Lloyd Moore
New Member
The balsa core in the cabintop of my Ericson 35 became saturated. I didn't know how the water was getting in until I began the repair - it turned out the original construction of the dorade box was faulty. Inside the box (all 3 chambers), the seal between the slanted sides of the box and the cabintop was not complete, and water had been seeping in since the boat was new. Eventually the cabintop got spongy.
After rejecting the yard's proposal ($20K+ for labor) which basically involved taking a chainsaw to the cabintop, I did the repair myself, from the inside, with a lot of help from my new friends at Fiberglass Supply, Inc.
I learned how to do a job I never intend doing again, and a lot about my boat. I took out all the wet balsa core, and replaced it with the same material. Learning to stick resin-soaked balsa and fiberglass cloth/mat to the ceiling over your head was a challenge.
If you own an Ericson 35 of the same vintage, and have more moisture inside than you want, check the dorade.
After rejecting the yard's proposal ($20K+ for labor) which basically involved taking a chainsaw to the cabintop, I did the repair myself, from the inside, with a lot of help from my new friends at Fiberglass Supply, Inc.
I learned how to do a job I never intend doing again, and a lot about my boat. I took out all the wet balsa core, and replaced it with the same material. Learning to stick resin-soaked balsa and fiberglass cloth/mat to the ceiling over your head was a challenge.
If you own an Ericson 35 of the same vintage, and have more moisture inside than you want, check the dorade.