I am seriously looking at purchasing my first keel boat a O'Day 27 1976. All in all the boat seems to be in good shape considering its nearly 30 years old. The boat was not covered properly and in a bit of neglect The scare that I have with the boat is the cracking of the deck at the side stay fittings and the deck is soft and spongee for my 185 lbs. The stantions also leak water which is evident from the stains inside. Please advise if I should remain a dinghy sailor which I enjoy, or is this repairable. Would you suggest a surveyor for this boat. The price is right I am just not sure how much more it will cost to repair. Thank You for listening, any help or suggestions would be appreciated and informative. Cheers Hugh
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I Feel Your Pain...
Hugh. You find a great looking boat, that is priced well and will meet your needs, then discover the decks are shot...turned to mush from the lack of 1 $20 tube of caulking...DAMN. I can't answer for you, because I don't know your skill sets and your ability to tackle a large, time consuming job. But if it was me, I would walk and keep looking. Unless you can beat this boat down to almost a give away, and invest an entire season to restoring the decks? I don't think I would even risk the $750 the surveyor is going to charge to tell you what you already know. Save it for the better boat. They are out there. Don
Hugh. You find a great looking boat, that is priced well and will meet your needs, then discover the decks are shot...turned to mush from the lack of 1 $20 tube of caulking...DAMN. I can't answer for you, because I don't know your skill sets and your ability to tackle a large, time consuming job. But if it was me, I would walk and keep looking. Unless you can beat this boat down to almost a give away, and invest an entire season to restoring the decks? I don't think I would even risk the $750 the surveyor is going to charge to tell you what you already know. Save it for the better boat. They are out there. Don
Thanks Don
I very much appreciate your advice and wisdom. I do not know much about repair to decks. Do you have any idea what a job like this would cost from a professional. I read a little about drilling small holes into the decks balsa core and injecting it with hardening material. Perhaps not the job for a novice. Please advise if possible. In any event thank you again for your advice and time. Cheers Hugh
I very much appreciate your advice and wisdom. I do not know much about repair to decks. Do you have any idea what a job like this would cost from a professional. I read a little about drilling small holes into the decks balsa core and injecting it with hardening material. Perhaps not the job for a novice. Please advise if possible. In any event thank you again for your advice and time. Cheers Hugh
DECK LEAKS
Hi Hugh,I to have a ODay 27 and i've had deck leaks but they can be fixed and i didn't find it that big of a deal.My leaks were around the shrouds and the stanchon as well,First well go to the deck deternin the size of the soft or mussy part of the deck and take masking tape and find the hard areas and tape in the spongy areasthat way you'll kniow just ahow big of an area that you'll be working onthen start in the middle and just start drilling small holes about 3/16 or 1/4" thru the top layer of the deck and see what the bit pulls out,if you see wet wood keep drilling small holes about 3" inches apart untill you get solid dry wood out,now get some denatured alcohol and a small squezz bottle and inject the holes with the alcohol,this will help on the drying of the wood this may take a gfewe time and a couple of days to dry out a wet dry vac left on and attached over some of the holes may also help speed this up after you have it dryed out now get some polyester resin and some styrene and mix up about a half pint to a pint depending on the work area mix your resin and add 25% styrene and you'll have a good penatrating resin get another squezz bottle and fill with resin mixtures starting at the highest level inject the holes slowly watching the resin making sure that it doesn'tstart leaking out the holes at the bottom to fast if it does slow down the injecting put tape over the holesthis may take a couple of injections to keep the mess to a min.after the hole are filledsand down any that got on the deck surface and re gelcoat,try to stay with gelcoat and try not to use an epoxy becayse gelcoat won't stick to epoxy just to polyester resin,isopathic resin or vinylester resins,look in your yellow pages under RESINS to find someone in your area that handles these products and that can help with any question that you might have about the mixing or you can e-mail me and i can help you with it.Now to the shrouds first loosen shrouds that you are going to be working on always if you loosen opposit shroud alsoremove the pins and remove shroud from bulkheads clean off the chain plates and dig out all bedding from the holers thru thru the deckscheck and make sure that its hasn't rotted the inside hole and under the deck if it had get an epoxy putty and force it back uner the deck as far as you can without blocking the holes for the chain plates,you will have to have a little play in the slot with the chain plates installed without any thing on them or bolted to the bulkheads remove the chain plates and squezz in some polysufide or silicone on the3 chain plates about where they start getting to area where they are bolted to the bulkheads don't be shy about putting the bedding on the chain plates any mess can be cleaned up bolt them in and take your sealant and pack it in from inside the boat then do the same from the outside thenput your cover over the chain plate and screw down let sealant dry couple of hrs then reconnect your shrouds and ajust and you should be in business.I bought my 27 about 7 yrs ago and have extensive work on her to update it,I too got mine for a great price and am very happy with the boat ,sails great and has more room than most 30 footers out there.Mike Chan Mchan760@aol.com
Hi Hugh,I to have a ODay 27 and i've had deck leaks but they can be fixed and i didn't find it that big of a deal.My leaks were around the shrouds and the stanchon as well,First well go to the deck deternin the size of the soft or mussy part of the deck and take masking tape and find the hard areas and tape in the spongy areasthat way you'll kniow just ahow big of an area that you'll be working onthen start in the middle and just start drilling small holes about 3/16 or 1/4" thru the top layer of the deck and see what the bit pulls out,if you see wet wood keep drilling small holes about 3" inches apart untill you get solid dry wood out,now get some denatured alcohol and a small squezz bottle and inject the holes with the alcohol,this will help on the drying of the wood this may take a gfewe time and a couple of days to dry out a wet dry vac left on and attached over some of the holes may also help speed this up after you have it dryed out now get some polyester resin and some styrene and mix up about a half pint to a pint depending on the work area mix your resin and add 25% styrene and you'll have a good penatrating resin get another squezz bottle and fill with resin mixtures starting at the highest level inject the holes slowly watching the resin making sure that it doesn'tstart leaking out the holes at the bottom to fast if it does slow down the injecting put tape over the holesthis may take a couple of injections to keep the mess to a min.after the hole are filledsand down any that got on the deck surface and re gelcoat,try to stay with gelcoat and try not to use an epoxy becayse gelcoat won't stick to epoxy just to polyester resin,isopathic resin or vinylester resins,look in your yellow pages under RESINS to find someone in your area that handles these products and that can help with any question that you might have about the mixing or you can e-mail me and i can help you with it.Now to the shrouds first loosen shrouds that you are going to be working on always if you loosen opposit shroud alsoremove the pins and remove shroud from bulkheads clean off the chain plates and dig out all bedding from the holers thru thru the deckscheck and make sure that its hasn't rotted the inside hole and under the deck if it had get an epoxy putty and force it back uner the deck as far as you can without blocking the holes for the chain plates,you will have to have a little play in the slot with the chain plates installed without any thing on them or bolted to the bulkheads remove the chain plates and squezz in some polysufide or silicone on the3 chain plates about where they start getting to area where they are bolted to the bulkheads don't be shy about putting the bedding on the chain plates any mess can be cleaned up bolt them in and take your sealant and pack it in from inside the boat then do the same from the outside thenput your cover over the chain plate and screw down let sealant dry couple of hrs then reconnect your shrouds and ajust and you should be in business.I bought my 27 about 7 yrs ago and have extensive work on her to update it,I too got mine for a great price and am very happy with the boat ,sails great and has more room than most 30 footers out there.Mike Chan Mchan760@aol.com
Further Thoughts
Hugh, Mike gave an excellent plan for repair of relatively small areas. Again I don't know your skill level, or your financial situation, but unless I was going to beat this boat down for a song, and be prepared to deal with the repair issues, I'd walk. It's one thing to deal with these repairs after you have owned the boat, but to have to deal with repairs from the onset is a difficult situation for most people. Most just want to get sailing. Having to buy this repair from an expert could be out of proportion to the purchase price of the vessel. It's going to be expensive. This repair is going to take a yard weeks to undertake. I recently spoke with an owner of a Bayfield 25 who had this repair done (damaged core at about 6 locations), new nonskid, new topside paint all colour matched and it cost him 6K and 1 season. You might purchase Don Casey's "Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair". There is an entire chapter on these repairs. West Systems epoxy has excellent books on this repair, and there on the web. If you still want to proceed, use your own surveyor (not the sellers) to renegotiate the purchase price. He/she will also give you a better idea of the cost and complexity of the repair. Best of luck with your decisions. Don
Hugh, Mike gave an excellent plan for repair of relatively small areas. Again I don't know your skill level, or your financial situation, but unless I was going to beat this boat down for a song, and be prepared to deal with the repair issues, I'd walk. It's one thing to deal with these repairs after you have owned the boat, but to have to deal with repairs from the onset is a difficult situation for most people. Most just want to get sailing. Having to buy this repair from an expert could be out of proportion to the purchase price of the vessel. It's going to be expensive. This repair is going to take a yard weeks to undertake. I recently spoke with an owner of a Bayfield 25 who had this repair done (damaged core at about 6 locations), new nonskid, new topside paint all colour matched and it cost him 6K and 1 season. You might purchase Don Casey's "Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair". There is an entire chapter on these repairs. West Systems epoxy has excellent books on this repair, and there on the web. If you still want to proceed, use your own surveyor (not the sellers) to renegotiate the purchase price. He/she will also give you a better idea of the cost and complexity of the repair. Best of luck with your decisions. Don
The agony of deck repair
Hi Hugh. I purchased an O'Day 25, with trailer, the Vire 7 inboard and all the bells and whistels O'Day had for the 25. Cost? $3500. I thought it was a deal. The deck on the starboard side of the cabin was soft and there were a few cracks here and there. I wasn't worried. I started repairs in May. I discovered all the cracked areas were wet inside. They cracked when the water inside froze during the winter. I opened one area just to check how much it would dry while I repaired the other places. It never dried out all summer. Once its wet, the balsa just won't dry more than 1/2 inch in from the exposed area. I tore out about 15% of the deck on the boat. About four times as much as I thought there was to repair. I labored all summer. Every spare moment I could find was spent on the boat. Aside from the sunburn, deteriorating marital relations, repair material induced poverty, and expensive tools I purchased and broke, I had a blast. I ran out of summer and the job is almost done, except for the painting and home made non-skid I have to create. I must have put in 200 hours on this job. It ate all four weeks of my vacation. It is difficult in the extream. I have learned a huge amount from this. I am an expert in boat deck repair. I will never ever ever do this again. Spend the money for a solid boat because deck repair is just too much work. EVEN IF THE BOAT IS FREE!
Hi Hugh. I purchased an O'Day 25, with trailer, the Vire 7 inboard and all the bells and whistels O'Day had for the 25. Cost? $3500. I thought it was a deal. The deck on the starboard side of the cabin was soft and there were a few cracks here and there. I wasn't worried. I started repairs in May. I discovered all the cracked areas were wet inside. They cracked when the water inside froze during the winter. I opened one area just to check how much it would dry while I repaired the other places. It never dried out all summer. Once its wet, the balsa just won't dry more than 1/2 inch in from the exposed area. I tore out about 15% of the deck on the boat. About four times as much as I thought there was to repair. I labored all summer. Every spare moment I could find was spent on the boat. Aside from the sunburn, deteriorating marital relations, repair material induced poverty, and expensive tools I purchased and broke, I had a blast. I ran out of summer and the job is almost done, except for the painting and home made non-skid I have to create. I must have put in 200 hours on this job. It ate all four weeks of my vacation. It is difficult in the extream. I have learned a huge amount from this. I am an expert in boat deck repair. I will never ever ever do this again. Spend the money for a solid boat because deck repair is just too much work. EVEN IF THE BOAT IS FREE!
Deck repair in action
Hugh I bought what I though was a bargin priced Oday 23. Since investing in Don Caseys Deck Repair bible, I decided to give the job a go myself. If you've ever wondered what the inside of the deck looks like, see the repairs under way as per the attached photo. The balsa was replaced with klegacel, which is much easier to work with and gives a strong result. The damage from 30 years of leakage through no less than 15 deck fittings had reduced the foredeck to smush, even though the boat had been out of the water for a year. I have learnt a huge amount and would probably think twice about it next time, even though I am pleased with the result. It's also taken a whole season !
Hugh I bought what I though was a bargin priced Oday 23. Since investing in Don Caseys Deck Repair bible, I decided to give the job a go myself. If you've ever wondered what the inside of the deck looks like, see the repairs under way as per the attached photo. The balsa was replaced with klegacel, which is much easier to work with and gives a strong result. The damage from 30 years of leakage through no less than 15 deck fittings had reduced the foredeck to smush, even though the boat had been out of the water for a year. I have learnt a huge amount and would probably think twice about it next time, even though I am pleased with the result. It's also taken a whole season !
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