I have a '77 Hunter 30 with a soft spot around the mast and cockpit sole. I have been told that du to leakage the balsa has dryrotted and the fiberglass must be reomved, balsa repaired, and firberglass replaced at a cost of $10,000. The must be more efficient and cost effective methods of doing this. Anyone with suggestion please sent to my e-mail address above. SFM
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$10K ???
SFM: $10,000 seems a little pricy for a boat that is worth $15-20K. I would think that the portion around the mast can be cut out and replaced with solid glass. The cockpit sole can be drilled and expoxy filler injected into the holes. Patch the holes and refinish the sole. I think that Sail or Cruising World had an article on this in the last couple of years. Check the archives for this problem on similar boats, I think you will find some other fixes too.
SFM: $10,000 seems a little pricy for a boat that is worth $15-20K. I would think that the portion around the mast can be cut out and replaced with solid glass. The cockpit sole can be drilled and expoxy filler injected into the holes. Patch the holes and refinish the sole. I think that Sail or Cruising World had an article on this in the last couple of years. Check the archives for this problem on similar boats, I think you will find some other fixes too.
balsa core replacement
I too, had a spongy, leaky cockpit sole in my '77 h30. To make a really long story short, (kind of) I cut away the soft portion with a circular and jig saw all the way through to the engine compartment. That was the whole section forward of the pedestal, leaving about two inches of sole on all sides . I cut some 2X4's and screwed them under the remaining sole, ( the 2 inches ) making a frame. Use long stainless steel deck screws. Next, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood to fit on the frame and encased it in West System epoxy. That was then screwed onto the frame using above mentioned screws. Using West System epoxy and glass matting, I built up the sole and faired it to match the rest of the sole. Read the West System directons booklet, thoroughly. Primed and painted and that was it. Stronger than new and no one has been able to spot the repair. Takes time, patience, and the intial nerve to take a circular saw to your boat. The best part - less than $200. Word of caution - make sure to check for wires, hoses, fuel lines, etc. below the sole before you fire up the saw. For small soft spots, (I had some aft of the pedestal ) drill some 3/4 inch holes through the top skin and force some epoxy in there. Fair and paint. I would try using the 3/4 in. hole and epoxy method on the mast base first before tearing things up. If your shrouds are remaining at a constant tension, I wouldn't worry too much. Check that the I-Beam under the compression post on top of the keel is still in good shape. If that should rust out, you will have problems. Hope this helps. Good Luck, -Roland S/V Fraulein II
I too, had a spongy, leaky cockpit sole in my '77 h30. To make a really long story short, (kind of) I cut away the soft portion with a circular and jig saw all the way through to the engine compartment. That was the whole section forward of the pedestal, leaving about two inches of sole on all sides . I cut some 2X4's and screwed them under the remaining sole, ( the 2 inches ) making a frame. Use long stainless steel deck screws. Next, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood to fit on the frame and encased it in West System epoxy. That was then screwed onto the frame using above mentioned screws. Using West System epoxy and glass matting, I built up the sole and faired it to match the rest of the sole. Read the West System directons booklet, thoroughly. Primed and painted and that was it. Stronger than new and no one has been able to spot the repair. Takes time, patience, and the intial nerve to take a circular saw to your boat. The best part - less than $200. Word of caution - make sure to check for wires, hoses, fuel lines, etc. below the sole before you fire up the saw. For small soft spots, (I had some aft of the pedestal ) drill some 3/4 inch holes through the top skin and force some epoxy in there. Fair and paint. I would try using the 3/4 in. hole and epoxy method on the mast base first before tearing things up. If your shrouds are remaining at a constant tension, I wouldn't worry too much. Check that the I-Beam under the compression post on top of the keel is still in good shape. If that should rust out, you will have problems. Hope this helps. Good Luck, -Roland S/V Fraulein II
Cost seems high
Years ago I had a deck stepped Catalina 27 that had a cabin top depression under the mast. Although there was no water damage, I had the balsa under the mast base cut out and replaced with solid glasswork. They also glassed in the forward end of the bilge on which sat the compression post (resulting in a solid mast-copression-post-keel foundation). This was 12-15 years ago but was only a few hundred dollars Canadian. The cost should only be high if the water damage has spread over a large area. I have a friend who experienced that on his Niagra 35. He did the repair himself.
Years ago I had a deck stepped Catalina 27 that had a cabin top depression under the mast. Although there was no water damage, I had the balsa under the mast base cut out and replaced with solid glasswork. They also glassed in the forward end of the bilge on which sat the compression post (resulting in a solid mast-copression-post-keel foundation). This was 12-15 years ago but was only a few hundred dollars Canadian. The cost should only be high if the water damage has spread over a large area. I have a friend who experienced that on his Niagra 35. He did the repair himself.
West System Publications
Check out West System's publications. They have much useful info. If rotten area is not too extensive you can drill holes and inject epoxy. The holes don't need to be 3/4" as suggested by prior respondant. If rot is very extensive the coring will need to be replaced. Make sure the existing coring is dry before injecting epoxy. I replaced a substantial amount of coring on my 74 H25 last year. I did it from inside the boat as the interior glass work was ugly from day one and cutting it out and reglassing didn't look much worse than original construction. However, getting the glass to stick overhead is a major pain. I did discover that epoxy bonds very well to hair, clothing and skin.
Check out West System's publications. They have much useful info. If rotten area is not too extensive you can drill holes and inject epoxy. The holes don't need to be 3/4" as suggested by prior respondant. If rot is very extensive the coring will need to be replaced. Make sure the existing coring is dry before injecting epoxy. I replaced a substantial amount of coring on my 74 H25 last year. I did it from inside the boat as the interior glass work was ugly from day one and cutting it out and reglassing didn't look much worse than original construction. However, getting the glass to stick overhead is a major pain. I did discover that epoxy bonds very well to hair, clothing and skin.
Soft deck
I replaced the hole cabin top on my 30. I cut off the outter layer of glass on the cabin top(after I removed all deck hardware). Dug al rotten core out and install new balsa core in west system. then set the outter layer back on, glueing on with more west system. There were some voids which I drilled holes in top where the voids were and injected west system usind a horse vaccination needle. then the only filling that had to be done was the seem around the cabin. Im sure this same thing could be done in cockpit sole also. It was cut at the nonskid edge so the finish was real easy to blend in..
I replaced the hole cabin top on my 30. I cut off the outter layer of glass on the cabin top(after I removed all deck hardware). Dug al rotten core out and install new balsa core in west system. then set the outter layer back on, glueing on with more west system. There were some voids which I drilled holes in top where the voids were and injected west system usind a horse vaccination needle. then the only filling that had to be done was the seem around the cabin. Im sure this same thing could be done in cockpit sole also. It was cut at the nonskid edge so the finish was real easy to blend in..
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