Anchor locker handle hole

So when buying our E35-3 the inspector found high moisture readings across the whole deck between the anchor locker and the front of the cabin. It was suggested that we re-bed all the forward hardware. Looking into how much work this would be including removing the locker liner I found people talking about the handle hole being drilled into the core. I just checked the boat and it does look like our hole was just drilled right into the core. Amazing. So I am trying to find out what people have done to fix this. I am inclined to make up a small amount of epoxy, cover the handle with seran wrap and then “engage” the handle and clean up any epoxy that comes out, sealing the hole from further water intrusion. What do other people think? What have other people done?

For large holes, I let everything bake to dryness in the summer sun for a few days, carved out an annulus of core with a Dremel tool, then made up a really stiff batch of thickened epoxy and just troweled it in with a putty knife. (Actually a laboratory spatula, but close enough.)
Ask me in ten years if this worked.

Hagar2sail said:

So when buying our E35-3 the inspector found high moisture readings across the whole deck between the anchor locker and the front of the cabin. It was suggested that we re-bed all the forward hardware. Looking into how much work this would be including removing the locker liner I found people talking about the handle hole being drilled into the core. I just checked the boat and it does look like our hole was just drilled right into the core. Amazing. So I am trying to find out what people have done to fix this. I am inclined to make up a small amount of epoxy, cover the handle with seran wrap and then “engage” the handle and clean up any epoxy that comes out, sealing the hole from further water intrusion. What do other people think? What have other people done?

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Same situation on my E38. I'm still working on sealing that up. Maybe this summer it will dry up and I can try something like toddster. My attempt last fall was not successful. But it slowed it down some.

Leslie Newman said:

That was the main moisture found during the survey of my 1994 E380. Surveyor recommended over drilling the hole, fill with epoxy and then bore a new hole for the pin.

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Many years ago I repaired the sliding ss "latch rod" for our anchor locker. Factory had not done a good job of sealing that area in the cored lid, and they drill the hole into the side of the deck molding into the balsa coring. Saving grace was that they very slightly drilled the bottom of the hole thru part of the inner skin, so that moisture had leaked into the forepeak.
I drilled out the hole, and slightly over-drilled it.
I wrapped the rod end with cling plastic and after packing the enlarged hole with thickened epoxy, closed the lid and ran the rod in.

The lid did have to come home where I epoxied around the recess for the handle, from the underside.
It was a bet tedious, but not really difficult... just slow... while I pondered how to fix it.

I have found that there is a "pondering time ratio" of often about ten to one, for time figuring out how to fix something vs actually doing the work.

Lou Sauzedde was asked if after all these years as a shipwright he has to think through his procedures beforehand.

Short answer: "thousands of times".

See 4:25 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8gyAjv2BcI

Thanks for starting this thread - it made me look at my anchor well locking pin.
Fortunately, my locking pin slides under a flat ss strap, into a molded depression in the deck - the entire pin remains out in the open, and the gelcoat is not at all disturbed.
(...one less thing to work on - after seeing this thread last week, I thought, ... well, there's another project I didn't know I had)

nquigley said:

Thanks for starting this thread - it made me look at my anchor well locking pin.
Fortunately, my locking pin slides under a flat ss strap, into a molded depression in the deck - the entire pin remains out in the open, and the gelcoat is not at all disturbed.
(...one less thing to work on - after seeing this thread last week, I thought, ... well, there's another project I didn't know I had)

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While on the subject, note that those little ss screws may be threaded into balsa coring. Better to pull, over-drill slightly, epoxy in, re-drill, and be sure that moisture is not getting into that area of coring. Same for the little hinge ss screws on the other side of the lid.

Loren Beach said:

While on the subject, note that those little ss screws may be threaded into balsa coring. Better to pull, over-drill slightly, epoxy in, re-drill, and be sure that moisture is not getting into that area of coring. Same for the little hinge ss screws on the other side of the lid.

Click to expand...

Good advice! Thanks.
(I'm kinda in denial about the many things I really should do - relatively 'little' things like that are not registering in my head because more urgent and obvious things are taking up all the space in there - like, ... why does the deck seem to be slightly lifted at one chainplate deck ring, with no apparent evidence of actual chainplate issues below it - wherever the actual chainplates are on this boat...)

This is Hilco Woudstra on Sketcher our 1983 35-3.

I had a forward deck, starboard side, that got soft. I opened the headliner for a "look". Yikes...I could see the damage.
The fiberglass was a darker brown/black from moisture in a 18 inch square area with a brown line coming from the anchor locker.
Checked the above deck....where the anchor latch goes into the deck...just a hole drilled into the deck...NO ATTEMPT TO SEAL IT.

Now that I knew the source...sealed the hole. Then the hard work.
I decided to work from the bottom and not cut into the deck. I cut out the fiberglass below and the balsa core was soaking wet.
Dug it all out, add new balsa, two 1/4" thick plywood panels and fiberglass cloth. What a nightmare working up-side-down.
Old clothes, face mask, and lots of plastic protecting inside of boat.

It all became solid and deck is also solid. This is a big design flaw from Ericson having the lid handle going into the deck core.
Fix it fast.