cockpit sole delamination

[John]

I have a soft spot in my cockpit sole about 10 inches forward of the steering pedestal on the starboard side. I have addressed the water problems which caused it in the first place. My question is, can this be repaired by cutting the headliner and rebuilding from the bottom. I drilled a small pilot hole in the liner, and it seems to be very thick. Is the headliner structural or am I just too cautious? I have emailed Catalina, but no response yet. I have no problem doing the glass work, but do not want to borrow trouble. Has anyone tried this?Thanks, John

 

[Trevor - SailboatOwners.com]

Glasswork in cockpit sole

Hi John -Since you appear to have experience with glasswork, I think you should have little trouble replacing the soft area in the cockpit sole. That's one of the beauties of Catalinas (and many other production boats): it's pretty hard to cause further problems that can't be fixed. I'd cut out the soft areas and replace with marine grade plywood, covering that with glass. Worst case scenario, you end up cutting out the whole cockpit sole and replacing with something that doesn't match perfectly. That worst case scenario probably comes with a much stronger sole than stock in the first place!Best of luck,Trevor

 

[John]

Thanks Trevor

Those were my thoughts exactly. All I need now is time to do the job!