My O'Day Daysailor clone (1963 Sailstar Explorer 17') has a cockpit sole that's been looking worse and worse ever year. This year I'm not even sure I'll make it through without one of the soft spots giving way.
I keep her on a lift at our club, and have been sort of mystified as to why the floor seems to be erupting. As in pics, the paint (and maybe even glass?) basically rips open in cracks, I assume from moisture escaping the bilge. The entire cabin sole looks like this mind you, not just a few spots. I've tried leaving the bilge drain open and closed, and I think it's worse with it closed, but I haven't been able to stop the degradation. In general my boat also feels heavier too; I'm guessing most of the sole's marine plywood is saturated, and perhaps part of the delaminated parts of the bilge.
I've scoped/peeked in the square access port (pic) and it also looks like some of my stringers are basically non-existent, save for portions of the fiberglass that encased them, which are still partially standing.
From what I've read so far (normally I can get the guys on Daysailor.org to help me out but they've been quiet lately) you can often get away with just sanding down to the marine plywood of the sole, and then throwing CSM or biaxial on top and epoxying or poly resin it and that should be strong enough. I don't believe the plywood is so rotted that it would cave in anywhere, so there'd at least be a base to hold the glass. Am i thinking right? I really don't know if I can justify tearing out the whole floor and figuring out how to rebuild stringers and so on. I got the boat for $400 8 years ago and spent a couple years renovating...so the sunk cost is there, but I could probably get another slightly newer and bigger boat for less than redoing the stringers/plywood/sole etc. But I also really like my boat and how its rigged and keep wanting to sail it (I single hand a lot.)
typical cracks through sole exposing delaminated plywood
above is the access panel for the bilge
after a fresh renovation and paintjob 3-4 years ago
I keep her on a lift at our club, and have been sort of mystified as to why the floor seems to be erupting. As in pics, the paint (and maybe even glass?) basically rips open in cracks, I assume from moisture escaping the bilge. The entire cabin sole looks like this mind you, not just a few spots. I've tried leaving the bilge drain open and closed, and I think it's worse with it closed, but I haven't been able to stop the degradation. In general my boat also feels heavier too; I'm guessing most of the sole's marine plywood is saturated, and perhaps part of the delaminated parts of the bilge.
I've scoped/peeked in the square access port (pic) and it also looks like some of my stringers are basically non-existent, save for portions of the fiberglass that encased them, which are still partially standing.
From what I've read so far (normally I can get the guys on Daysailor.org to help me out but they've been quiet lately) you can often get away with just sanding down to the marine plywood of the sole, and then throwing CSM or biaxial on top and epoxying or poly resin it and that should be strong enough. I don't believe the plywood is so rotted that it would cave in anywhere, so there'd at least be a base to hold the glass. Am i thinking right? I really don't know if I can justify tearing out the whole floor and figuring out how to rebuild stringers and so on. I got the boat for $400 8 years ago and spent a couple years renovating...so the sunk cost is there, but I could probably get another slightly newer and bigger boat for less than redoing the stringers/plywood/sole etc. But I also really like my boat and how its rigged and keep wanting to sail it (I single hand a lot.)
typical cracks through sole exposing delaminated plywood
above is the access panel for the bilge
after a fresh renovation and paintjob 3-4 years ago