The deck on my Catalina 22 is soft. It seems water has been leaking in under the deck via a poorly fitting deck hatch. I recently picked up the boat for nothing from a friend moving to Florida and it was out of the water for 2 years. Also the keel shows signs of rust and pitting, the boat is a late 1970's model and will be sailed on the great south bay in Long Island. The sails are in good shape with a brand new jib and the hull feels solid, Ichecked the keel pin and it looks good. Any ideas on repairing the deck and what should I do about the Keel? I sailed a 17 foot day sailer for 3 years so this is my next adventure.
Soft Deck
- Thread starter Joe11668
- Start date
- Status
Inject epoxy
Joe, if the core is rotten it will have to be replaced. I had a soft foredeck on my C22 and it turned out that the core was OK but the top laminate had delaminated from the wood core (3/8 marine plywood). I did the fix from below so that it would not be noticable. I drilled about five holes around the perimeter of the soft spot and used an oil gun to inject penetrating epoxy up into the void between the core and top laminate. Then I put sand bags on the deck to press the laminate down on the core. It worked great and now the deck is rock solid.
Joe, if the core is rotten it will have to be replaced. I had a soft foredeck on my C22 and it turned out that the core was OK but the top laminate had delaminated from the wood core (3/8 marine plywood). I did the fix from below so that it would not be noticable. I drilled about five holes around the perimeter of the soft spot and used an oil gun to inject penetrating epoxy up into the void between the core and top laminate. Then I put sand bags on the deck to press the laminate down on the core. It worked great and now the deck is rock solid.
Soft deck II
Randy, Part of the plywood between the deck is rotten. Not all of it. I'm thinking of cutting out a piece of the cabin side of the deck,from inside with a dremel or paneling saw, replacing the plywood, relaminating the plywood to the deck and fibreglassing the liner back into place. Its not going to be easy but it has to be done. The deck hatch has pulled out and thats how the water has gotten in. Any ideas or comments out there? Thanks, Joe.
Randy, Part of the plywood between the deck is rotten. Not all of it. I'm thinking of cutting out a piece of the cabin side of the deck,from inside with a dremel or paneling saw, replacing the plywood, relaminating the plywood to the deck and fibreglassing the liner back into place. Its not going to be easy but it has to be done. The deck hatch has pulled out and thats how the water has gotten in. Any ideas or comments out there? Thanks, Joe.
I used this site
Here is a site that I used and found very helpful. I used their products with great success. After you get to the home page click on "Fiberglass Boats" and then "Wood Cored Decks." It describes how to replace the core working from the inside of the boat. It does look like work but it is really the best way to handle the problem. Plus, it wont be noticable to anyone but you and you'll feel good about getting it done. Randy
Here is a site that I used and found very helpful. I used their products with great success. After you get to the home page click on "Fiberglass Boats" and then "Wood Cored Decks." It describes how to replace the core working from the inside of the boat. It does look like work but it is really the best way to handle the problem. Plus, it wont be noticable to anyone but you and you'll feel good about getting it done. Randy
- Status