rotten deck under the helm

[wildegroot]

Has anyone here ever had to deal with a rotten deck under the helm? We have an Oday 35 and I'm thinking of cutting out the entire deck surface in the cockpit (leaving a flange for mounting a new plywood floor). Besides the rotten wood, having the old deck out of the way would allow me to replace the fuel-level gauge and make a window in the new deck so the gauge can be easier to read, I could service the steering cables, frozen adjusters and and fix the broken-off grease fitting on the rudder shaft tube. Any advise or experience would be very much appreciated.

 

[jssailem]

Big project.
I have not experienced such on any boat. This maybe the luck of the draw.
Andy over at BoatworksToday.com has removed decks on boats and replaced them. You might gain some insight on such a project from one of his videos.

 

[kappykaplan]

I had an issue several years ago where my helm pedestal was pulling out of the deck. Turned out the cockpit sole had rotted. We cut the top skin out, removed all of the rotted wood, replaced with a water-impervious foam, and reskinned. It was a big job, but well worth it. Added benefit of the foam was reduction of engine noise in the cockpit.

 

[wildegroot]

Big project.
... videos.

Thank you. I will check out boatworks.com

 

[wildegroot]

I had an issue several years ago where my helm pedestal was pulling out of the deck. Turned out the cockpit sole had rotted. We cut the top skin out, removed all of the rotted wood, replaced with a water impervious foam, and reskinned. It was a big job, but well worth it. Added benefit of the foam was reduction of engine noise in the cockpit.

Thank you. Do you happen to have any photos of the operation?

 

[kappykaplan]

Thank you. Do you happen to have any photos of the operation?

Unfortunately, no.

 

[dlochner]

If you have good access from below, removing the inner skin and recoring from below might be easier as cosmetics won't be quite as important and the non-skid will not have to be replaced.

 

[dmax]

Dave, on an O'Day 35 attacking it from above is MUCH easier - difficult to even access the underside of the cockpit.