Spongy anchor locker door

[Bolo]

The saga continues...with the needed repairs of our new "old" 32-3. The anchor locker door is wet and spongy when walked on. A condition that I knew about during survey. I've rebuilt a rudder on a Hunter 285 (our old boat) so I'm not a stranger to ripping into a part of the boat. But it would still be nice to know what I'd be getting into to rebuild the anchor locker door. Easier to repair then a rudder, I hope. I imagine that there is a marine plywood core. I was planning on cutting the skin along the edge of the door, seperating it into two halves. Replacing the core and then gluing it all back together using the "West" system of which I'm most familiar.

I was also thinking of adding some "ribs" to the bottom of the door to reinforce it a bit more. Thoughts from you whom may have done this rebuild before?

Bolo

 

[CaptnNero]

I did one of these lids on an Ericson. I found it was entirely balsa core and was mostly rotten, not just wet. The problem is when the balsa gets wet and gets air. That causes rotting.

I peeled the bottom skin and discarded it since it had a lot of cracks. Using a scaper, small sander, a router, and a dremel I cleaned the shell all of the way down to the inner fiberglass. This wasn't too hard since most of the balsa core was bad anyway. Maybe 10% was still dry but I took it all out leaving just the top and side skins intact. Before gutting I made a wood form to use as a reference for the proper lateral curvature.

At this point I had a fragile flexible fiberglass shell. To rebuild I made strips of 1/8" luan plywood a few inches wide and soaked them in epoxy. With the gutted top and side skin in the wood form, I layered the luan in overlapping fashioin about three deep, pausing between layers for the epoxy to cure. I left a gap of about an inch aroud the outer edge and laid up fiberglass mat there. The bottom skin was finished with 2-3 layers of fiberglass mat. It's a good idea to leave the bottom skin clear epoxy so you can see what's going on in there instead of using an opaque filler type material to smooth it out.

The result was strong and a little heavy, but I think it's quite superior to the original lid. Since the outer edge is fiberglass instead of cored, it's going to be hard for water to get to the luan from edge cracking. The balsa cored lids tend to crack around the bottom edges. Then it's just a matter of time for the water intrusion to destroy the core and thereby the structural integrity of the lid.

At the beginning of the project I was quoted $1000 by a very good glass shop. I spent less than $100 on materials.

Now I've got to do some remedial work on our current boat's anchor locker lid. It has core damage only around the outer edge where the cracking starts. The funny thing is that it looks like it's already been replaced since the gelcoat doesn't match the foredeck. Since most of the core is still good for this one I'll just gut the outer inch and glass that up.

Good luck.

The saga continues...with the needed repairs of our new "old" 32-3. The anchor locker door is wet and spongy when walked on. A condition that I knew about during survey. I've rebuilt a rudder on a Hunter 285 (our old boat) so I'm not a stranger to ripping into a part of the boat. But it would still be nice to know what I'd be getting into to rebuild the anchor locker door. Easier to repair then a rudder, I hope. I imagine that there is a marine plywood core. I was planning on cutting the skin along the edge of the door, seperating it into two halves. Replacing the core and then gluing it all back together using the "West" system of which I'm most familiar.

I was also thinking of adding some "ribs" to the bottom of the door to reinforce it a bit more. Thoughts from you whom may have done this rebuild before?

Bolo

 

[NateHanson]

Just for clarity Neal, I assume when you say "fiberglass mag" that you don't mean Chopped strand mat, and that you actually mean woven glass fabric, right? My understanding is that Epoxy and Mat are incompatible.

 

[Loren Beach]

"Flip Your Lid"

Our anchor well lid is balsa cored ('88 model) and I found some water intrusion around the hinge-fastening machine screws. I was able to remove the core around each screw penetration with a drill bit and other small implements and then do the classic fix of filling the little cavities thus created with thickened epoxy and then re-drill each one. Our core was breached (sounds like something from the Star Trek series...) around the part where the SS sliding latch pin was installed and that part had to be gouged out and refilled with thickened epoxy for about an inch, also.
All in all, we were were far luckier than Neal.

As to putting on a new core and then a new bottom FRP layer, I would first carefully make a support for the lid when it was upside down in my shop (OK, the bench on one side of our garage -- I really wish I had a "shop") so that the proper curve would be maintained when the old inner skin and core is removed. Then I would re-core with honeycomb or balsa. Remember that weight added to the bow is a Very Bad Thing. Then I would reskin with a couple of layers of cloth -- if concerned about jumping on it just add a band of bi-axiel cloth across the center portion. Avoid mat. Besides having little strength for its weight, it has seizing in it that will not easily dissolve in epoxy resin. If you are not equipped for vacuum bagging (and neither am I) just lay some plastic sheeting over the sandwich, a layer of soft foam over that, and a plywood piece over the foam, .... and a 20# weight on top of the ply. I have done this many times to squeeze out the air.
A smarter person would build a vacuum table setup, but.. what can I say?


Note that you do not want to inadvertantly have resin running down under the lid and hardening on the pristine "top" non skid. Wax that side first around the edges and maybe tape those gelcoated sides.
I use West System epoxies for this work, but I am sure that most other brands of epoxies would work just fine.

Do not be discouraged. Even high end yachts that cost two and three times as much per pound have their major construction quirks, as any repair yard can tell you...

Ask questions. Take enough time. Pride in a job well done is a powerful emotion, and worthy...

Best,
Loren in Portland, OR

 

[NateHanson]

Another good caul for clamping fiberglass repairs is a big trashbag full of sand. It conforms very evenly to provide pressure to irregular or curved surfaces.

 

[Emerald]

Just for clarity Neal, I assume when you say "fiberglass mag" that you don't mean Chopped strand mat, and that you actually mean woven glass fabric, right? My understanding is that Epoxy and Mat are incompatible.

Most flavours of mat are not compatible, but there are special flavors available. Check U.S. Composites for a good selection of materials (even Kevlar ). Their website is:


http://www.shopmaninc.com/


Also, in addition to the already good descriptions of repairs, check here for my own mast step:

http://home.comcast.net/~independence31/core/looksbad.html

here for a rudder recore I did (yes, both this winter, oh what fun....):

http://home.comcast.net/~independence31/rudder/rudder-intro.html


and by all means, don't forget about the great resource West sponsors - EpoxyWorks Magazine:

http://www.epoxyworks.com/


There have been some great articles on recoring decks etc. here


have fun, put on a Tyvec suit, and wear the respirator....


-David
Independence 31
Emerald

 

[CaptnNero]

Actually yes, it was woven glass fabric. I knew not to use the chopped strand mat. I had some advice on the right materials and epoxies to use.

I also used a plastic sheet and some weights between layups. I don't remember what kind of weights I used. To protect the side and top skins from drips, I taped over them. As loren suggests, waxing would have been better.

It was a nice feeling when it was done and I lifted it out of the custom support frame that I made. All of the flex was gone and it was very sturdy.

When we got the boat the lid was already saturated with water, so after the repair it was lighter than the original soaked lid though a few pounds heavier than optimal.

Just for clarity Neal, I assume when you say "fiberglass mag" that you don't mean Chopped strand mat, and that you actually mean woven glass fabric, right? My understanding is that Epoxy and Mat are incompatible.

 

[escapade]

re-hatch(hash)

I did the same rebuild to the hatch on my '88 E34. Removed the interior skin & rotten (all) balsa and replaced with balsa but made SURE that the hinge & latch areas were solid epoxy w/thickener added to prevent water intrusion. The balsa being made up of segments conforms easily to the old contour and is very nice to work with. Finished with 2 layers of woven cloth for a very strong lid (holds my 235 lbs!) One of the easier projects.
Have fun & sail fast
Bud '88 E34 #265 "Escapade"