Mistral Cockpit Combing

Status
Not open for further replies.
Feb 16, 2006
7
- - -
Finally an answer to the Mistral combing puzzle! Every Mistral I have seen shares this problem-the lower corners of the cocpit combing, by the helmsman's seat, gets damp,discolors the mahogany and peals the varnish. After 20 years of treating the symptom, with some success, I never really knew the actual the reason this spot is so prone to getting wet. While stripping this area the other day, in preparation for refinishing, I began exploring and discovered the outer two laminations (closest to the deck) were rotten from the seat level to the deck level(in the corner). After clearing the bad wood it was obvious that there was a void between the back of the combing and the fiberglass frame the supports the seat. Back in 1971 when the mahogany combing was laminated and steam bent into place the curve of the combing did not match the radius of the curve of the frame creating a void of about 3/8in. This cavity was just an invitation for water. Once in, the water just sat there and began rotting the mohogany. My solution is to replace the the outer two laminations of bad wood with layers of fiberglass cloth and epoxy and replace the surface lamination with a new piece of steam bent 1/4 mohogany. It would be good to hear if anybody else shares this experience. Bob
 
Feb 16, 2006
7
- - -
Finally an answer to the Mistral combing puzzle! Every Mistral I have seen shares this problem-the lower corners of the cocpit combing, by the helmsman's seat, gets damp,discolors the mahogany and peals the varnish. After 20 years of treating the symptom, with some success, I never really knew the actual the reason this spot is so prone to getting wet. While stripping this area the other day, in preparation for refinishing, I began exploring and discovered the outer two laminations (closest to the deck) were rotten from the seat level to the deck level(in the corner). After clearing the bad wood it was obvious that there was a void between the back of the combing and the fiberglass frame the supports the seat. Back in 1971 when the mahogany combing was laminated and steam bent into place the curve of the combing did not match the radius of the curve of the frame creating a void of about 3/8in. This cavity was just an invitation for water. Once in, the water just sat there and began rotting the mohogany. My solution is to replace the the outer two laminations of bad wood with layers of fiberglass cloth and epoxy and replace the surface lamination with a new piece of steam bent 1/4 mohogany. It would be good to hear if anybody else shares this experience. Bob
 
Feb 16, 2006
7
- - -
Finally an answer to the Mistral combing puzzle! Every Mistral I have seen shares this problem-the lower corners of the cocpit combing, by the helmsman's seat, gets damp,discolors the mahogany and peals the varnish. After 20 years of treating the symptom, with some success, I never really knew the actual the reason this spot is so prone to getting wet. While stripping this area the other day, in preparation for refinishing, I began exploring and discovered the outer two laminations (closest to the deck) were rotten from the seat level to the deck level(in the corner). After clearing the bad wood it was obvious that there was a void between the back of the combing and the fiberglass frame the supports the seat. Back in 1971 when the mahogany combing was laminated and steam bent into place the curve of the combing did not match the radius of the curve of the frame creating a void of about 3/8in. This cavity was just an invitation for water. Once in, the water just sat there and began rotting the mohogany. My solution is to replace the the outer two laminations of bad wood with layers of fiberglass cloth and epoxy and replace the surface lamination with a new piece of steam bent 1/4 mohogany. It would be good to hear if anybody else shares this experience. Bob
 
Feb 16, 2006
7
- - -
Finally an answer to the Mistral combing puzzle! Every Mistral I have seen shares this problem-the lower corners of the cocpit combing, by the helmsman's seat, gets damp,discolors the mahogany and peals the varnish. After 20 years of treating the symptom, with some success, I never really knew the actual the reason this spot is so prone to getting wet. While stripping this area the other day, in preparation for refinishing, I began exploring and discovered the outer two laminations (closest to the deck) were rotten from the seat level to the deck level(in the corner). After clearing the bad wood it was obvious that there was a void between the back of the combing and the fiberglass frame the supports the seat. Back in 1971 when the mahogany combing was laminated and steam bent into place the curve of the combing did not match the radius of the curve of the frame creating a void of about 3/8in. This cavity was just an invitation for water. Once in, the water just sat there and began rotting the mohogany. My solution is to replace the the outer two laminations of bad wood with layers of fiberglass cloth and epoxy and replace the surface lamination with a new piece of steam bent 1/4 mohogany. It would be good to hear if anybody else shares this experience. Bob
 
Jan 25, 2007
3
- - Edmonton, Alberta, Canda
You're right on the mark

In my complete rebuild of my 1970 Mistral (Vera May) I've removed all the wood from the fiberglass hull and deck structure. I even tore the cockpit combing off with my bare hands with no tools! I found the same saturated rot in the corner with a similar gap, but not quite as large. The previous owners had covered a lot of this rot with stainless steel sheeting or fiberglass. It just continued to expand etc. Check out my article on staining modern mahogany to match the older Honduras mahogany found in the rest of your Mistral. (Good Old Boat magazine, March 2008)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.