Soft Roof on fiberglass houseboat???

[rwilson]

I've just discovered a small section of the roof on my houseboat is soft/waterlogged. This is an area about 1'X 1'. ther entire roof is abot 11X14.<br />I can remove a small section of the top layer of fiberglass, there is a 3" thick section of some type of light wood. I need to get the moisture out, and was told to inject alcohol in several places which will force out the water. The guy that told me this repairs fiberglass boats for a living ...so I assume he knows ???? Anyway not sure what kind of alcohol to use, I plan on injecting get-rot or something like that after<br />its dried out. Was told this also works for stringers that are just waterlogged?

 

[Ryoken]

Re: Soft Roof on fiberglass houseboat???

its more than likely balsa core or ply.... <br /><br />and it would be denatured alcohol...<br /><br />and honestly, drilling and injected rarely works well.. a much better repair is to deskin it, remove the bad balsa and replace it with synthetic core. and replace or put new glass on top. by the time you drill as many holes as you'll need to get everything you could have just deskinned it..<br /><br />generally the alcohol wont get to all the bad areas unless you drill alot of holes or the core is really hammered below. you can try a little blowgun low pressure to a few holes and see if it blows water out the others, low pressure tho. add denatured, let it sit a day or so. repeat as nes... even a heat lamp after holes have been drilled will help evaporate the water..<br /><br />inject with epoxy from a syringe or fillable caulking tube... also you need to stop the water intrusion that caused it in the first place..

 

[rwilson]

Re: Soft Roof on fiberglass houseboat???

Thanks, I had thought about as I have a small section of the roof where I installed roof air, but was unsure how to maintain the strength. I am not sure but a portion of one of the stringers near the motor mounts may be soft too. Don't think its to bad but bears checking into ...thanks again