Typhoon deck recore - an esthetic question

[bhartley]

Our Typhoon is needing to have the deck recored. The top layer is not in good enough condition to salvage and it will be relaminated after the core is replaced.

I had planned to cut inside the non-skid so that the non-skid areas would still be raised as in the original. The white central area also has a lot of damage around the cleat.

It would be much easier to simply remove the entire top skin from the edge of the non-skid on each side across the central white area which is lower. The end product would all be at the same level as the outer edge of the non-skid (raised up just slightly from the deck).

I realize I can do anything I want since its my boat, but I don't want to do long term damage to her value (or, at this point, potential value) or her looks.

Anyone else confront this problem or have a brilliant suggestion?

Many thanks!

Bly

[Dick Villamil]

I repaired the stern deck on my Ty a year ago and did the typical multiple hole technique, dried it out for a few months then squirted epoxy with filler back into the holes. After it hardened I sanded smooth then repainted the deck. The lateral movement of moisture is generally restricted to a few inches or a foot from the leak. I also noticed that when I removed the hardware that Cape Dory didn't use enough caulking around the fittings and water entered the screw holes - the cause of the water in the laminate. Seems fine now however there is another way - do all work from the inside so the upper skin stays intact. Perhaps others on this board have had similar experiences. Attaching the plywood or balsa filler is the difficult part since you would be working over your head in a very tight location. The deck looks fine now and it it very storng. I used Petit EasyPoxy off white and she looks fine.

[Nancy Martin]

Good Luck Bly. Wish we could lend some assistance!
Nancy

[bhartley]

The water infiltration on the deck is extensive as is the delamination due to the combination of water and a severely sagging cabintop. The exploratory cuts in the deck show that the areas that aren't totally rotted out have delaminated from the bottom layer also.

The mooring cleat has caused the bulk of the leaking, but it was left for so long that the area has extended way beyond the 12" around the cleat.

The recored areas I have done so far have gone very quickly with very satisfactory results (the proof will be in the painting however). I will probably follow your lead on the stern deck as it is only punky in a few small spots.

She will be back to her former glory soon... She will be back to her former glory soon... If I say it enough times, maybe it will happen! I just have to keep reminding myself that I didn't pay much for the boat -- so I didn't get much! The 3 year old set of sails was worth the price of the boat...

Bly

[Rollergirl]

If you find it easy to do, you might try replacing the strip-down-the-middle baltek with a slightly thinner version then the rest. Or if you don't want to hassle the procurement, use the proper thickness for the antiskid areas and a router to trim the center stripe.

My Ty water migration experience was different from Dicks'. Water that entered by the center fore cleat got as far as to meet the water from the chainplates - in other words, I recored almost all of the deck from the stem to the winch stands. I found that even where the skin was very difficult to remove from the core, the core was still very wet, and would rot eventually. Were you to remove the skin over wet core, it would take at least a full northeast dry winter (or it's equivalent) to dry out.
I'd just rip any wet stuff out.
As far as replacing the outer skin, a consideration is to use epoxy or vinylester. If you will only paint, epoxy is fine. However, if you intend to gelcoat the new work, you would want vinylester to provide a surface gelcoat would stick to. Even with the amine blush removed from the epoxy, and a rough surface to adhere to, the vinylester will work much better.
As far as working upside down, I've tried it, unsuccessfully, and would never do it again. I removed the deck from the Ensign to finish my core replacement project.
Not to mention the liner issue.
Besides, chances are you will wind up refinishing the whole deck, and possibly topsides too. The fiberglass work is the easy part.

Good luck
Bill

[bhartley]

Your recore sounds exactly like mine -- only your's is done!

I'm going to finish up the cockpit sole, cabin top and seats (yes, they had managed to crack two of the seats) and then tackle the deck. I currently need to build some scaffolding at the right height around the bow so I can work without putting pressure on the skinned deck.

I hadn't considered using thinner core in the center. That would certainly do the trick. I'm using end-grain cedar not balsa and cutting it myself so thickness is no problem.

When you relaminated the deck, how did you handle the cloth? Did you use smaller overlapping pieces or larger pieces that went over the entire area? I'm just using epoxy as the deck has already been painted and will need to be repainted when I"m done.

Have a great weekend.

Bly

[sloopjohnl]

on a much smaller scale i had to replace the area around the mooring cleat on the foredeck of my ty. i also sanded and replaced the non-skid area at the time. i filled the decking with a backing plate of marine-grade plywood under the cleat and the rest was west system epoxy followed by petit paint. the epoxy with filler was easy to form and shape with a sander to restore the smooth strip down the centerline.