Wood rotting in cabin of 1978 Catalina 27'

[Charrob]

We've had our 1978 Catalina 27' for a few years now. This is our first boat and are learning as we go. We keep her in the water all winter as our marina has a bubble system to keep ice from freezing around the boats.

At the end of each season we take out all the seat cushions, etc., in the boat and put in our attic. Over the winter the inside gets pretty disgusting -- a lot of black mold and dirt particularly on the starboard side. So at the beginning of each season we spend a couple days really scrubbing her down with comet to get rid of the mold.

This past weekend we spent our time scrubbing her down with comet. We also scrub over the interior wood as well -- never see any mold on it but figured it was good to give everything a good spring scrub down.

Yesterday we noticed that the bottom of the wood wall between the bathroom and rest of cabin was literally falling apart. As we were scrubbing it was literally all just breaking off; now there's a hole at the bottom between the bathroom and rest of cabin on the starboard side. And it would be easy to continue to break it off by hand but we didn't. Just spraying the comet off with the hose broke off the wood.

1. Are we supposed to be doing something to maintain this wood other than washing down with soap each spring?
2. I guess it would be considered rotten at this point?
3. How should this get fixed?

Thanks!

 

[dive7mmwet]

well one thing is moisture will rot wood, its real common on the floor in the head wall on Cat27's but more important is this bulk head hold s your upper shrouds so you dont want a failure here, thats the plate and bolts on the upper bulk head wall, one thing you can do is have some ventilation in the boat as to let some air in we did this in the forward anchor locker and rear hatch,

 

[S/V UsCa]

I keep a Light Blub going all winter doesn't cost much. And I also use the air drier to capture some or most of the moist air the light blub keeps it a little warm. I haven't had any Mold since I started doing that I just got tired of having to clean for days. And I no longer get that Musty Smell anymore It is a Bummer to have to replace wood in Boats the angles are a real pain to cut and get right. But look at the bright side. You can redo it the way you like it when you Replace the wood. I sometimes get Tired of the same interior and Have in the 39 years I have had mine. A 76 model Clark San Juan 30 I have completely redone the interior 4 times For the ceiling I used the same Product that ambulances use a Fiberglass panel with little bumps on it is a Breeze to just wipe it clean and Switched the lights all to LED I actually had to use a dimer switch to lower how bright it was and only 9watts I enjoy Changing it up every once in a while Next Project will be a Complete new Instrument Panel so while inside I can view everything from just one place while Cruising under auto pilot and having some Dinner on board only thing that I'm leary of is that occasional log floating in the Strait Radar seams to somehow miss them. Well have fun and I hope you love to work on the inside as much as I do Enjoy the Summer

 

[JohnVTX]

I keep a small heater from Homeless depot running all winter and it has stopped the mold. I set it to come on when temp goes below about 55-60

 

[centerline]

1. Are we supposed to be doing something to maintain this wood other than washing down with soap each spring?
2. I guess it would be considered rotten at this point?
3. How should this get fixed?

Thanks!

1... keeping the wood dry is ALL that is needed to keep it from rotting..
it can get wet for short periods of time and not rot, but it must either dry out reasonably quick and stay dry for most of its life, or, be kept in an environent without oxygen to keep the rot away...

2.... yes. and there is no reversing the process.

3..... the wood needs replaced. there is no other option.

 

[Charrob]

Thank you to everyone for your advice and help. I just received in my email the estimate our marina gives for this work: $1855.70. This includes: unstepping and stepping the mast, removing and replacing bulkhead, teak faced marine grade plywood, re-bedding starboard chainplates, re-bedding starboard middle port light, shop supplies and sales tax.

I paid $3700 for the boat about 5 or 6 years ago. We don't have a clue how to begin doing this work ourselves, and unstepping then stepping the mast looks like a huge job that only a marina can do.

Every year we've put in $thousands for problems with the boat. Now we're unsure if it makes any sense to spend so much more when the boat only cost $3700 to begin with.

Would like your advice: what would you do? Would you pay this much at this point or trash the boat and forget it? There are other issues with the boat: we need our genoa sewed or replaced, and the 3 boards that you take off to get into the cabin need to be replaced (we haven't priced that yet). We were going to do these in time, but now with this issue we're not sure what to do.

 

[Charrob]

well one thing is moisture will rot wood, its real common on the floor in the head wall on Cat27's but more important is this bulk head hold s your upper shrouds so you dont want a failure here, thats the plate and bolts on the upper bulk head wall, one thing you can do is have some ventilation in the boat as to let some air in we did this in the forward anchor locker and rear hatch,

We took a hose and I sprayed hard down all the deck fixtures to see if there were leaks and sure enough it was leaking down the chainplate on the starboard side. Thanks for your response.

 

[centerline]

that price is well within reason, IF they do a good job of it... I would have thought about double that, with them doing everything.
but wheather the boat is worth it or not is a completly different matter that no one can answer without assessing the boat in person....

it may make more sense for you, who admitedly is NOT a DIYer, to sell it "as is" and put the proceeds + the 1855.70 towards another $3700 boat, that isnt leaking or rotted.... yet.

 

[danvon]

Sounds like you may have already taken care of the common problems. If so I'd seriously consider keeping this boat rather than starting on a new set of issues on a "new" old boat.

Have your thru-hulls been replaced with proper ball valves? standing rigging pretty much OK? Is the electrical wiring good? Any soft spots on the deck (check the area around your lower shrouds carefully too as the deck holds the fittings for these). Have the cast aluminum spreader sockets been replaced with the SS upgrade? Did you have the "Catalina smile" and if so, was it fixed?


Others can certainly cite other common issues, but the point is that once most of these are taken care of the big $$ bleeding might be over. A Catalina 27 is a fairly simple boat without too many complicated systems to deal with.

Hatch boards are easy to make from marine plywood and would be a good starter project before you tackle the bulkhead. There are lots of used sails around too (as an aside, what size jenny are you looking for? hank-on or roller?)