I have core rot where the port bulkhead tang goes through the deck. Not sure just how extensive it is yet. This has been an ongoing leak area. Has anyone used products and techniques from rotdoctor.com?
Deck Core Rot
- Thread starter wilyoung
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None of the penetrating epoxies will do much of anything, except make a mess, on an already WET core. While it may potentially make you feel better, thinking you've fixed a problem, the reality is you've done little to structurally repair your deck if it was still wet when injected..
It needs to be nearly dry for it to work as intended. CPES specifically talks about moisture readings below 12% in their self published "white paper". Hardwood floors are installed at 7-8% moisture content so 12% is actually rather dry wood.. When they refer to "rot" they are generally talking about dry rot not currently saturated or wet.
I have personally seen the results of a wet core "injection" repair, after it was re-repaired, by taking the top skin off. It does not work as you would like to think it does or the way the manufacturers would have you believe especially if the core is wet. This particular deck had a lot of little holes with epoxy plugs and very little "penetration" most likely because it was wet when injected and the penetrating epoxy had no place to go as the moisture was already occupying it.
Sadly there is no silver bullet easy way to repair core rot, but I wish there was. The person who invents it will be a wealthy individual!!!
The CPES system is especially useful if the core is not completely degraded and cutting away an upper or lower skin is not possible or would involve too much cosmetic repair afterwards. I have used this on several boats and had excellent success, but the core material must be dry beforehand and have reasonable structural integrity or you will not get good results. For corners of cored cabintops, seats, etc. it is an excellent alternative to major surgery. In your case, if you want to do it properly and the rot is pervasive and has destroyed the core, cut off the top skin on your deck until you have clean core material, replace the core with marine plywood, balsa or a synthetic core and reglass the top. If the core is just wet and has not degraded, you can dry it out over the winter and inject thickened epoxy ,if the skin has delaminated, and you'll be fine. Since this is a structural area on your boat, you don't want to take shortcuts. West Systems has a great repair manual for first timers you can access in their website. Good luck!
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