Cockpit sole repair/replacement

[Joe Myerson]

The cockpit sole on my 40-year-old 25D has become noticeably flexible and crazed. The cause is pretty clear: the core is rotten.

I intend to sail this season and get the sole repaired/replaced in the off-season. There are many posts about this problem on this board. How complex and difficult is this repair? Do I need to cut off the glass sole and remove and replace the entire balsa core, or can I drill holes, scoop out the core and inject resin and hardener into the space?

Tentatively, I've scheduled to have the yard perform the core replacement over the winter. The cost of this would run well into the thousands--but I know they'd do a good job. A friend who happened to be in the boatyard's office when I was discussing the possibility of having them do the work is urging me do tackle the surgery myself.

Several years ago I successfully scooped out rotten core from my afterdeck and injected resin/hardener into the void, but this seems like a much more daunting task.

Any suggestions?

-Joe

[Jim Walsh]

I doubt anything quick and dirty will be sufficient unless it’s possible to to confirm it is a small localized issue. I see a refurbished cockpit sole in your future. Unless you’re champing at the bit to learn all the nuances and techniques to allow you to do it yourself it may just be best to use a professional. It is not only structural but the cosmetic appearance of the finished product is something which will be prominently on display.

[Joe Myerson]

That's what I suspected, Jim. I'm not a pro, and the pros get paid for their skill and expertise. And besides, at my age--and mu boat's--I can't take it with me!

--Joe

[wikakaru]

We had Tim Lackey do that exact repair to our CD22 two years ago. If you want to see a step-by-step walkthrough of what's involved, check out his site: https://lackeysailing.com/arietta-1/

Good luck on the repairs.

--Jim

[Steve I]

Amazing job & documentation. Nice finished product !

[Mike Davis]

Joe, I just replaced the cockpit sole on my 31. It literally took a few weeks of part time work. The balsa wood under the non skid was completely spongy. I replaced the wood with divinycell and then put two layers of west system epoxy and fiberglass mat. The job is long, but the results look good so far. Now I will lay down the nonskid paint.
If you have the time, I say do it. Good luck,
Mike Davis

[s2sailorlis]

If you take the DIY approach and it ends up cosmetically less than perfect, there’s always the teak grid option to hide it…

There are a lot of videos that describe how to do it I’m sure, but understand the time involved. I’m getting to a point where time is more valuable at times than money saved. If I was facing that decision, probably $2K would be my limit…to spend $4-6K…I’d attempt the job myself….

[Cathy Monaghan]

We replaced the core in the cockpit sole of our CD32 several years back. We did it ourselves. It’s a messy job, but you can do it.

[jbenagh]

Joe,
I did this myself on Christine C (CD30) a few years back. It wasn't really that hard.
http://capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php ... it=cockpit
I used Coosa for all the filler, not anything else since there's a lot of stiffening plywood on a wheel-steered CD30. An the Coosa is pretty lightweight.
Pretty sure you have a tiller, but consider replacing any below decks cold steel fabrications, if you have any.
I used Kiwi Grip for the sole and I think it looks really good (except for the spot where a box fell on it while it was curing but that was a rookie mistake )

[Dick Villamil]

I tried the drill, scoop inject method on the aft deck of my 1976 Typhoon. It lasted a few years but didn't take long for the hole filling to "Pop" leaving rings where the dirt and extra water entered. Finally last year I bit the bullet and removed the portion of the deck needing the work (2/3 of the total area). Looks MUCH better, firm and solid. Make sure that you get some diamond discs for your dreml tool - they make quick work of cutting the fiberglass (Harbor Freight). I left the lower skin intact and then filled upward and then used the original (cleaned) skin as the final layer!

[Shinok]

I would not recommend the for-some-reason popular injection method. The injection method leaves a bunch of holes in the deck, makes fixing it properly down the line more difficult, and it won't fix the structural problems caused by wet/rotten/missing core. You are just postponing and making the job ultimately more difficult down the line. In a high traffic area like your cockpit sole, it likely wouldn't last long before making the problem worse. For me, any time I look at a boat, if someone has injected rotten core with resin, it is an immediate red flag.

The proper way to do it is to cut it out, re-core it, and relaminate it, as others have shown. If you want to do the job properly, where it lasts and you don't have to knock off $$ down the line when you sell the boat, this is the correct way to do it. If you live in an area where you have all winter to do it and have a clean/protected place to work, I'd suggest trying it yourself. Personally, I don't think it is that difficult or error prone, just time consuming. There are several videos on YouTube where you can watch folks do it in real time and see the materials/processes they use, the previously linked photos a great, but sometimes it helps to see someone do it on video esp if you don't have someone that has done it before that will work with you.

I've seen some folks reuse the original deck "skin" over the new coring, but if yours is crazed/cracked bad enough, IMO you might be better off just putting down new cloth, fairing, and smoothing it down, then re-apply non-skid. I don't think you save much by reusing the old deck.

If you are worried about being familiar with the materials/technique, you could always use some scrap plywood, mock up a small section of deck by glassing over it, fairing it, smoothing it out, and painting it. Once it's done, cut it out, and mimic the repair process on the mockup "deck". It won't be near a true 1 to 1 level of effort, but you could at least get some idea of your confidence level working with the materials in your garage before you embark on doing it on the boat.