So It Begins: Deck Recoring Project

[SailingCal21]

So after years of procrastination, I've finally decided to recore Karma's bow and side decks. Karma is a 1981 O'Day 34, I purchased her in 2006. At the time she was showing evidence of moisture intrusion, after almost 18 years its finally time. When I purchased Karma, we spent a year in the yard taking care of issues, new fuel tank, correcting the cockpit sole, and generally cleanup. So I'm prepared to take as long as needed to take care of her decks. Weather willin', I'll have her back afloat and won't loose the entire sailing season.

This winter, I did do a lot of preplanning and experimenting with materials during the months that it was to cold to cure epoxy outside. I started last week and with the help of another soul to turn screws from the top, have removed the all the hardware on the port side as it's in worst shape, only took 2 hours to remove. Most likely, it will take 2 days to re install. Here's where I am so far. The first cut will be the bow as that's in the most need since I crashed the bow pulpit into a stubborn pile in 2009. I've since adopted the boating adage "Never approach an object any faster than you want to hit it". The guy (aka, me) who made the repair had absolutely no idea what he was doing and made a crappy repair using bondo no less!

Since then, I've done a good bit of research, forum trolling and YouTube viewing, plus have built a new anchor locker cover.

This project will be completely done in the boatyard without the benefit of a shelter, other than tarps to keep the rain and dew off the repair areas. As summer heats up I'll have to limit my layups with epoxy to the morning and evening hours. I'm a 90 minute drive to the yard so will spend several days at a time "camping out" on board.

 

[SailingCal21]

Here's some of the self inflicted damage:
Crashed into a pilon:

This isn't self inflicted, however as captain I take responsibility. During a weather incident the spring line got over a stanchion and put a strain on it plus the obviously already wet cored deck.

 

[dmax]

You are a brave man, good luck.

 

[kloudie1]

Quite a job.. Good luck with it, Scott.. Please post progress pictures !

 

[Clutch Cargo]

Good luck, post lots of pics!!!!

 

[jssailem]

It sounds like you are on a good path to resolution. It is never easy the first time. But it can be done. Epoxy and fiberglass is a forgiving material. Time and perseverance are your friends. Mix small batches and use a scale to get the correct proportions of material. At first set your expectations for “good” not perfection. As you progress your skills will improve and this will show in the results. Taking time to practice is excellent. One thought is to make a useful product with your practice. One item needed is backing plates for your hardware. You can use this process to improve your fiberglassing skills.

Good luck, and good on you for preserving your O’Day boat.

 

[SailingCal21]

Thanks for everyone's support. I have previously built a new anchor locker cover using epoxy, EZ Fair, and Awlgrip. The non-skid was applied using the method from Andy's Boatworks Today channel

. I was pretty satified with the result. Plus gained a lot of experience working with Awlgrip. Sanded off a lot of bugs and fisheyes before I got the hang of it.
In this pic you can also see the crappy bow pulpit repair which is being corrected. JSS you're correct, I'm not shooting for perfect, just functional. As long as it passes the 10 foot test I'm ok

 

[jssailem]

Looks good at this distance!

 

[SailingCal21]

The plan is to cut out sections of the bow and the port side first as I'm working in a yard and not under a shelter. By mostly completing small sections at a time I have the opportunity to adjust my process as needed.

I'm planning on using balsa core with coosa bluewater 20 under penetrations such as stanchions, jib car track and bow pulpit. I'm figuring that way I don't have to deal with the over-drill/fill/drill again process. Should (when) and leak develops it shouldn't lead to balsa core rot... at least that's the plan.

Here's a picture of the bow work, plus some of my new favorite tools. The bow is like a bathroom, lots of edges and corners to deal with, but not a lot of area.

 

[Arrgh]

Definitely continue to post pictures. I have the same boat, but hope to not have to take on this project. I definitely have some water intrusion, but no soft spots.

 

[SailingCal21]

Salvaged most of the fastening hardware. Lost some nuts and washers to the nether regions of the boat along with a wrench The sealant (butyl?) on the fasteners was still tenacious leading to a sticky mass of screws, bolts, nuts and washers. Cleaned them by soaking overnight in mineral spirits and wire brushing the residue off which worked well.

Searched after the fact and found that adhesive removers are effective. Will try xylene, toluene and goof off for round two.

 

[SailingCal21]

Definitely continue to post pictures. I have the same boat, but hope to not have to take on this project. I definitely have some water intrusion, but no soft spots.

Take my advice and don't procrastinate as it will only get worse. I was hesitant because I didn't want to compromise the look of the nonskid. In hindsight that's a mistake. While intermittent repairs will make the deck look like a quilt, it beats having to take the boat out of service for a season (and the cost) for a full recore project.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Here's a few random tips:

• I soaked my bolts in acetone and I totally agree that using solvents is a great way to eliminate a lot of the crud. For rebedding I like to use a Scotchbright sanding wheel on a drill. I use it to quickly clean up bolts and on fiberglass. Most of the fiberglass is covered by hardware so if it does some very minor damage it's not a big deal. Big time saver
• It's easier, faster and better to countersink a hole than to try to clean it
• An impact driver will allow you to get 90% of the fasteners without help from a second person. The genoa track and traveler were the most difficult on my O'Day 25
• I can't imagine trying to remove all this hardware without wobble extensions
• I picked up some E-Bond epoxy because it was less than half the cost of West and Totalboat. Aside from a very slight difference in viscosity, it's nearly identical. Buy a TotalBoat pump set, drill a hole in the cap of the ebond bottles, take apart the pumps and install them onto the caps

 

[SailingCal21]

Perhaps I didn’t give acetone enough time to dissolve the sealant, an overnight soak in mineral spirits did the trick.

Didn’t have a big enough vessel to soak the 10 foot sail track so used a heat gun and spatula ti remove the bulk and mineral spirits for final cleanup.

The underside of the sail track is concave with what looks like a black enamel ? Note that the sealant wasn’t run the entire length of the track. I’m thinking that led to the leaks. I’m planning on rebedding using bully tape the entire length of the track and putting coosa under the track instead of balsa.

 

[shemandr]

...Searched after the fact and found that adhesive removers are effective. Will try xylene, toluene and goof off for round two.

Those solvents are nasty. I think in my Chemistry Lab we could only use Toluene under a fume hood. As far as I know mineral spirits aren't that bad.
With regard to the spot Tx of the toenail, i.e. just where the holes are, that is how I was told to do it by friendly boat yard workers. Not to mention the cost of all that sealant for the in-between sections and the forearm cramps from pumping all the sealant.
Better to spend the time to manage the drip through to below. I have that Tee Shirt too.

 

[jssailem]

just where the holes are,

That's the spirit.
Waste not want not.

 

[jibes138]

Very ambitious of you. Looks good so far. I saw a guy recore around his chainplates on a caliber 38 and while the final non skid wasn't the same pattern as the original it looked fine and was perfectly functional.

 

[SailingCal21]

Took a plug from a deck area that was wet, but not soft in order to compare to what I practiced laying up in the garage this winter. The plug is on the left, the practice one on the right. My laminate schedule for the practice sample:
Top: 2 layers of 1708
Middle: 1/2" balsa core
Bottom: single layer of 1708

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Perhaps I didn’t give acetone enough time to dissolve the sealant, an overnight soak in mineral spirits did the trick.

Didn’t have a big enough vessel to soak the 10 foot sail track so used a heat gun and spatula ti remove the bulk and mineral spirits for final cleanup.

View attachment 224813
View attachment 224814The underside of the sail track is concave with what looks like a black enamel ? Note that the sealant wasn’t run the entire length of the track. I’m thinking that led to the leaks. I’m planning on rebedding using bully tape the entire length of the track and putting coosa under the track instead of balsa.

I use a Scotchbright wheel on a 120v drill to remove sealant from hardware. It's one of the fastest methods. Some marks on the bottom of a piece of hardware isn't a big deal since it wont be seen and the gaps are filled with sealant. Three years later and I dont have any leaks!

 

[jibes138]

Why do you need a bottom layer, isn’t it still part of the deck?