Soft Foredeck
- Thread starter Swiplash
- Start date
You're really repicking a 2 year old argument?
No, I won't bite. It's attitudes like yours that have kept me away from this forum for months.
Go be stuck up at someone else.
;^)
Hey, I didn't dig this thing up out of the graveyard. Someone else did. But I stand by my point, and my question. In general I'd suggest not making comments that you're not willing to stand behind. Thats works here, and in life as well.
fine. since I'm sure you can locate a boat somewhere without a soft core, I withdraw my statement.
you are not worth my time.
The First 235 doesn't have a cored deck so, yeah, right there in my slip is where one without soft core is. And in the guy a couple slips over has one, the other guy a few more slips down with his 235. Not sure on the First 260 but I have been on Jackdaw's 260 many many times and yeah, no soft deck..... So there, ya have a few without soft decks.
You really are crabby about this, do you need a hug?
Yea... more to the point, there are well-known design and construction techniques that can virtually eliminate wet decks. Simply designing the deck so that it is solid glass where factory deck penetrations will be placed will do this. A very careful epoxy treatment of cored penetrations at the factory can as well.
If I could have thought of only one boat, I would have conceded the point. But its not. You can see I post here a bit. Most people here know I sorta know my stuff, and will correct obviously wrong posts. It’s all in the spirit of helping people learn the sport, and to stem the tide of bad information. It’s not personal. But don't worry. You're unlikely to hurt my feelings here.
Last edited:
I'm sure the OP is long gone, but I'll add my two cents anyway (adjusted for inflation). Deck delamination isn't necessarily the kiss of death for a boat; I think it all depends on the boat and the expected use of the boat. I had an Oday 23 that I bought 20 years ago (actually still have it; anyone interested?); she had a soft spot on the foredeck right behind the forward vent. The surveyor told me that if all I'm going to do is daysail or overnight on Long Island Sound, that this condition wouldn't be a problem. He told me to rebed some hardware near the soft spot and I'll be fine. He turned out to be exactly right. For years, the soft spot didn't grow, and it was never a problem. Granted, I never went out in really bad weather, but I sailed in some rough waters over the years. No oil canning, no flexing, no nothin'. Eventually, the soft spot grew somewhat, but it's still not an issue for the use I made of the boat. There's just no way it's worth fixing the core on a boat that is worth $3000 on it's best day. Forget about the time it would take, forget about the cost of the materials; just finding and paying for an indoor enclosure to do the work knocks it out of the park. I know there are people who love this kind of project, and would enjoy the process. I would probably like to do it myself, but it's just not that important to me. Especially when it's not necessary. I've always had enough trouble keeping up with necessary maintenance tasks.
And are there 30 year old boats without some deck delamination? Of course there are. However, in my humble experience, deck delamination is more likely to occur on smaller, more value-priced boats. First off, those boats aren't usually engineered as Jackdaw points out with solid glass at attachment points. Second, these boats are usually bought by value-oriented and less-experienced buyers, so they may be less inclined to know about or care about rebedding deck fixtures or trying to address deck leaks. The result: more of these boats have deck delamination than maybe the general sailboat population. Counting roughly, I'm guessing that about half of the 22-25 foot boats I've been on have at least some spongy deck.
And are there 30 year old boats without some deck delamination? Of course there are. However, in my humble experience, deck delamination is more likely to occur on smaller, more value-priced boats. First off, those boats aren't usually engineered as Jackdaw points out with solid glass at attachment points. Second, these boats are usually bought by value-oriented and less-experienced buyers, so they may be less inclined to know about or care about rebedding deck fixtures or trying to address deck leaks. The result: more of these boats have deck delamination than maybe the general sailboat population. Counting roughly, I'm guessing that about half of the 22-25 foot boats I've been on have at least some spongy deck.
Couple years ago I bought another 74 o day 20 that I thought it was in better shape than mine. It had been kept in a shed for several years. I tapped all over the deck and it seemed solid. I went to launch it the next day and found out after it had sat in the sun for a day the whole front deck was bubbled up having delaminated from the core. I bought it on a Monday, listed on craigslist on a Tuesday, and and sold it on Thursday for less than half of what I paid to get rid of it. ( I bought it from a widow who was crying as we left so there was no way I was going back and say anything to her.)
Does anyone know if there is wood or foam in between the glass in the fore deck construction ? foam ? balsam? I also have a small soft fore deck area on the starboard side of my O'day 25. Was planning on drilling a series of holes and injecting git rot if it's a balsam core but I'm not sure if there is a wood core I will be drilling a small exploratory hole from the inside to see If I cant find an answer. Looking forward to more fun adventures in the Georgia Straight this spring and summer on the Hullabaloo.
On the 27 and other O’Day boats it’s balsa. Pretty well documented process of repair for wet core at And so it begins. Not sure if gitrot would work spread well enough to reinforce everything - that might depend on the extent of the rot.
yes, the 25 has balsa core, needed to open remove the rot, dry and fill. lots of work and the more you dig the more you find. best of luck.
Do NOT drill a bunch of holes in the deck and inject epoxy! You’ll have a bigger problem a couple of years from now. It’s not hard to replace core by removing a skin.
Last edited: