The plywood is going

[Gill]

My foredeck is " oil canning " under weight. Which means to me the plywood is rotting. Any suggestions short of major surgery ??Gill

 

[Jay Beery]

Oil Canning Too

Gill,I'm in the same boat, so to speak. I've done a lot of reading and it looks like major surgery to me. My foredeck is only soft on one side, so I guess it could be worse. Try reading some of Don Casey's books on repair or take her to the yard.Good Luck, Jay

 

[Gill]

From Gill to Jay

Jay:  Here's what I am going to do to my '72 C 22: make sure the deck is water tight then install laminated batten(s)underneath; somewhat like a laminated beam. I believe that if they are bolted in place it will give additional strenght to the foredeck. Enough for me to go sailing anyway. We don't want all that weight on the foredeck anyway ; tell people to get off the bow!Gill

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners]

Sounds bad

If it's to the stage of oil canning, I'm afraid you're probably past the point of no return. There was a good thread a couple of weeks ago (search the archives) where someone posted pictures of how he turned his 22 upside down to do the fix. Looked 10 times easier than doing it from underneath. LaDonna

 

[Jay Beery]

Batten Idea

Gill,My father gave me that idea too, except he thought a wide batten section just slightly too long side to side. Then glue and screw to the under side of the deck. That way as you step down, it would push out instead of down. Is that what you had in mind? I think a little thin epoxy between the skins wouldn't hurt either. What do you think?Jay

 

[Gill]

Jay

Yeah that's it. Something like a laminate beam over a Church. Then your idea of some injected epoxy maybe. Also there is a string in the archives to which LaDonna referred having to do with this problem. There are several products availiable that might stop further rotting.I should be starting this project next weekend so I'll let you know.

 

[Jay Beery]

Gill

Gill,My neighbor has a small vacum pump that I was thinking about hooking up through a small hole over the delaminated area. If I seal the forward hatch area, I should be able to suck down the rotten area. This should remove most of the moisture in this area if I don't have any leaks along the rail. You can also use vacum to suck in the epoxy. Let me what you run into and how it goes. Here is my e-mail if you wish: vettesrus@mciworldcom.net.Jay