The cockpit sole of my '77 O'day 27 is spongy and I want to repair it. I was thinking of removing the upper layer coat and replacing the wood below. I understand that "starboard", the plastic wood replacement is OK to use here. I am wondering about the best way to get the top layer off. Any suggestions from someone who has gone through this?
cockpit sole repair
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I have done this
I recently cut the sole out of my 22. I used a circular saw with the finest blade I could find (155 teeth, a 'finish' blade). I duct taped the line to be cut in order to prevent/reduce splintering. This worked very well except for the corners that the circular couldn't get to. I scored these with a hand held razor saw and hoped they would snap cleanly, they did. I was able to get the top 'skin' off intact. The 22 uses 3/8" scored and scrimmed end-grain balsa for its core material. I am sure that you could use Starboard for this application but I believe there are better choices. First of all the starboard is much more expensive and I can't locate it in 3/8" thickness (2'x4' piece of 1/4" starboard is about $40 compared to about $16 dollars for the same size end-grain balsa), second you will have to cut it into many pieces to match the curves of the sole (my sole was slightly convex... I guess I can't speak for yours). I have heard of many people using marine ply. Balsa is incredibly strong as a core material due to the orientation of the grain, it is also very easy to work with, the least expensive option, and is also what the original builders used. I would save the starboard for cabinets and the like and get some scored end-grain balsa. This project is not that bad, just make sure you have the depth set on your saw blade to something like 1/4", especially where the sole is soft b/c it may be rotten underneath. It is also incredibly messy, so get yourself some nice goggles and a respirator. There are some pictures of my project on the following link. Good luck with this!
I recently cut the sole out of my 22. I used a circular saw with the finest blade I could find (155 teeth, a 'finish' blade). I duct taped the line to be cut in order to prevent/reduce splintering. This worked very well except for the corners that the circular couldn't get to. I scored these with a hand held razor saw and hoped they would snap cleanly, they did. I was able to get the top 'skin' off intact. The 22 uses 3/8" scored and scrimmed end-grain balsa for its core material. I am sure that you could use Starboard for this application but I believe there are better choices. First of all the starboard is much more expensive and I can't locate it in 3/8" thickness (2'x4' piece of 1/4" starboard is about $40 compared to about $16 dollars for the same size end-grain balsa), second you will have to cut it into many pieces to match the curves of the sole (my sole was slightly convex... I guess I can't speak for yours). I have heard of many people using marine ply. Balsa is incredibly strong as a core material due to the orientation of the grain, it is also very easy to work with, the least expensive option, and is also what the original builders used. I would save the starboard for cabinets and the like and get some scored end-grain balsa. This project is not that bad, just make sure you have the depth set on your saw blade to something like 1/4", especially where the sole is soft b/c it may be rotten underneath. It is also incredibly messy, so get yourself some nice goggles and a respirator. There are some pictures of my project on the following link. Good luck with this!
Cockpit Sole
First question is do you have an inboard engine? If not there is plenty of room to do it from the underside. The PO of my boat did it that way using 3/4 marine plywood. Nice clean job if he had painted it I would never have been able to tell it was done. Would be a problem with and inboard engine. Just not enough room to work. Good luck with your project.
First question is do you have an inboard engine? If not there is plenty of room to do it from the underside. The PO of my boat did it that way using 3/4 marine plywood. Nice clean job if he had painted it I would never have been able to tell it was done. Would be a problem with and inboard engine. Just not enough room to work. Good luck with your project.
I have a 32 Centercockpit and...
Did mine from below with the engine in place, it wasn't as bad as it looked The tough part after removing water heater,exhaust hose,steerage cables and etc.. out of the way was cutting with a saw laying on your back,but I used seat pfd's for comfort and they worked great and as for control with a saw I found a small cordless skill saw worked the best and the place's where I could not get the saw I used a tool called a Roto Zip which is like a small router and once I cut the bottom layer all the rotten plywood core came down and I was looking at the fiberglass underside of the cockpit sole I used the cut out for a template and replaced the wood with 2 layers of 3/4 marine plywood epoxyed to the original glass and you can't tell unless you look from below cause I haven't painted mine either(I'm thinking about noise insulation instead of paint)
Did mine from below with the engine in place, it wasn't as bad as it looked The tough part after removing water heater,exhaust hose,steerage cables and etc.. out of the way was cutting with a saw laying on your back,but I used seat pfd's for comfort and they worked great and as for control with a saw I found a small cordless skill saw worked the best and the place's where I could not get the saw I used a tool called a Roto Zip which is like a small router and once I cut the bottom layer all the rotten plywood core came down and I was looking at the fiberglass underside of the cockpit sole I used the cut out for a template and replaced the wood with 2 layers of 3/4 marine plywood epoxyed to the original glass and you can't tell unless you look from below cause I haven't painted mine either(I'm thinking about noise insulation instead of paint)
Do it from below
It may seem like more work, and it certainly isn't easy, but you'll keep the non-skid surface intact and have less cosmetic work to do. As with previous posts, I would NOT recommend Starboard. Use a good quality 3/4" exterior grade plywood, a marine grade if you're up for the expense, or at least a Douglas Fir ply. Seal all edge grain with unthickned epoxy & use epoxy to bond the ply to the underside of the fiberglass. Make sure to seal any & all holes thru the cockpit sole using the epoxy potting technique, as water will eventually get past any bedding material you use & start to degrade/rot the new wood. I'm going to have to tackle this on my '78 model O27: it has pedestal steering + inboard engine, so I know access will be tough, but once all the hardware is removed & the old core & glass cut away, the job should be quite straightforward...........just a lot of work.
It may seem like more work, and it certainly isn't easy, but you'll keep the non-skid surface intact and have less cosmetic work to do. As with previous posts, I would NOT recommend Starboard. Use a good quality 3/4" exterior grade plywood, a marine grade if you're up for the expense, or at least a Douglas Fir ply. Seal all edge grain with unthickned epoxy & use epoxy to bond the ply to the underside of the fiberglass. Make sure to seal any & all holes thru the cockpit sole using the epoxy potting technique, as water will eventually get past any bedding material you use & start to degrade/rot the new wood. I'm going to have to tackle this on my '78 model O27: it has pedestal steering + inboard engine, so I know access will be tough, but once all the hardware is removed & the old core & glass cut away, the job should be quite straightforward...........just a lot of work.
Another option
Drill 1/8" holes thru the cockpit sole & use some round head wood screws run down thru the holes to hold the plywood in place while the thickened epoxy bonding the ply in place cures. Use flat washers under the screw heads & coat both screw & washer with a bit of Vaseline to prevent the epoxy from bonding to the screws. When the epoxy has cured, remove the screws & fill the holes with a drop or two of unthickened epoxy to seal.
Drill 1/8" holes thru the cockpit sole & use some round head wood screws run down thru the holes to hold the plywood in place while the thickened epoxy bonding the ply in place cures. Use flat washers under the screw heads & coat both screw & washer with a bit of Vaseline to prevent the epoxy from bonding to the screws. When the epoxy has cured, remove the screws & fill the holes with a drop or two of unthickened epoxy to seal.
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