Re-Core Cockpit Sole

[nessie]

Jeff,
Thanks for posting everything about the project, especially the photos. Sorry that you have to go through it as well.
Ted

[Jim Walsh]

Jim,

Did you try to tap the key back up with a drift pin. It seem a bit odd that it would be that long. Possibly it has worked it's way down over time.

Food for thought.

Keith

I tapped it with a drift and a 34oz. ball peen but saw no movement. I'll soak it with penetrating oil and give it a whack in the spring.

[Jim Walsh]

Jeff,
You're doing a great job. Nice photos for those who may find themselves in the same circumstances.

[devindiedrich]

Hi All,

Last year I completed the same repair but it also included the bridge deck, a good portion of the port side deck and a portion of the port side coach roof by the mast step on my CD30. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to post pictures and details of my repair job to supplement the pics and details of Jeff's progress.

Devin

[sailor]

I noticed in a couple of photos a large access hole that seems to be cut in from either the quarter berth or maybe from the lazarette. Did you add that hole or was it factory made? I am trying to find a way to access my steering and the transmission without going headfirst into the lazarette.

[Keith]

Here are some pics of one of my last winter projects. Similar to the cock pit re-core but quite a bit easier and as you can see I took a very different approach. I thought that I would just need to drill a few holes dig out the rotted balsa then file with epoxy but man does that water travel once it gets inside the balsa core. As you can see it got in through the hinge bolt holes. The color of the balsa shows dark where completely rotted, lighter where partially rotted, lighter still where just wet and finally at the farthest point from the hinges it was dry. To get the core material out I put the long end of a small allen wrench in the chuck of the drill and used the short end of the allen wrench to spin inside the hole to wallow out the core then sucked it out with a shop vac. In hind sight it might have been easier to just cut it open like Jeff did with the cockpit sole.

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[Keith]

Here's the final pic with epoxy filling. Both hatches combined took about 16 oz of epoxy with filler. I didn't weigh them before and after but it didn't seem to add much weight, but then again they were saturated with water before.

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[Jim Walsh]

Nice job Keith. All project descriptions and photos are helpful.

[jbenagh]

Sailor,
those access holes are from the cockpit lockers in the CD30 and are normally covered by plywood panels with swivel cleats. The panels keep stuff from falling from the lockers into the engine compartment and/or bilge. That's all factory.

Keith,
I did exactly what you did on the hatches for my CD25. I drilled holes and then let it sit over a heat vent for about 3 months during a New England winter. Then it was pretty dry. I still had to cut away the skin in a couple spots since when I drilled, I got black, punky stuff instead of nice balsa.
I did not take that approach in my cockpit sole because I have heard that you can never really get moisture out of plywood with that scheme, I couldn't figure out a safe way to keep the sole heated with air flowing all winter and I suspected a lot of rot which is indeed what I found.

Jim,
thanks for the encouragement! I have learned a lot from the board's project posts; thought it was time to return the favor.

Jeff

[Keith]

Devin,

Please post the pics of your repairs. I'd love to see what it looks like around the mast step area. That is one of the only things that I'm not crazy about on the CD30 is that the mast is not keel stepped.

Keith

[Steve Laume]

Devin,

That is one of the only things that I'm not crazy about on the CD30 is that the mast is not keel stepped.

Keith

What is it that bothers you about the deck stepped mast?

It is certainly easier to step the mast. There is never a chance of leaking around the partners. It would be easier to clear if it were ever to come crashing down and it would not leave a hole in the boat. There is no spar in the middle of a rather small cabin. The somewhat shorter mast is easier to deal with when it is removed. Did I mention that it never leaks?

Cape dory did a pretty fine job of spreading the load to two bulkheads in order to support the mast step and keep the interior clear. The Typhoons are known to have some compression problems but I have never heard of any issues with the bigger boats.

Life is a compromise, Steve.

[devindiedrich]

Hi Keith,

Here are some pics of my re-core project. When I bought the boat 9 years ago, I knew I had wet core. The only spot that was noticeably soft was the cockpit sole. It finally got so bad, it was time to keep the boat out for the season and take care of all the wet areas. Fortunately, the wet core stayed contained to the areas the surveyor had originally noted when I bought the boat. The cockpit sole up to the emergency tiller access was soaked and rotten and I was able to peel up the fiberglass with no problem. The only other area like that was near the mast step. Other than that, even though the core was wet and I could squeeze water from the balsa when removed, I had to remove it in 2 inch strips with a chisel because it was still bonded to the bottom layer of fiberglass. It was painfully long process. I am sure there is an easier way but that is what I did.

Devin

[devindiedrich]

Here are some pics of the preparations for the new core. The fiberglass has been feathered in preparation for the new glass. Since the repairs were mostly contained to non skid areas, I tried to keep the finishing work contained to the non skid areas as well. This meant the feathering of the fiberglass came up to the smooth gelcoat. There was still wet core under the remaining fiberglass that I did remove. I don't think I would do that again. It was difficult to slide the new core under the existing fiberglass. It did make finishing easy though. I was amazed how thin that bottom layer of fiberglass was along the side deck.

Devin

[devindiedrich]

Here are some of the re-core and fiberglass pics. I ended up using polyester resin and balsa core again. I knew I was going to use Kiwi Grip for the non skid but I figured I would also be repairing some of the smooth gelcoat as well so I went with polyester resin. The middle picture is gelcoat I painted on so that non skid divider strip or what ever is called remained symmetrical with the starboard side. I just didn't want to non skid over on both sides. I thought it looked better if I didn't.

Devin

[devindiedrich]

Here are some finishing pics. Like I said before, I used Kiwi Grip for the non skid. I colored the tan at the local paint store to match the existing tan color but left the white alone. I can't say that I loved the white. I thought it contrasted to much with the gelcoat white. After the season was over it didn't bother me as bad. I kind of wish I would have just went with the tan non skid instead. The good thing with the Kiwi Grip, it is easy to put on and looks pretty close to the factory non skid. The areas I did gelcoat repair, I mixed the color myself. There is a local shop that sells all boat repair supplies in Mpls. I was able to get a color that was close to the cape dory white and then got a small can of white gelcoat. After about an hour of playing with the mix, I was able to get something pretty close. I couldn't tell the difference at least.

I also overdrilled, resin filled and re-drilled all holes through the deck and the cockpit sole in areas that I repaired. Hopefully I will never get water intrusion through the same holes that I did before.

Devin