I just had an unpleasant discovery last weekend-
For some reason, the original owner of my 87' had drilled a 1/4" hole completely through the starboard bench/settee just about 3 inches back from the cabin bulkhead. It apparently was completely sealed at some point later, but while on my lying back in the starboard quarterberth, I noticed the original hole in the underside of the settee. By tapping and visual inspection of the bottom of the through drilled hole, there appears to be about a 2 inch deep (fore and aft) by 4 inch wide (port & starboard) area of plywood rot in the laminate. This is the very end part of the plywood laminate the settee is made of, right up against the cabin bulkhead, just astern of the electrical panel. It seems to be completely dry now, and seems like it has been dry for years.
On the topside, the fiberglass seems absolutely solid, no hint of even the smallest flex, and there are no stress cracks whatsoever indicating a problem. I'm confident no more water is getting into the plywood, as the original through hole is well sealed, and looks like it's been re-sealed for years. I don't notice any type of powdery dry rot coming out of the underside of the original hole, and when I poke around in it, a few small pieces of old black plywood have come out.
I was thinking of injecting as much 2 part epoxy sealant up into the area through the bottom of the hole that I can get up there and leaving it go at that. I spent about an hour tapping around while lying on my back in the quarterberth, and despite my worrying nature, I really believe the existing area of rot is well confined, and really only about 2" x 4" in the worst case scenario, it could be 1/2 that. The fiberglass in the area seems quite structurally strong, as this is just at the very end of the plywood sandwich, and the fiberglass curves up into the vertical cabin bulkead just adjacent to this small area of rot, right at the end of the original plywood panel.
Does anyone think a larger repair is needed, or the the rot will spread laterally down the length of the plywood settee, even if no new water is getting in?
Also, I'm sure this is a dumb question, but is there any plywood in the vertical transom of the C22? Mine seems like an inner liner and outer liner sandwiched together, but I'm sketchy on whether there is plywood in between.
Thanks for any thoughts, this forum really has been great-
Mike
For some reason, the original owner of my 87' had drilled a 1/4" hole completely through the starboard bench/settee just about 3 inches back from the cabin bulkhead. It apparently was completely sealed at some point later, but while on my lying back in the starboard quarterberth, I noticed the original hole in the underside of the settee. By tapping and visual inspection of the bottom of the through drilled hole, there appears to be about a 2 inch deep (fore and aft) by 4 inch wide (port & starboard) area of plywood rot in the laminate. This is the very end part of the plywood laminate the settee is made of, right up against the cabin bulkhead, just astern of the electrical panel. It seems to be completely dry now, and seems like it has been dry for years.
On the topside, the fiberglass seems absolutely solid, no hint of even the smallest flex, and there are no stress cracks whatsoever indicating a problem. I'm confident no more water is getting into the plywood, as the original through hole is well sealed, and looks like it's been re-sealed for years. I don't notice any type of powdery dry rot coming out of the underside of the original hole, and when I poke around in it, a few small pieces of old black plywood have come out.
I was thinking of injecting as much 2 part epoxy sealant up into the area through the bottom of the hole that I can get up there and leaving it go at that. I spent about an hour tapping around while lying on my back in the quarterberth, and despite my worrying nature, I really believe the existing area of rot is well confined, and really only about 2" x 4" in the worst case scenario, it could be 1/2 that. The fiberglass in the area seems quite structurally strong, as this is just at the very end of the plywood sandwich, and the fiberglass curves up into the vertical cabin bulkead just adjacent to this small area of rot, right at the end of the original plywood panel.
Does anyone think a larger repair is needed, or the the rot will spread laterally down the length of the plywood settee, even if no new water is getting in?
Also, I'm sure this is a dumb question, but is there any plywood in the vertical transom of the C22? Mine seems like an inner liner and outer liner sandwiched together, but I'm sketchy on whether there is plywood in between.
Thanks for any thoughts, this forum really has been great-
Mike