is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

[toey77]

well I was getting ready to put the stringers in my boat when i heard a cracking noise i then found a soft spot in the fiber glass, the other side on the gel coat looks fine but i thought that this needed further investigation. so i got out the drill and it went straight into what i thought was a air pocket in the glass. so i thought bad molding when the boat was made and surprised that it lasted from the 70's i was going to fill it with more fiber glass and resin so i thought id see how big it was when i hit this soft stuff its not damp nor does it have a odor of rot ( no odor at all that i can smell) on first site i thought it was resin when not mixed or set after a while it crystallizes but it is soft. so i am asking for help on where do i go from here and what it is.........:eek

 

[toey77]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included need help

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included need help

well i have done more digging and found out that it is wood and have hit some damp spots even though this boat has been out of the weather for over 1 year. i thought that i was already at the hull of the boat has anyone ever seen this before (wood in between the fiber glass and possibly the gel coat) if you look you can see it is in all small square constructions as if basic honey comb formation setup. or is the the dodge floor installed by the manufacture and i have stringers hiding in there somewhere. how far should i go or is the boat FUBAR. I need help from the iboat gurus

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included need help

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included need help

It looks like " balsa core" construction and it is infiltrated with water. You can get replacement core pieces and it is repairable just a PITA.

This is an example..... what kind of boat is it?
http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...d=1592&familyName=Laminated+Balsa+Core+Panels

 

[HVAC Cruiser]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

Hi toey77,
What is the make of your boat?
I've seen this before with my boat right by the keel of the boat. What is the make of your boat, my boat is a 73 Cruiser Inc? I called that the core, don't know if its correct terminology or not. you must have had water intrusion from a crack, screw that wasn't sealed or something.
There is a place by me that sells that mat type wood, but what I did is seeing its 1/2" thick used peices of 1/2" acx.

That will never dry, sealed in fiberglass,and when it does after exposed it will fall apart.l How I did the repair is grind away section by section cutting out areas until I got to solid wood where the glass was secure to the glass. I then cleaned any leftover wood on the hull side and used thickened resin to glue in new wood, after that layer it with some 1708 biax here is a couple of pics

Before

After

I wound up replacing 3 areas around 10 x 30 each
Good luck, let us know how you make out

 

[toey77]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

thanks a heap guys, i was looking at the wood thinking this is balsa wood but the thought na it couldn't be lol. now i just need to find it here in Australia, my boat is a microplus 501 must it be replaced with a balsa core or can it be done the another way, what is acx and must i use balsa, its is used to keep wieght down only or can i sheet my hull in ply then glass that in, then as my stringers and build my floor as was my original plan

 

[HVAC Cruiser]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

thanks a heap guys, i was looking at the wood thinking this is balsa wood but the thought na it couldn't be lol. now i just need to find it here in Australia, my boat is a microplus 501 must it be replaced with a balsa core or can it be done the another way

I believe you can repair it the way I did at least I hope so lol. Might wanna wait for others to chime in. I think they used balsa because its easy to form, its only acting like a placeholder and form for the glass in my own opinion.

 

[toey77]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

cool i just arn't sure whether it goes from gel caot straight to the balsa core or the is fiber glass there as well, my boat is still on its trailer so i just didn't want to go digging it out and then fall through the hull, i am a beginner that just fell into the pit so how do i know when the balsa is not water effected although i am presuming it all is just didn't want to have to release the cabin from the hull if i didn't have to, but at the same time i am thinking i should, i have a repaired looking section at the front on the bow as if the previous owner beached it a lot and am hopping to hell that the isn't where the water has got in

that's the boat in question

 

[thrillhouse700]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

I LOVE THAT BOAT!!!!!!!!!! Looks awesome, sorry I cant help with your problem I just love your boat

 

[HVAC Cruiser]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

cool i just arn't sure whether it goes from gel caot straight to the balsa core or the is fiber glass there as well, my boat is still on its trailer so i just didn't want to go digging it out and then fall through the hull, i am a beginner that just fell into the pit so how do i know when the balsa is not water effected although i am presuming it all is just didn't want to have to release the cabin from the hull if i didn't have to, but at the same time i am thinking i should, i have a repaired looking section at the front on the bow as if the previous owner beached it a lot and am hopping to hell that the isn't where the water has got in

that's the boat in question

http:[/QUOTE]


There is going to be fiberglass between the wood and the gelcoat

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

OMG or WTF...actually, it's more like holy ....!

You have gelcoat, fiberglass, core, then fiberglass which puts you inside your boat. I've just finished replacing a ton of core in my Checkmate. Joe for "Mertons" is who you probably would like to talk to about supplies. I used the thinnest they had which was 3/8" balsa core, then coat the core a couple of times with epoxy and then mixed up some peanut butter (thickened epoxy), trowel it out over the repair area and set the new core in. Afterward it sets, lay a couple of layers of glass overlapping the repair area.

The only factor that would change this would be if you have any holes or breeches in the outer fiberglass skin which you would need to repair first before doing the core.

I'm not sure if you have a lot to replace like me or just a spot or two but if you see any black in the inner fiberglass (if your looking from inside your boat) or any water seeping through the inner fiberglass skin then you'll need to replace.

Hope that helps.

 

[toey77]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

well thanks again guys, i will cut out a section today and see how it looks hopefully its only out in thew deck area and not it the cabin the floor still feels solid as a rock to walk on it was just one soft spot the size of a CD that got me started

 

[tschmidty]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

It's always just one small spot to start.. Gotta say I love the look of that boat too.

Had that same balsa core to replace on my 17' sailboat. You don't have to duplicate it if you don't want to, lots of options are better and as others have said the core is just filler really. If you wanted you could just lay up more fiberglass and avoid the wood altogether or just one larger piece of plywood. My beef with the honeycomb type is that it doesn't give any structural integrity so I think it flexes which then cracks the resin and water gets in.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

My old Crestliner was put together that way. Stripped out the deck and assumed I was at the bottom. Further inspection revealed it wasn't worth fixing. When I cut it up to haul away, I was surprised to find a layer of 1/2" wood between two layers of fiberglass.

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

It's always just one small spot to start.. Gotta say I love the look of that boat too.

Had that same balsa core to replace on my 17' sailboat. You don't have to duplicate it if you don't want to, lots of options are better and as others have said the core is just filler really. If you wanted you could just lay up more fiberglass and avoid the wood altogether or just one larger piece of plywood. My beef with the honeycomb type is that it doesn't give any structural integrity so I think it flexes which then cracks the resin and water gets in.

I disagree...it's there for stuctural purposes. Most, if not all high performance boats have balsa in their hulls for a reason. When doing over 70 mph in the water, the fiberglass needs more then just one or two stringers for support as fiberglass. Completely removing it and only building it back up fiberglass will also add serious weight to your boat.

Most core failure comes from some breach in the fiberglass. Most of the time, it comes from someone running a screw into the inner glass from shotty deck repair or from the transom having something removed and the hole not filled. One water get in and rot takes place, then you have problems.

 

[toey77]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

i was thinking of doing the same as HVAC crusier done and replace it with ply as my hull is fairly flat i have included pic of the shape of the hull at the rear of the boat so was hoping to just replace the 5 angles needed in the rear and thinking that by the time the water logged balsa was out the weight difference would be minimal and the ply wood would bring back strength at a lot cheaper cost, my original plan was to add stringers and a flat floor inside the hull anyway (before running in this problem which was only found due to getting the hull ready for the stringer in the first place other than that the rest of it is all very solid the main problem now is in the water logged balsa that needs to be removed, any suggestions on this approach


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[86RajunCajun]

Re: is it a OMG or a WTF, pitures included

You can get this core mat material from US composites as well for a pretty decent price. I think its like 8$ a yard.

Had it in my boat also, and ground it all out. Replaced it with 1708 to stiffen the hull.

You boat is friggin awsome as well. Its a killer all weather cruiser!

Good luck!
RC