Well, it has continued to be a busy work week. From the last update, the supplies have been ordered and received. The decks have been de-cored and prepped and the new core has been cut and installed.
The old core came out fairly easy and was rotten for the most part. It looked like a river was running through it. The previous owner obviously knew about the leaks because there was sealant on the underside of the deck (in the cabin). So instead of fixing the leak on the top like you are supposed to do, he gave the water no where to go except to the core. Which it did and sat there, rotting it away under the top skin and all the teak that was there. When the teak came off and the deck was checked it sounded like it was hollow. The first layer of skin was peeled off and the amount of water retained in the plywood core was astonishing.
All the core material has been removed. The hardest part was the narrow section next to the cockpit. I had to get a special tool to get that core out… It was a 4″ Angle Grinder with a chain saw blade on it. I got the angle grinder at Harbor Freight and the thing was horrible, but it was only twelve bucks. The switch broke and the lock tab broke off as well, I rigged it to work without a switch, plugged in and it’s on! Scary with a chainsaw blade and no guard on it, but you got to do what you got to do.
Once the core was removed the entire under-skin was ground down to remove any residual core material or bedding material. Some of the under skin was looking pretty thin, so I decided to lay a layer of fiberglass mat to give it some extra strength, plus it was good practice to get the hang of laminating before it really counted. It came out great and only required grinding in a few places where it didn’t bond.
Then came the cutting of the new core material. I ordered 4 sheets of Divinicell H80 foam for the new core material (not cheap). I used the old top skin for the pattern to cut the foam. Everything worked out great. I laid it all out and used a sander to make sure everything fit correctly. I then stuffed scrap pieces under the 3 inch scarf joint that I left on the edge to glass the new deck to. Once everything looked like it fit correctly, I took it all off and got ready to glue it down.
I got a 5 gallon bucket of Core-Bond B70 to glue it down, basically a pre-thickened polyester based bedding compound. I would butter up the edges of the scrap pieces and hammer them under the old skin and then use a trowel to coat the under-skin with the core-bond. I would put a “hot coat” of polyester resin on the back side of the foam and then bed it in, lightly tapping it in place with a hammer. I would then put heavy weights on top to keep it in place until it cured. That ranged from old buckets filled with water, old batteries, and wood blocks.
The core set up nicely even though the temperature decided to drop towards the end of the week. I used the entire 5 gallon bucket bedding the foam and still had some gaps towards the stern where I ran out. I ended up using silica thickened resin to fill those gaps and none the wiser. I also bought some straight 3/4″ fiberglass sheets from McMaster Carr, cut squares out of it, and bedded it where any cleat or stanchion base would be drilled into the core, to not only add a ton of strength but keep water from getting to the foam.
Now I have begun to cut the glass to start on the top deck. I am going with a mat then biaxle alternating layup schedule until I get the right thickness.
I have recruited some help from a local boat builder to do some carpentry work on the inside while I am at work and cannot get to it with the exterior work. He has some good ideas, good advice and good connections to get supplies while I am down here and I am looking forward to working with him.
Next up is some more fairing and sanding to make it easier to lay up the deck, finish cutting the glass and then time to start laminating the deck!
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”
-John Quincy Adams
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