I'm the proud new owner of a '78 O'day with, ahem, personality. One of the quirks is a poor repair of what I assume was a soft deck in the bow. The previous owner tried to reenforce with plywood with no epoxy which worked for a time but that time has passed. I'm faced with removing the warped and softening plywood and all involved hardware to make decent repairs. The area involved extends back from the bow about 30 inches, involving the headstay plate, bow lights, bow cleats, deck vent, and pulpit flanges.
I'm no stranger to everhead epoxy projects but attaching core in this confined space will be problematic, to say the least. My thought was to use epoxy and mat to an increased thickness (3/4"?) to alleviate this issue forever.
I'd like some input from other folks who may have had this issue, and what approaches they have used. I'm trying to minimize down time and thereby maximize sailing time and all on a shoestring budget as my extra pennies (and damn few they are) are being reserved for replacement of my tired and ugly (did I say UGLY?) original sails.
Since this repair will necessitate removal of the headstay can I expect the mast to be supported enough by the shrouds or do I need to plan an alternative method of support during the repair?
Any and all replies are appreciated, extra points for cowbell.
Nate Payne
Ocean Springs, Ms.
I'm no stranger to everhead epoxy projects but attaching core in this confined space will be problematic, to say the least. My thought was to use epoxy and mat to an increased thickness (3/4"?) to alleviate this issue forever.
I'd like some input from other folks who may have had this issue, and what approaches they have used. I'm trying to minimize down time and thereby maximize sailing time and all on a shoestring budget as my extra pennies (and damn few they are) are being reserved for replacement of my tired and ugly (did I say UGLY?) original sails.
Since this repair will necessitate removal of the headstay can I expect the mast to be supported enough by the shrouds or do I need to plan an alternative method of support during the repair?
Any and all replies are appreciated, extra points for cowbell.
Nate Payne
Ocean Springs, Ms.
