is what I have in the most forward part of the floor, where my teenage sons land when they jump down from the deck. They are hairline or "stress" cracks and hardly noticable. When I stand on this area and rock from foot to foot I hear a "crunching" sound not a "squishing" sound and I don't see any signs of water leaking through. Can anyone tell me how the floor is constructed, is there a core? Has anyone reinforced the cockpit floor from below? What is the downside of starting with epoxy injection as the initial repair method? Scott
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lots of ideas
the floor is cored you can see it from below. you have some choices. drill and inject epoxy. this should stablise it. I think i would drill a whole from the bottom and see if you get any moisture. if so you could cut away a bit from to bottom replace the bad wood with epoxy coated new wood and glass it back up. its hard to work over head and it will make a mess but is not really a hard job. if you mix the epoxy with cabosil to thicken it you would have a paste like butter to trowell up then put in the wood (precoated) let it kick then cover with a couple of layers of glass cloth and you should be good to go. It wouldnt hurt to put a layer of cloth on top of the wood to seal any seepage.. let the teenagers do the work and they wont jump down anymore!. You could try to drill in from the top but then you have to repair the holes too.
the floor is cored you can see it from below. you have some choices. drill and inject epoxy. this should stablise it. I think i would drill a whole from the bottom and see if you get any moisture. if so you could cut away a bit from to bottom replace the bad wood with epoxy coated new wood and glass it back up. its hard to work over head and it will make a mess but is not really a hard job. if you mix the epoxy with cabosil to thicken it you would have a paste like butter to trowell up then put in the wood (precoated) let it kick then cover with a couple of layers of glass cloth and you should be good to go. It wouldnt hurt to put a layer of cloth on top of the wood to seal any seepage.. let the teenagers do the work and they wont jump down anymore!. You could try to drill in from the top but then you have to repair the holes too.
Cored I think.
You should be able to get under it from the v-berth. You should see a reinforcement almost under the bridgedeck(where my traveler is mounted). Since you are going to inject epoxy anyway why not drill a hole completely through? This will get you the thickness and you will be able to see any moisture in the drill bit. For the rest of the holes put a collar on the bit so you do not go through the bottom layer. Then there is the trick of using a bent nail to rout out the wet core to a larger diameter. Flat surfaces are easily filled and finished. You could glass another stringer on the bottom for added strength.
You should be able to get under it from the v-berth. You should see a reinforcement almost under the bridgedeck(where my traveler is mounted). Since you are going to inject epoxy anyway why not drill a hole completely through? This will get you the thickness and you will be able to see any moisture in the drill bit. For the rest of the holes put a collar on the bit so you do not go through the bottom layer. Then there is the trick of using a bent nail to rout out the wet core to a larger diameter. Flat surfaces are easily filled and finished. You could glass another stringer on the bottom for added strength.
Cockpit deck
I am late into this conversation. I agree with eveything Ed said. I have a leak into the cockpit deck that I have never been able to find. It became so bad that there was a red coloured wine coming out of one of the screw holes for the cockpit drain. It is definately rotting plywood. I have a "squishy" cockpit deck and have lived with it for many years. This year I built a set of cockpit grates which covers the whole area and it is now not so "squishy". I live with it but after Ed'd comments I may have a go at a repair. I drilled a hole two years back right through the cockpit deck near the base of the compass guard supports to run GPS and power cables. Water ran out onto the engine for ten minutes. I think it is dry now but it is still "squishy" I will go sailing and thnk about it again
I am late into this conversation. I agree with eveything Ed said. I have a leak into the cockpit deck that I have never been able to find. It became so bad that there was a red coloured wine coming out of one of the screw holes for the cockpit drain. It is definately rotting plywood. I have a "squishy" cockpit deck and have lived with it for many years. This year I built a set of cockpit grates which covers the whole area and it is now not so "squishy". I live with it but after Ed'd comments I may have a go at a repair. I drilled a hole two years back right through the cockpit deck near the base of the compass guard supports to run GPS and power cables. Water ran out onto the engine for ten minutes. I think it is dry now but it is still "squishy" I will go sailing and thnk about it again
Oh fess up Mr. Prior
to the fact that you love working with wood ( I saw your photo of your stunning grates) and abhor working with fiberglass. True? Anyway, do you have any support installed under your cockpit floor, stringers or something? Loving Puget Sound on a clear crisp day as we have today, Scott.
to the fact that you love working with wood ( I saw your photo of your stunning grates) and abhor working with fiberglass. True? Anyway, do you have any support installed under your cockpit floor, stringers or something? Loving Puget Sound on a clear crisp day as we have today, Scott.
listening to you guys talk about puget sound..
Really makes me want to come there and sail. its got to be getting kind of chilly out there by now. I think it would be rather straight forward doing the cocpit floor on the 37 from below. i have replaced the small opening to the engine room with two 3 foot sections that open the entire port side of the engine. made 2 removeable on the starbord side. so now i can get at it. It looks like a die grinder would cut the majority of the floor out in no time and then it would be just build it back from the bottom, fininsh would not be critical. but i like the idea of going sailing to think on it best!
Really makes me want to come there and sail. its got to be getting kind of chilly out there by now. I think it would be rather straight forward doing the cocpit floor on the 37 from below. i have replaced the small opening to the engine room with two 3 foot sections that open the entire port side of the engine. made 2 removeable on the starbord side. so now i can get at it. It looks like a die grinder would cut the majority of the floor out in no time and then it would be just build it back from the bottom, fininsh would not be critical. but i like the idea of going sailing to think on it best!
We live the dream on Puget Sound
but whats to bad about being provincial. See link ( I hope) for what all the fuss is about. Scott
but whats to bad about being provincial. See link ( I hope) for what all the fuss is about. Scott
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