Delamination

[Winddancer]

On a 1996 38ft Ericson at the anchor compartment, did I have a small area that delaminated, a moistermeter reading shows some wet area's on both port and starboard side of the anchor compartment. The water might have leaked into corematerial where the push buttons for winlass is located.The anchor compartment has a fiberglass insert pan and water might also have leaked in this area. The quastion I have, has anyone ever removed this pan and if so was it difficult, with the pan removed is there anyway water could have leaked into the core material?
Thanks
Per

 

[treilley]

That is a common area for leaks. Many things can contribute to the leaking. First is the hole where the bow light wires go down through the pulpit through the deck. Just a hole with lots of sealant that usually fails after a couple of years. The other is a crack that usually forms on the starboard side near the aft end of the locker from bow flexing. More prominent in boats with adjustable back stays. The other is leaking at any one of the many bolts that secure the cleats, bow pulpit of after market additions like windlass controls.

The anchor locker is a real bear to remove but I highly recommend doing this to gain access below.

It is set on the lip inside the lid and usually glued in place with 5200 and some screws. I spent a day working on the removal. Key to the job was cutting two 4" holes in the locker just below the cleats. These are later filled with a Beckson type removable port. This was crucial to the process because it provided a place to lift the pan.