Rotted wood

[higgs]

Finally tracked down the leak that was causing rot in my hanging locker. It is coming from a dorade vent that is a poor design that I can correct. At any rate, the damage is limited to non structural items. I thought the bulkhead had been compromised, but it turns out my bulkheads are apparently solid fiberglass covered with teak plywood. I can cover the damaged areas with trim. I've never seen solid fiberglass bulkheads, but I like them now.

What I need to know is how to tell if wood areas are merely wet and will dry out as opposed to rotted. The soft wood that breaks easily is obviously rotted. Some wet areas are solid and I am thinking those will dry out.

Some spots I am able to scrape away the soft wood leaving solid wood underneath. Is this seemingly solid wood unaffected by the fungus that causes rot?

 

[RichH]

Easiest way I know of, and do, is to make 'teeny drillings' (3/64" Ø) in to the suspected area and assay for 'color' and 'smell'. Dark and 'old sneaker' / 'mushroom' smelling drillings are a pretty sure sign of rot. 3/64" holes are easily filled with paintstore colored 'repair wax'.

For small places where the assay is 'negative' but Im still 'suspicious', I inject liquid tin-based *athletes foot compounds* into the 'test holes', then seal.

 

[Ross]

An ice pick or pocket knife will penetrate rotted wood as easily as cheese. But sound wood is very tough. You can get large hypodermic syringes from a farm supply store for less than a dollar complete with a needle for injecting preservatives.

 

[woodster]

if you have dehumidafier put it in the boat and run it for a while and the wood will dry out ...if you have moistuer meter all the better ...take a reading when you start and then monitor it till you get readings of 8% to 6 %...then you are good to go on repair and determining what is rot and what is not.....

regrads

woody

 

[Allan12210]

If there is fungus present it will continue to deteriorate good wood. Let it dry, cut out all the soft stuff plus a bit of good just to be sure. Then wipe it down with Boric Acid a good antifungal that isn't toxic to you. After that you can repair with a fresh layer of teak plywood and trim.

 

[sandpiper10471]

Some really good ideas here for allaying the progress of rot. My experience is that it takes a month of Sundays to dry out core material. The bottom layers of ply won't dry and balsa is end grained, meaning the water will try to migrate vertically where it will be blocked by glass. Best bet in my mind is to excise and rebuild with new material.

 

[RichH]

Chemotherapy for wood rot: http://www.acbs-bslol.com/Gadgets/D97WoodRot.htm

 

[higgs]

I have had a chance to literally dig into the situation.

One - I was wrong, my bulkhead is not glass, but teak, but it does not seem to be plywood, but rather 1 inch solid. This is a Taiwan boat so they have a lot of teak there. At any rate I had a hand sized spot that was rotted in the bulkhead and got all the soft wood out down to dry. It goes no deeper than a quarter inch. I figure to use fiberglass cloth and west expoxy to fill the divot. What do you guys think about that plan?

I did have to cut into the tabbing on the bulkhead to get out all the rot. I just figure to overlap the cloth I am using to fill the divot onto the old cloth to rectify that problem.

A section of the teak and holly sole is ruined. This is not in the main cabin, but in the V berth area where the entire sole is about 3 X 2 ft. I figure on pulling the entire section out, replacing any floor supports (joists?) that need it. Good sources for Teak and holly flooring would be appreciated. I think what is in there is not plywood, but plywood would do just fine for replacement.

 

[RichH]

Most Taiwanese boats used a combo of thin 1/8- 3/16 - 1/4" thick teak strakes + 'something' that looks like holly and 'overlaid' and glued this on top of a 'plywood'. They typically used polyester not epoxy to make the 'bond' so it can sometimes be quite easy to separate. Its the plywood underlayment that usually rots and not the teak, etc. and if you can carefully separate the top layer from the bottom, belt sand the underside of the teak, etc. and then re-epoxy to 'real' plywood ... can save one hell of a lot of $$, etc. if youre careful and 'fastidious'. All depends on how thick the 'strakes' are.

 

[higgs]

Good idea, Rich. I'll give that a shot.