We bought a '78 Annapolis 26 last year mid-summer. She's a bit spartan and rough around the edges, but has a sound engine and lots of fun to sail. We took her out a few times last year and had a blast. Unfortunately, I was overseas for all of this season and am just now getting back to her. Upon cleaning her up this week, here's what my winter projects are: 1. Replace all 4 wood bulkheads, mainly the two that the chainplates are attached to. They're not looking good at the bases, and previous owners covered rot with plastic edging. There's also pulling at the bolts, so I'm hesitant to take her out again until I get this done for fear of them failing. I also see evidence that the mast compression post may need some help. There's also a slight separation (1/4") in the fiberglass joint below the mast compression post between the deck and where the deck joins the settee side. I can reinforce it up from the bottom in the bilge, but it looks like it's been glassed over before and separating from age (i.e. mostly cosmetic, not structural). Can I use exterior grade (ABX) for replacing the bulkheads? Should I consider a coat of epoxy for them prior to installation? This seems like a fairly straightforward job once the mast is off. 2. Figure out what is going on under the foredeck--it's bouncy. Tape-on non-skid was hiding several large holes (2" diameter) where it appears someone poured resin into the voids to firm it up. It's a sloppy job, and I'm anxious to cut and pull the entire cover back to see what's underneath. I know it's not going to be good, so I'm anticipating this one being the ugliest. Don Casey outlines the steps to fix this in "This Old Boat", but has anyone out there with just a basic knowledge of fiberglass ever done such a thing? Fair winds, and as always, thanks for any help!
Winter projects--"do-able"?
- Thread starter Mook16712
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easy stuff
Most of it will be easily doable, shouldn't have any problems. As I understand, there is no real difference anymore in the adhesive used for plywood, but exterior grade is actually an inferior type of ply for most projects, it works, but normally needs a LOT of finish work to get it looking good, even if you plan on some type of laminate as a cover you'd have to sand the crap out of it, better (in my opinion) is to go with a decent birch ply, cabinet grade is what a lot of places sell it as, normally has nice clean faces so there is very little sanding required to finish it, and for laminating with formica it's ready a soon as the screws are in and the glue's dry. as for the deck, I've never done it, but I did do some serious research into it as I was lookig at a boat that had spongy decks, ended up with one that had very nice decks. I wouldn't hesitate to jump in and start working though, I've done some fiberglass, but not a whole lot, but wouldn't be afraid to tackle what you've described Ken.
Most of it will be easily doable, shouldn't have any problems. As I understand, there is no real difference anymore in the adhesive used for plywood, but exterior grade is actually an inferior type of ply for most projects, it works, but normally needs a LOT of finish work to get it looking good, even if you plan on some type of laminate as a cover you'd have to sand the crap out of it, better (in my opinion) is to go with a decent birch ply, cabinet grade is what a lot of places sell it as, normally has nice clean faces so there is very little sanding required to finish it, and for laminating with formica it's ready a soon as the screws are in and the glue's dry. as for the deck, I've never done it, but I did do some serious research into it as I was lookig at a boat that had spongy decks, ended up with one that had very nice decks. I wouldn't hesitate to jump in and start working though, I've done some fiberglass, but not a whole lot, but wouldn't be afraid to tackle what you've described Ken.
Have you considered the Rot Doctor?
Mook: I have a similar spongy deck situation, and have been researching what to do about it. You may not need to rip the glass of the deck. Another method, covered in Casey, is to inject epoxy in. Sounds like this is what your previous owners tried to do - and messed up! There's a site called the Rot Doctor that has a huge amount on this approach - including lots of case histories, discussion of various situations boaters have run into, plus they'll answer any questions you happen to have. I've attached a link to them. Basically, the Rot Doctor's approach has four steps. 1. Drill appropriately spaced holes into your deck, throughout the spongy area (BTW - not 2" holes - that's way more than needed); 2. Inject a thin epoxy product - CPES - to soak and repair the plywood; 3. Pump in an epoxy filler wherever there's a gap between the glass and the ply [due to delamination]; 4. Fill the holes you drilled. This is the approach I'm going to try next year. Does anybody out there have any experience with the Rot Doctor? Dick
Mook: I have a similar spongy deck situation, and have been researching what to do about it. You may not need to rip the glass of the deck. Another method, covered in Casey, is to inject epoxy in. Sounds like this is what your previous owners tried to do - and messed up! There's a site called the Rot Doctor that has a huge amount on this approach - including lots of case histories, discussion of various situations boaters have run into, plus they'll answer any questions you happen to have. I've attached a link to them. Basically, the Rot Doctor's approach has four steps. 1. Drill appropriately spaced holes into your deck, throughout the spongy area (BTW - not 2" holes - that's way more than needed); 2. Inject a thin epoxy product - CPES - to soak and repair the plywood; 3. Pump in an epoxy filler wherever there's a gap between the glass and the ply [due to delamination]; 4. Fill the holes you drilled. This is the approach I'm going to try next year. Does anybody out there have any experience with the Rot Doctor? Dick
Great resource!
Thanks for the info, Dick. It really "dumbs down" repairs like this. I think I'll have to opt to pull the entire skin off though since the PO put WAY too many large holes in it. The foredeck is just a bit springy at this point, so I may just reapply non-skid tape for this year and keep an eye on it to tackle that project sometime in the future. Thanks again!
Thanks for the info, Dick. It really "dumbs down" repairs like this. I think I'll have to opt to pull the entire skin off though since the PO put WAY too many large holes in it. The foredeck is just a bit springy at this point, so I may just reapply non-skid tape for this year and keep an eye on it to tackle that project sometime in the future. Thanks again!
I did it with a twist
My boat hd a spongy area with multiple in line cracks (that looked like an old ladies face when she smiled). First I tapped the whole area in inch increments listening for the dull thunk of a rooten area. AI marked it with a magic marker as I went and eventually ended up with an outline that resembled a half cup of spilled water on a level kitchen floor. The entire area of rot was contained in one build in non-skid area. So I took a dremel type tool and cut around the whole non-skid area. Since most of the area was rotten underneath, it came up easily, inluding the stuff on the good part. I removed the rot and cleaned the cavity. I also cleaned up the removed cover piece, including the cracks, which I opened up with the dremel tool. Next I cut some ply to fit MOST of the area of the rot I cleaned out. Now comes the fix. I masking taped the outside of the piece I removed so that epoxy would not seep through. Then I mixed a small batch of epoxy and filled in the crack. I set that piece aside on a level- to-the-cracks to cure. I used a paint brush to butter up the hole area in the deck and teh replacement plywood. Then I added fillet material to the epoxy and put that mixture into and over both buttered area. Put the ply into the hole and push down, eyeballing to make sure it is below the level of the deck. Mix more epoxy and butter the top of the ply, then add fillet to the E and fill in any voids, and smooth over the top. Put some E with Fillet on the cover piece and put it on, pushing it down till the goopy squeezes out. Put a a small lead anchor or something heavy, on top of the piece and wipe up as much goop as you can using acetone. Make sure there is goop all around the routed out part, and that the top is as flush with the other surfaces as possible. Then have a brewski or 10. Next day, after it dries, either add more filler to any voids, or file or sand the excess till it looks pretty. Ta-da!! You haven't lost the integrity of the factory non-skid area. The damage you did can now be painted over (unless you used gel coat for the last top fix) and the area should be repaired.
My boat hd a spongy area with multiple in line cracks (that looked like an old ladies face when she smiled). First I tapped the whole area in inch increments listening for the dull thunk of a rooten area. AI marked it with a magic marker as I went and eventually ended up with an outline that resembled a half cup of spilled water on a level kitchen floor. The entire area of rot was contained in one build in non-skid area. So I took a dremel type tool and cut around the whole non-skid area. Since most of the area was rotten underneath, it came up easily, inluding the stuff on the good part. I removed the rot and cleaned the cavity. I also cleaned up the removed cover piece, including the cracks, which I opened up with the dremel tool. Next I cut some ply to fit MOST of the area of the rot I cleaned out. Now comes the fix. I masking taped the outside of the piece I removed so that epoxy would not seep through. Then I mixed a small batch of epoxy and filled in the crack. I set that piece aside on a level- to-the-cracks to cure. I used a paint brush to butter up the hole area in the deck and teh replacement plywood. Then I added fillet material to the epoxy and put that mixture into and over both buttered area. Put the ply into the hole and push down, eyeballing to make sure it is below the level of the deck. Mix more epoxy and butter the top of the ply, then add fillet to the E and fill in any voids, and smooth over the top. Put some E with Fillet on the cover piece and put it on, pushing it down till the goopy squeezes out. Put a a small lead anchor or something heavy, on top of the piece and wipe up as much goop as you can using acetone. Make sure there is goop all around the routed out part, and that the top is as flush with the other surfaces as possible. Then have a brewski or 10. Next day, after it dries, either add more filler to any voids, or file or sand the excess till it looks pretty. Ta-da!! You haven't lost the integrity of the factory non-skid area. The damage you did can now be painted over (unless you used gel coat for the last top fix) and the area should be repaired.
Git Rot
I had the core rot problem on my Galaxy 32. After living with it for 2 seasons, I tackled it last year by drilling a ton of holes through the outer skin, allowing the core to dry and then injected Got Rot until it couldn't hold any more. I then filled all holes with thicked epoxy, sanded and applied deck paint. I found that the git rot should have cured more and had to redrill one or two of the holes as they settled. It held up great. If I had a nice looking deck, or built it nonskid, going in from below would have been MUCH more complicated.
I had the core rot problem on my Galaxy 32. After living with it for 2 seasons, I tackled it last year by drilling a ton of holes through the outer skin, allowing the core to dry and then injected Got Rot until it couldn't hold any more. I then filled all holes with thicked epoxy, sanded and applied deck paint. I found that the git rot should have cured more and had to redrill one or two of the holes as they settled. It held up great. If I had a nice looking deck, or built it nonskid, going in from below would have been MUCH more complicated.
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