water on the rear deck

[trageharrie]

Hallo Everyone,
I have Vega 1677 Mooi Weer (Beautiful weather). From about 1973
What I think is very annoying is that the rear deck has somewhat collapsed (right word for it?). What I was told is that over time the polyester collapses under the weight of the deck and part of the cockpit and the Vega designer did not provide sufficient support here. Now there is always some water there. Not a very big problem, but it attracts dirt and algae.
Now there have been people who made a drain there and connected it with a tube to the drain of the cockpit (as on Little Star see photos (oct 2009). Hmmmm could be the simplest solution, but is it the best solution? It seems to me that all these tubes give extra opportunities for leaks and the smallest tubes might get obstructed because of dirt gathering there.
I know that we are not the only one with this `problem'. Is there anyone who tried another solution? Maybe filled up the gap/lower level up with gel coat or liquid synthetic resin?
Bright ideas wanted.

Bob Horjus

 

[vegatern]

I don't think the water is collecting on the deck because the deck has collapsed. Instead the depression there, near the stern cleats, is just one of the idiosyncrasies of the Vega, like the prop location is. When I repainted the deck I pulled the stern deck cleats and filled the hollow with resin and a layer of cloth, then replaced the cleats. Craig Tern 1519

 

[trageharrie]

Hallo Craig.
Could you send me more details of how you did this and maybe some photos.
I am curious what kind of material you used, and how you applied it. did you use a liquid? what did you do with the curves and the profile in the deck? Is the result that you don't have any water there now?

And so on.
Bob Horjus

 

[vegatern]

All I did was rough up the deck with sandpaper where I wanted to fill in with resin, and pour a thin coat over the deck. Several thin coats, each applied after the previous was solid but still tacky. One heavy layer may get too hot as it cures. I used pieces of cloth as a filler mostly. I removed the cleats and taped a bit of plywood or something over the hole from the inside, then re-drilled them. Polyester resin is cheaper than epoxy resin and works fine. The final coat was just resin, no cloth, and when cured lightly sanded and painted. It needs to be painted or the sun will degrade it. I may have used a lightweight sandable filler, made for resin, to thicken the last coat so it would feather onto the original deck. Don Casey has written a number of books on boat repairs and is a good reference.
The project was about 80% successful as I still get some water trapped there, but only because the filled spot was too small. I should have used a straight edge and spread the resin further up the side deck and out further on the stern deck. No doubt I also have moved weight out of the stern which may account for poor flow out the stern scuppers
Craig

 

[trageharrie]

Hi Craig,
It's been a while since you gave your suggestion. In the mean time we filled the depression with epoxy and it worked quite well. I did it on a windless early morning, pulled over the boat somewhat so the surface of epoxy would not level horizontally, and with my wife still sleeping in the V-berth (and me getiing back there also)I was sure that the level would automatically drain when there is nobody on board. Within an hour or so the resin hardened enough. Ik still have to finish and finetune the spot, but I am already satisfied as it is now. Il will send up some photo's when it is ready. And if i can manage some photo's of the present state.
Regards,
Bob Horjus

 

[vegatern]

I think your fix is better than mine. It extends farther up the side deck and appears that it will drain more easily. I should have taken a nap in the forepeak as well. ;-)

Craig