O'Day 23 Foredeck Construction

May 23, 2016
217
O'Day 1984 23 Island Park, NY
Hi All... planning a few spring projects here... bow cleats and pulpit are loose on the foredeck, which means they're leaking... so I'm thinking they come off, carve out the rotted wood, fill with glass, re-drill, rebed etc... maybe add backing plates (yes I've read the write-ups on how to do it and played with the WEST system before)... and of course the butyl...

Question: I'm looking to find out what to expect as far as layer thicknesses go when I take the hardware off... I'm anticipating a wood core sandwiched between 2 layers of glass + gel coat... but what are the thicknesses? Am I missing anything?
 
Apr 15, 2016
15
O'day 23 Birmingham
I have a '74 O'Day 23 and just did the same project. The core thickness was 3/8". I don't think the core thickness changed in the later models, but I'm not certain. I used Probalsa Plus from Jamestown Distributors. I used 10 oz cloth to patch the repair and TotalBoat TotalFair to fair it in - looks great! If when you said "fill with glass" you meant layer in fiberglass instead of balsa core, I would not recommend that. Some flexibility is a good thing.
 
May 23, 2016
217
O'Day 1984 23 Island Park, NY
Thanks... Truth is exactly what I do will depend on exactly what I find... If the root is fairly localized around the bolts then I plan to fill with glass by which I mean resin thickened with cut fibers or colloidal silica... And as a backing plate underneath made from g10... If the damage is more extensive your point about flexibility is well noted...I don't feel any flex in the decks at the moment so I'm hoping for the localize version...OTOH I know the PO tried to seal from above with silicone so I'm a bit wary
 
May 23, 2016
217
O'Day 1984 23 Island Park, NY
So if the core was 3/8 how thick was the glass above and under? And was it balsa you found in the core? I thought near fittings it would be ply?
 
Apr 15, 2016
15
O'day 23 Birmingham
Mine is balsa throughout. I think the glass skin was 1/8", but I don't recall exactly. Have you taken the blunt end of a screwdriver and tapped it on the deck? A 'thud' indicates rotten core, while a sharper 'ping' indicates core that is okay. You can also drill some holes in the area and see if the core that comes up is wet, just don't drill all the way down through the bottom skin. Anyways, here's a picture of my repair just before I faired it in. It has since been painted and you can't tell it was ever there.
 

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May 23, 2016
217
O'Day 1984 23 Island Park, NY
Wow...M pursuing mine isn't that extensive.... No I haven't tested it yet... Yes...I probably should...
 
Jan 22, 2007
268
Oday 23 Cedar Creek Marina Bayville NJ
I don't recall a wood core around the perimeter where the cleats were mounted. I believe mine was all glass. I did it a long time ago however.
 
May 23, 2016
217
O'Day 1984 23 Island Park, NY
Wow...That would be great... How's lake hopatcong? I used to work for a company in hackettstown...The founder used to race a j24... Hopatcong I think...
 
Apr 15, 2016
15
O'day 23 Birmingham
On my boat the perimeter is all glass too, for about 2" inwards. The cleats on mine were mounted in the solid glass, but the pulpit was in the balsa (you can see this in the picture I posted). Because you said the pulpit is loose too, you probably need to get into the balsa. Be careful not to cut too close to the edge when getting at the balsa. I found on my boat that cutting along the edge of the non-skid, which was about 3" inwards of the gunwale, was ideal. That way you have a bottom skin to contain all the epoxy mess. If you cut through the solid glass you gotta tape it all up from below. Hope that helps!
 
Jan 22, 2007
268
Oday 23 Cedar Creek Marina Bayville NJ
Lake Hopatcong is still there. Last two summers we towed the boat up to Maine and did some sailing around Mount Desert Island. Not sure if we are putting it in the lake this year we are spoiled.
 
Jan 22, 2007
268
Oday 23 Cedar Creek Marina Bayville NJ
Mine is a 1980. Yours should be the same model as mine, they changed in 1978 and then in the late 80s again.
 
May 23, 2016
217
O'Day 1984 23 Island Park, NY
Thanks again both for the info! 80-84 probably means I'll be happy when I finally look!
 
Aug 19, 2019
7
O'day 23 Maine
Hi, I'm also looking at some sort spots in my 79 O'Day 23. Attached is a picture of looking sideways into the deck from a vent hole in the foredeck. It appears to be 3 layers and I'm wondering if anyone knows what is going on. I see two top layers with a wooden core that's rotted, them a third layer. I'm trying to figure out if the bottom third layer is supposed to be glued to the others, or if it's some sort of false ceiling to hide wiring, etc.
 

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May 23, 2016
217
O'Day 1984 23 Island Park, NY
You'll have better luck starting your item thread... This one is to years old... The pic isn't in focus so it's hard to see what's going on.. typical construction should be a top skin of glass a wood core of balsa a bottom skin of glass... Depending on exactly where on the deck u are the balsa could be replaced with plywood where u need structure for fittings, and u may be looking at ceiling skin which yes would be spaced from the deck, at least in places...