The R word... rot

[akholmes]

Well boys- today I found it. And it broke my heart- I kneeled down to grab something from the starboard side battery box and out oozed some water.

I bought the boat 2ish years ago and the Parker dealer assured me these hairline cracks in the deck were cosmetic. Not in need of repair, and that he hadn't fixed them to avoid looking like he was covering up anything serious. I should have known better but I filled the cracks with 4200 and turned a blind eye.

Well I immediately opened up the cracks with a dremel and sure enough I have the rot.

My first thought is, if the rot is contained to say- a 1' x 1' area cut it up and add a hatch or inspection plate of some sort. Though it may be a little out of place it seems it would be much easier than glassing in wood. What say ye ClassicParker?

 

[akholmes]

I borrowed a pic from windknotnc's 21 rehab thread to show where the crack/rot is in comparison to the 21's stringers. I hope this is ok with windknotnc!

Although a hatch here would be directly over a stringer- I still feel like I'd rather do this.

 

[Sully]

What year is that? and is that a 2120 ?
If it was me I would clean it out the best I can and fill it with GetRot and then thickened epoxy sand it and pore some gelcoat on it
Although I'm not a fiberglass guy or do I play one on TV

 

[Luv2fish]

Out of curiosity have you done the "screwdriver exam"? I had a Grady checked one time at a fiberglass shop and he took the plastic handle end of a screwdriver (could have been a plastic hammer too) and taped on the area. Areas with rot will give a dull thud. He was doing the transom for me and I was shocked at how the sound changed. I passed on the boat.

Might give you some idea on how wide it has spread. Won't work for deep though so the stringers would still be in question.

Steve

 

[warthog5]

I wouldn't put a hatch there....Your just going to stumble over it. Cut it and fix it....If it doesn't match cosmetically....so what?

 

[akholmes]

What year is that? and is that a 2120 ?
If it was me I would clean it out the best I can and fill it with GetRot and then thickened epoxy sand it and pore some gelcoat on it
Although I'm not a fiberglass guy or do I play one on TV

Yeah it's a 2004 2120. When I dig out the rot is there going to be a bottom layer "skin" that would hold gitrot and epoxy? If so I'll go that route for sure. But I was under the impression there wasn't a bottom "skin"

 

[Sully]

I would only go down about 5/8 I would tape the depth on the dremel bit so I don't go deeper use a syringe and fill it in with gitrot
Let it sink in then fill with thickened epoxy sand and pour the gelcoat

 

[camron]

If it's an 04 maybe you could talk with the factory. Being a 10 year warrantee on the hull possible they could work with you on it? Idk just a thought also usually the warantee starts from date of sale / in service. Might be worth a call ither way even if it's just for some advice.

Camron

 

[kidfreediver]

Easy fix do the right thing if u have to cut in new marine plywood then do it. Glass both sides lay it in drill it down if there is a stringer and glass it in cure then sand if u don't have the right cosmetics then mix up some cab sole and thicken ur resin feather out ur patch. This would be the perfect time to lay down new grit tape ur edges in that area roll down gelcoat shack on some grit wait until it sets up and then two layers of gelcoat over that. It will look tits.

 

[akholmes]

Yeah you guys are right. The hatch idea sounds stupid after sleeping on it.

So completely plunge cut out the rotten part- down to the stringers? Not leaving a bottom "skin" layer? Cut marine plywood to fit the hole, encapsulate it in glass, screw it down to the stringer, and fill the seams with resin. Pour new gelcoat over it.

That the gist?

 

[kidfreediver]

Yeah you guys are right. The hatch idea sounds stupid after sleeping on it.

So completely plunge cut out the rotten part- down to the stringers? Not leaving a bottom "skin" layer? Cut marine plywood to fit the hole, encapsulate it in glass, screw it down to the stringer, and fill the seams with resin. Pour new gelcoat over it.

That the gist?

U will want to fiberglass the seams after that sand smooth if there are voids build it up with resin cab sole sand smooth try to feather with the resin by going wider on the patch to hide it after putting down a non skid. ( that is if ur high ultimately trying to have the same leveled surface)

 

[akholmes]

U will want to fiberglass the seams after that sand smooth if there are voids build it up with resin cab sole sand smooth try to feather with the resin by going wider on the patch to hide it after putting down a non skid. ( that is if ur high ultimately trying to have the same leveled surface)

Thanks for all your input Kidfreediver.
If I decide to redo the whole cockpit nonskid, what should I do do the rest of the cockpit before rolling on new gel/nonskid?

 

[kidfreediver]

Hit it with a 40 grit sand paper to knock down the peak of the old non skid remember u don't have to knock them down all the way cuz u will be rolling on a thick layer of gelcoat that will fill in a lot of the voids. Match the gel coat to ur original color. Be precise and take ur time if u non skid is in good shape and ur not particular in redoing all the non skid to hide the patch well then make ur best judge and remember to feather in to the deck to make it not noticeable. Love to see pics. Remember to research before laying it in some do things different but I probably just step it down with the same thickness plywood and cut half and half on the side so it fits together evenly remember to use silicon adhesive well drilling into the stringer to seal the screw. Water can penetrate everywhere. Put ur best foot forward and never leave bondo as and exterior( it's just a builder) always glass over it. Gelcoat loves fiberglass and resin not bondo.

I'll be replacing my deck soon I also have a small area of dry rot but over all I'm putting in a fiberglass deck hatch for a fish hold and making the battery compart a fiberglass hatch. Also cutting in a live bait tank in the transom. After this year salmon season. Stay tuned

 

[akholmes]

An update:
I plunge cut out the suspected rotten area. The first 1-3 layers of the plywood were rotten but I caught it early enough to not have to replace the wood, in my opinion. A cheap HarborFreight moisture meter shows between 35-40% moisture in the wood. I now have a fan on the area drying it.

Opinions wanted on the following:
1) Do you think the wet wood that has not been exposed will dry as is? Or do I need to keep peeling back gel/glass until I find completely dry wood. I really don't want to keep cutting...
2) Git-Rot once dry?

I will be redoing the whole cockpit nonskid once cut area is patched.

 

[gw204]

Keep cutting. Based on that picture I don't think you have found the worst of it yet.

 

[kidfreediver]

Use ur best judgement dry wood is what u want to find. Make repairs once. I'll would open it up more at least another three inches think about making a step down on the edges so ur piece doesn't fall threw once ur have cut the plywood to fit in there. Keep the pics coming.

 

[akholmes]

More cutting...
went 2-3" more toward the centerline and 2-3" aft.

My conclusion is that I've got more of a wet wood problem than a rot. It's solid- I have to really chisel away at most of it with a hammer & flat head to get anything to come up... Nothing is crumbling.

I have a heat lamp & fan on it. Might even throw down some moisture absorbing pellets. Going to give it time to dry before I make any more decisions.

Thank you all for all of your help!

 

[TimC2520]

You can dry it out if it's not rotten, see my post below.
Never had a problem after this was fixed.


viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5831&p=41215&hilit=Stringer#p41215

 

[akholmes]

You can dry it out if it's not rotten, see my post below.
Never had a problem after this was fixed.


viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5831&p=41215&hilit=Stringer#p41215

Thank you for the positive vibes! I've decided today I am going to remove gel/glass until I find completely dry wood. If it means the whole deck needs to be replaced- so be it. I'll take it to a quality glass guy and have it done.

 

[akholmes]

What would y'all consider an acceptable moisture reading? I wouldn't think it'll ever read 0.0%? 10%? Single digits?

Sorry for all the Qs just want to fix it once!