79 h37c soft deck spot by starboard cleat

Jaxg

.
Jun 30, 2019
20
Hunter 37 Cherubini Jacksonville
Just purchased a beautiful h37c only issue is as soft deck spot at the forward starboard cleat. It’s about 2ft by 2ft area. The cleat now wiggles, suggestions please
 
Jun 8, 2004
994
C&C Frigate 36 St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia
Welcome! The decks on this boat are cored with marine plywood. Depending on the severity, the fix may be either injecting epoxy resin in a matrix of holes drilled a 1/2' or so into the affected area (minor repair) or cutting out a section of the the top skin of the deck, replacing the core, and laminating the top skin back in place (major repair). West System covers the former in one of their excellent free publications (see:Fiberglass Boat Repair & Maintenance) and some past members of this forum have done the latter, tackling major re-cores of their decks. You can see some pictures here (though the blog is in French, a picture is worth a 1000 words, they say). You may want to consider registering your boat in the Hunter 37C Database, to have access to a list of other owners in you area and information about your boat (see the thread in The Cherubini Hunters sub-forum).
 
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Johnb

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Jan 22, 2008
1,419
Hunter 37-cutter Richmond CA
Trying to picture where that would be. On my 1983 boat there are no cleats forward of the companionway.

The good news is that if the fastenings for the cleat itself have resulted in the damage it should be localized.
 
Jun 8, 2004
994
C&C Frigate 36 St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia
Trying to picture where that would be. On my 1983 boat there are no cleats forward of the companionway...
And on my 1983 boat there are midship cleats just forward of the shrouds and bow cleats along the toe rail, 18" aft of the chocks. If I have learned anything by keeping the database all these year, its than no two H37C boats are alike!
 
May 31, 2007
758
Hunter 37 cutter Blind River
Having rebuilt many decks and having owned two Cherubinis, I highly recommend the excise and replace method. It is generally easier to replace the top skin with new glass than to re-use the original. Polyester wins over epoxy on this repair due to cost, time and ease of use. I also find it more versatile and it is plenty strong. Yes, epoxy is stronger, but is massive overkill for this application. If my boat were in the Atacama Desert or a dehumidified building rather than the frozen north, I would go the drill and inject technique. Where I live, the rest of the core would rot away long before drying out.
 

MMost

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Jul 17, 2021
1
Jeanneau Attalia Iroquois
Having rebuilt many decks and having owned two Cherubinis, I highly recommend the excise and replace method. It is generally easier to replace the top skin with new glass than to re-use the original. Polyester wins over epoxy on this repair due to cost, time and ease of use. I also find it more versatile and it is plenty strong. Yes, epoxy is stronger, but is massive overkill for this application. If my boat were in the Atacama Desert or a dehumidified building rather than the frozen north, I would go the drill and inject technique. Where I live, the rest of the core would rot away long before drying out.
I know this is an old thread but I have to redo parts of the deck of my Jeanneau Attalia ( on Lake Ontario)…And I had assumed it would be epoxy over polyester . Given my readings, ( including this thread) I’m on the fence but would go with either ( looks like polyester) . But then what about esthetics? People don’t talk about trying to match either the colour or as importantly the non-skid pattern. Do you just mismatch or try and blend something . Certainly to redo the entire deck is not the way to go…
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I had a void under a PO-added midship cleat…not sure why it was “hollow” under the top skin, but when I tried to chamfer the holes a little to rebed with butyl tape, I punched right through the skin.

I removed the cleat, drilled out the holes a bit, and filled as much of the void as I get with West Marine Six10 thickened epoxy in the dispenser tube…just kept squeezing it in until I couldn’t get any more into the void.
C4C61DDC-06F9-4F53-9E80-B12255653B65.png

Once it hardened, I redrilled the holes, chamfered them, and reinstalled the cleats…

Luckily for me, the cleats cover the holes, so nothing is visible.

Greg
 
May 31, 2007
758
Hunter 37 cutter Blind River
MMOST - If you can't decide between poly and epoxy, you could split the differences and go vinylester. It is compatible with both the other chemicals and has the advantage of being gelcoat friendly. It is a very nice product but has a relatively short shelf life. As for matching non-skid - if a stippled finish like most C%C's and older Hunters, rolling gelcoat slightly thickened can provide a reasonable facsimile. A diamond pattern is pretty advanced for most practitioners but is doable. Good luck.