"GIT" Rot for Bilge Bed

[Piratenorm]

I know this is going to create controversy, but here goes anyway. In my 1983 Catalina 30 Mk 1 I have marine plywood in the bilge bed above the keel stub that Catalina recommends be removed and replaced with roving and fibreglass resin. This is obviously how I'd like to do it, but right now my plywood isn't at the terminal stage and I'm wondering if injecting "GIT" Rot into several drilled holes drilled down in the bottom of the bilge bed and through the plywood wouldn't accomplish the same thing. I'm talking dozens of holes specifically near/around the keel bolts. I'm on the hard now, in soon to be frigid Ontario, where fibreglass requires heat to cure. I don't have indoor storage or a heated cover and frankly I'm one who looks for the simplest solution to problems. In a perfect world I'd truck the boat to a heated service yard and pull out my Gold Card to have it done perfectly, but that isn't feasible so I'm wondering if anyone has a compelling reason why this won't work. Thanks, as always.
Norm

 

[Dave Groshong]

The wood must be absolutely dry for the GIT Rot or other penetrating epoxy to be effective, so I don't think it's a good idea.

 

[jrowan]

Plus drilling more hulls through the bilge isn't a good idea either. If those holes aren't sealed perfectly, then your creating another point(s) for moisture penetration. I've heard that many bilges got water into the core from holes drilled to mount the screws for the bilge pumps & float switches. If your core isn't noticeably rotted, that is you can still torque down your keel bolts, & there's no compression post rot or bad catalina smile, then an alternative is to waterproof the bilge better by painting epoxy paint / slurry over the entire bilge to seal out further moisture penetration. I have an '80 C 30 with one keel bolt that has some rust forming around the keel bolt nut which is likely from crevice corrosion that I need to seal / rebed. But just remember, in almost 40 years of C 30's being around not one has reportedly ever lost a keel due to rot in the bilge plywood.

 

[rbmcintire]

Ours was previously treated with a GIT Rot type product, and in our case, water continued to leak down the mast wiring and into the block. Maryland's winter isn't in the same league as Ontario's, but I did ours on the hard in February with an electric heater and a light tree. Boatyards will not let you keep them plugged in overnight, or after you leave, but do allow power extension cords during your working hours. I bought a heavy duty 3/4" blue foam sheet (not flimsy white styrofoam) from Lowe's and made template pieces to stack and fit into place before using them to markup/cut the permanent material. You can get the whole stack epoxied in one day, if everything is ready to go, and you plan it out. The full block that Catalina sells was unknown to me during the time. My experience would lead me to believe you would still need to shape it to fit, in some way. Pick a sunny day with minimal wind, close the companionway, and fire up the heater!

Rob

 

[Piratenorm]

Ours was previously treated with a GIT Rot type product, and in our case, water continued to leak down the mast wiring and into the block. Maryland's winter isn't in the same league as Ontario's, but I did ours on the hard in February with an electric heater and a light tree. Boatyards will not let you keep them plugged in overnight, or after you leave, but do allow power extension cords during your working hours. I bought a heavy duty 3/4" blue foam sheet (not flimsy white styrofoam) from Lowe's and made template pieces to stack and fit into place before using them to markup/cut the permanent material. You can get the whole stack epoxied in one day, if everything is ready to go, and you plan it out. The full block that Catalina sells was unknown to me during the time. My experience would lead me to believe you would still need to shape it to fit, in some way. Pick a sunny day with minimal wind, close the companionway, and fire up the heater!

Rob

Rob, the full block of what Catalina sells? I understood you had to cut through the plywood bilge bed, chisel the old plywood out and then build suitable layers up with roving and resin making up the removed material and that this would take time as you cannot lay in that much resin at once due to heat created during curing. Am I missing something here?
The sailing club I belong to doesn't allow extension cords and heaters to be left unattended during the winter, neither does my insurance carrier...and it would take a pretty long stretch with a heater to warm the inside of the boat sufficiently to allow the glass to set up, once winter is in full bloom here. That's why I was looking into an easier solution.
I'll leave it for now and revisit this idea later in the spring when I hope we get a warm spell. Already had the bottom sand-blasted to apply Interprotect 2000, but due to the alarmingly low water levels in the Great Lakes, (with no end in sight...) and specifically the 30,000 Islands of Georgian Bay I call home, I did hit bottom twice, hard, and have the makings of the Catalina Smile that needs addressing, which is why I wanted to reinforce the bed. No damage was transferred to the adjoining areas thankfully as I rode up and over what I hit, rather than be stopped dead in my tracks. This time...
I may try the Git Rot solution anyway, as long as I can guarantee with a few drilled test holes that the plywood isn't saturated, and naturally torque down the bolts. If all this works out I will post it as a possible quick fix option.
BTW, this months Practical Sailor has an excellent article on hull/keel damage and what to look for.
Thanks all.
Norm

 

[DanM]

Norm,

Rob was describing the compression block repair it sounds like, not the plywood in the keel itself.

That being said, I think I would lean toward leaving the keel plywood alone until you have the time to do the complete repair, drilling more holes may do more harm than good.

Take care, DanM.

 

[rbmcintire]

Norm,
Sorry I didn't respond back sooner. You could take this project in smaller steps, particularly if you want to minimize the cost. There's a lot of labor involved and your sailing season is shorter than some of the rest of us. Consider removing the mast, getting it on the hard, and demo that support block section out in the forward section of the bilge. That part of the job isn't temperature limited, except in what you personally can handle for a work environment. Get your hands on a heat gun, a portable ELECTRIC heater and some lighting. You can get the interior cabin quite workable despite what's going on outside. Actually get a thermometer to put up in there, do check out the West Systems site and review products' curing time/temperature tables. Focus heating your work sections one after the other, knock'em out and you can have then have the time to move to the outside work in Spring. Doing the bilge ply isn't out of the realm of possibility in this winter mode either, but it is a LOT of work. And Always be highly careful and deliberate with materials and safety.

Rob

 

[windcat]

I'm confused about the bilge plywood. Ours is a 1978 Catalina 30 hull # 959. We are looking for recommendations and dimensions of the block that is in the bilge that supports the mast. We've had an Oh-DUH! moment and always seem to do things in the wrong order. We just spent a lot of money unstepping the mast, restepping then hiring a pro to re-rig it. Then, after reading some of the posts on this site, I checked the bilge compression block, using a screw driver. It's really spongy. So now my husband has something new to worry about. Does anyone out there know the dimensions of that block. We are thinking that we want to get stainless steel to replace it. We measured as best we could, 3 x 6 x 6 1/2 inches.

 

[digggs]

How does your most aft keel bolt look? I believe it is under the engine how do you access to to torque.it seems to be a tight spot.

 

[Maine Sail]

I know this is going to create controversy, but here goes anyway. In my 1983 Catalina 30 Mk 1 I have marine plywood in the bilge bed above the keel stub that Catalina recommends be removed and replaced with roving and fibreglass resin. This is obviously how I'd like to do it, but right now my plywood isn't at the terminal stage and I'm wondering if injecting "GIT" Rot into several drilled holes drilled down in the bottom of the bilge bed and through the plywood wouldn't accomplish the same thing. I'm talking dozens of holes specifically near/around the keel bolts. I'm on the hard now, in soon to be frigid Ontario, where fibreglass requires heat to cure. I don't have indoor storage or a heated cover and frankly I'm one who looks for the simplest solution to problems. In a perfect world I'd truck the boat to a heated service yard and pull out my Gold Card to have it done perfectly, but that isn't feasible so I'm wondering if anyone has a compelling reason why this won't work. Thanks, as always.
Norm

Please don't waste your time on this. Wait to do it correctly....

 

[Bob4203]

Just a side note on Git Rot.............

When I was livng aboard my Coroanado 35 many years back, I had some soft spots in my deck toward the bow. I drilled a number of small holes and injected Git Rot via a syringe under the gelcoat. I was amazed how effective the stuff was for taking care of small soft spots. Great stuff.

How Git Rot would work on a very large section of rotting wood would be good to know. Once it penetrates and binds with the loosening wood fibers its in forever.

Bob
Mark II