Drying out wet wood deck core.

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A

Anthony Bavuso

I have recently begun to rewire my mast and in the process notice that my through deck electrical fitting has been leaking water. When I removed the fitting I stuck my finger into the hole and felt the moisture on the wood deck coring. The through deck hole is 1" in diameter. The wood around the hole looks intact i.e. it hasn't rotten, and I image if the wood at the source of the water isn't rotten then I doubt any of the wood around it will be rotten. So I don't think I need to replace any of the wood. I just need to dry it out and insure that no more water enters there. Are there any suggestions for good ways of drying the wood out? Some ideas that I have had were to set up a fan to blow air through the hole for a few days...sticking a small light bulb into the hole to heat it and evaporate the water... Thanks for any suggestions/comments.
 
G

Guest

Great question

I have similar deck problems and have been told to drill small "vents" in the interior to dry the core. But, I haven't seen any good approaches. Looking forward to responses.
 
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Barry Olsen

Try This!

I've seen the pros put pieces of paper towels in the holes to act as wicks. On calm sunny days use a fan along with mild heat. Moisture climbs up the towel and evaporates. Another approach I've seen is to use a solvent like alcohol or acetone. It will mix with the water or moisture and help it evaporate quickly. Barry
 
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GERRY HULL

Drying Out A Wet Core

It doesn't sound serious yet. You can do some very small test bores in a circle around the wet wood to see how far the water has penetrated. [feel and look at the wood on the drill]. Inject acetone, not alcohol and dry it out with heat and time. Once dry, consider replacing the wood core around the hole with a thickened resin with some chopped strands mixed in for strength. A technique to remove the wood from the perimeter of the hole is to use a small allen wrench in an elecric drill as a home made horizontal router. If you do this it will also speed up drying and then you can seal it as described above. The same technigue can be used where water has entered around cleat bolts,hawse pipes etc. Easy fix at this stage.Good luck
 
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Guest

Core drying

Dec.20, 2000 Dear Anthony, When faced with a similar problem around an anchor windless switch I used the same basic technique suggested by Gerry. I used wood filler in the epoxy instead of chopped strand, not that I think that makes a difference. The other thing was that I dried the area out using a heat gun and monitored the hole over several days to make sure it was dry before proceeding. I had to remove some rotted core and used the allen key in a drill technique and then added the filler. In your case you appear to have caught the leak early so rot may not be a problem, but I would suggest that after you dry the hole out you coat it liberally with "Git Rot" or penetrating epoxy to prevent future water penetration into the wood before recaulking and replacing the fitting. Hope this helps. Brian Pickton of BeneteauOwners.net Aboard the Legend, Rodney Bay ,St.Lucia
 
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Justin - O'day Owners' Web

great drying technique.

When I discovered to my horror that I had some really bad core on my Catalina, I first cut out the really nasty stuff (sounds like you're all set with this). Then I drilled very small test holes around the bad spot to determine its extent. I like to do this by starting three inches away from the defect, then moving out in a straight line in two inch increments. When I find that the shavings from a bore hole are dry and clean, I stop and do the same thing 180 degrees on the other side of the defect, the do the other 90's. Doing this will save you a lot of holes over going in a radial pattern. The purpose of the holes is to see how far the problem extends and how far it goes, not to act of vapor release points. If you are finding nasty black wood, you may need to drill drying holes, but if not, you can probably do it my preferred way. Tape the defect over from the bottom with duct tape so that its more or less air tight. Go to your favorite marine store and buy a chemical dehumidifier. Set it next to the defect. Tape a ruller to something that will hold it vertical next to the defect. Make sure the ruler (or whatever) is a couple of inches higher than the dehumidifier. Take a big black garbage back (or several taped together) and cover the defect and dehumidifier. It should drape over the ruler like a tent. Tape the bag to the deck so that air cannot get in. Now the dehumidifier will suck the water out of the air in the space under tha bag, and the dry air will draw water out of the core. Put a couple of heat lamps aimed at the bottom of the area around the defect to speed up the process. Worked well for me, YMMV. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
 
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