Do some research first
Rick - I see a lot of posts on this site by people like yourself who have boat problems & want some advice / help in finding a solution. Sharing experiences & info is great & can be very helpful, but before you take the advice of anyone, myself included, who may or may NOT know what they're talking about, take the trouble to learn a bit from the professionals. West System has a very inexpensive handbook called "Fiberglass Boat Repair & Maintenance" or something like that - it sells for about $ 5.00 and is full of information, with good drawings etc. and is well worth studying. I don't have any interest in promoting the WEST System products, but they are leaders in the field and I think are highly professional. Their recommendations apply to the use of any brand of products, and detail the correct proceedures required to get satisfactory results. Learn how to do a job the "right way", and then you're in a much better position to decide what corners to cut & what advice to follow. If your boat was designed for pedestal steering the cockpit floor should have a plywood core. I have a '78 O'Day 27 that originally had tiller steer and the cockpit floor has a 1/2" balsa core, with an additional 3/4" of plywood glassed underneath it to stand the additional strains of the pedestal steer. Over time, water has seeped into the balsa core and caused rot (spongy areas): my plan is to remove the steering pedestal entirely, then remove the 3/4" plywood, the bottom (inside) laminate plus all of the balsa core that's rotted. Then I'll epoxy-bond a 1" thick plywood floor in place and then build up the inner laminate with epoxy & glass cloth to about a 1/8" thickness. Before I replace the bolts holding my pedestal in place, I'll drill oversize holes and fill them with a thickened epoxy mixture, then drill the correct size hole through the epoxy plug & seal the whole works with 3M-5200. This is all covered in the WEST manual I mentioned earlier. I firmly believe in fixing something ONCE, but doing it right. That's a lot of work, and if you can't tackle it yourself, it's probably a lot of $$$ to get a yard to do it. You're the guy who has to decide if the boat is worth it. Your other option is to enjoy the boat as-is for as long as you can, but respect the limitations imposed by the weakened cockpit sole and stay clear of any heavy weather & hard sailing.
