a hole among previous holes. Not looking like I'll be ready for vacation.Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Steven]

your saturated core..

you've got a major problem on your hands...if the core is that saturated, delamination has probably been going on for a while...the fiberglass will most likely have to be ground all the way down to the wood...THEN dehumidifying will help, but don't expect it to be really dried out for months..i had 2 boats surveyed prior to making my offer and was warned by the surveyor that the boats weren't worth purchasing at a 1/4 of the asking price...i'm in southern florida and the humidity down here can be pretty high, for months at a time...i was looking at a minimum 6-9months in dry dock, just to get the wood dry...the moisture test on the boats i was looking at were off the scale, at 25%...3% is considered tolerable...i'm so sorry to hear of your dilemma, but from my understanding, the above is the only way to really approach and solve that problem...best of luck,steven

 

[WILLIAM AUSTIN]

DECK ROT INSIDE CORE.

YOUR PROBLEM MAY BE SOLVED SEVERAL WAYS, 1. CLOSE ONE AREA OF HOLES YOU HAVE DRILLED, BUY A PLASTIC FUNNEL, CUT TO FIT YOUR SHOP VAC, AND TAPE IT OVER THE HOLES AND TURN IT ON . THIS WILL SLOWLY PULL MOISTURE INTO THE WET VAC, SOME PEOPLE USE WOOD ALCOHOL TO ABSORBE THE WATER, BUT DONT DO THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE AN EXPLOSION PROOF VACUME. 2. YOU ALSO CAN DRY THE BOAT FROM THE INSIDE OUT, THIS IS WHAT THEY DO IN OREGON, REMOVE INTERIOR AND PLACE HEATERS INSIDE AND CLOSE THE BOAT EXCEPT TOP HATCH OPENED SLIGHTLY, THIS FORCES THE MOISTURE OUT INSTEAD OF BACK IN. 3. MOVE THE BOAT TO ARIZONA AND SET IT OUTSIDE FOR 10 MINUTES IT WILL DRY.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Remove the core.

I'm guessing that the only thing drying is the hole itself. I have some moisture in the cabin-top behind the mast and was told to cut it all out. Cut the top fiberglass, then the balsa, and remove. Replace with new end-grain balsa or something better? The West books on fiberglass repair are excellent tools, good illustrations and instructions. I've done some glass-work and think that I can put a large panel back in place.