E 38 Grid Drains

[Dave Stensby]

I am the new owner of an '81 E 38. The boat is in need of a little care at this point. I have started to tear out the sole. The plywood is supporting some interesting life forms. The places where the grid is glassed to the hull have recesses that are below the drains. They collect water which cannot drain to the bilge.

What have people done to fix this. I am considering filling these spaces with micro balloons and epoxy so that the drains are the lowest part. Any better ideas?

Also, has anyone done anything different to replace the sole besides plywood? After tearing the old plywood out, it seems like plywood is the perfect way to trap moisture in these spaces. This is especially true when the perimeter of the plywood is carefully sealed with trim.

Thanks, Dave

 

[u079721]

Well to start, either filling in these lower areas or adding new drains sounds like a reasonable approach.

As for the floor, I am fascinated by the idea of using a non-wood material, because I too have wondered the same thing. It might play hell with resale, but if that isn't your big concern, I would certainly give it a try.

My first thought was the idea of plastic wood - that wood filled polyethylene that can be stained to look sort-of-like wood. The same stuff they use on new expensive decks. The concern there is that the material needs to be pretty thick to have much structural rigidity, so that might be an issue with the existing clearance under the trim molding and such. I also don't think they make big sheets of it, but using planks shouldn't be a problem. Note that you can't glue this stuff, only screw it down.

The other idea would be to use fiberglass composite sheets, the type that can be purchased for use as bulkheads. The issue there might be that they don't bend too well if you have any surfaces that need slight curves. Not sure how the non skid properties would be either.

If you do decide to try something other than wood, please do give us some updates on the project, and be sure to include pictures!

 

[treilley]

I also was concerned with these areas when I did my sole but I figured every time the boat heeled to either side the areas would drain(If moisture had gotten in there in the first place). There may be some residual moisture in there when hauled but I am not concerned about it at this point. 24 years and no resulting damage other than the rotten sole. Actually, the only rot in my sole was in the head and that drains well to the bilges. I think it was mostly caused by water seeping into the edges.

I did coat the bottom and edges of my new sole with epoxy to battle moisture and I expect at least 20 years as it is better prepped than factory. Another thing I did was to make the sole piece separate from the main salon with a seam under the head door. The width does not fit through the companionway and it make it easy to just replace this section in the future.

 

[Loren Beach]

I am the new owner of an '81 E 38. The boat is in need of a little care at this point. I have started to tear out the sole. The plywood is supporting some interesting life forms. The places where the grid is glassed to the hull have recesses that are below the drains. They collect water which cannot drain to the bilge.

What have people done to fix this. I am considering filling these spaces with micro balloons and epoxy so that the drains are the lowest part. Any better ideas?

Also, has anyone done anything different to replace the sole besides plywood? After tearing the old plywood out, it seems like plywood is the perfect way to trap moisture in these spaces. This is especially true when the perimeter of the plywood is carefully sealed with trim.

Thanks, Dave

Dave, There are some great threads on this site about replacing the sole, if that is required. Also some commentary on artificial teak & holly sole materials. Also about filling some of the TAFG recesses, or, failing that, providing better draining back to the sump. Try to make to the June rendezvous and compare notes with other owners.

Best,
Loren

 

[Tom Metzger]

I addressed the problem of limber holes being 3/4" above the hull by filling in the volume with 3/4" construction foam and glassing it in. I first tried using plywood left over from replacing the sole, but it was more difficult to shape than the foam. The teak and holly really looked nice though.

I had rotted sole pieces as a result of the captured water from the head and starboard water tank under the adjacent settee.

 

[tdtrimmer]

I had similar problems with a rotting cabin sole on my 1981 E38. It was especially bad in the v berth section. Turns out there was a leak in the forward water tank. Also, there was no limber hole installed to drain the compartments under the v berth floor. I drilled a hole from the v berth compartment to the forward shower bilge and epoxied in a PVC tube.

For preparation of a new cabin sole I coated the bottom and edges of the sole plywood with two coats of West System epoxy. It has been nine years and the sole is like new; no signs of darkening from moisture.

 

[JMCronan]

As for the TAFG recesses....I used a Dremel Roto Tool to route out a small limber hole in the lowest corner of each of the recesses. I did this rather than go to the trouble of glassing all of them over.

 

[Tom Metzger]

FWIW, I only filled in the grids where I found water, which was only by the head and the starboard water tank. I don't remember for sure, probably three or four grids.

Foam is cheap. The real work is getting the sole up to find the problem. Grinding FRP with a Dremel is never fun.