Dave,

My comments are based on older C&Cs (early 70's) with vertical grain balsa laid 
up with polyester resin.  Your 1982 C&C likely has a few differences in 
construction.  It would be good to hear from owner that have worked on boats 
from the 80's.

>> is it a matter of "large" areas of wet surrounding the hole or is it 
>> generally just confined to local intrusion around the bolt holes? Meaning I 
>> guess, are you going in a removing wet core within reach of the original 
>> hardware bolt hole or are you cutting up the top layer of deck and going in 
>> and replacing the core?<<

Mostly we find very localized wet core around the hardware mounting holes.  
Water will run downhill and if the lay-up did not effectively seal each section 
of balsa or left a channel for the water to move through the core, the area of 
wet or damaged (rotten) core expands.  Check out Baltek's web site for details 
on how balsa is affected by water and how wet it has to be to lose significant 
strength.

>>... is the balsa rotten or is it "merely" wet"?<<

Calypso has both but mostly damp to wet.  When the exposure has been long term 
(over 10 years up to 30) some core has deteriorated to a "swamp" like dark 
gooey, smelly mess.  In all our work to date this type of core failure has been 
more prevalent in vertical locations or where water could enter the balsa and 
pool.

We use the surveyor's practice of tapping around and wet area found to 
determine how deteriorated the core is.  Dull hollow sounds are not good.  
Starting in a known good area with bright solid sounds then tapping around 
leading up to a known wet area that then goes dull is a good way to calibrate 
your ear.

> ... are you going in removing wet core within reach of the original hardware 
> bolt hole or are you cutting up the top layer of deck and going in and 
> replacing the core?<

We have been repairing from below as Calypso's inner fiberglass skin is 1/8" 
and the outer deck skin is ¼ to 3/8".  For damp to slightly wet but otherwise 
good condition core we are opening up the hardware hole to ¾" and drying with 
heat/air.  When dry enough we are hogging out more balsa then filling with an 
epoxy/filler mix, re-drilling when cured.

If the core has completely failed we open up (from the inside) space all around 
the wet area, often a 4" to 6" diameter hole is enough to get back to good 
core.  We mostly re-laminate with epoxy and glass not replacing the balsa 
unless the area is large enough to have a good separation of balsa and the 
mounting hole.

If the area to be repaired is large it may be faster to remove the top skin.

I am happy to clarify or answer additional question once you have poked around 
the suspect areas.

Martin
Calypso
1971 C&C 43
Seattle

[cid:D1BF9853-22F7-47FB-86F2-4115CE0BAF2F]

From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dave Godwin
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 5:50 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Stus-List Scope of work...

Martin,

I'm planning on taking on my boat this summer the same job as you have 
undertaken.

This is just a general question but I'm wondering about what I may expect to 
find when I get started. My question is this: When you pull the deck hardware 
and find areas that need to fixed that have wet core, is it a matter of "large" 
areas of wet surrounding the hole or is it generally just confined to local 
intrusion around the bolt holes? Meaning I guess, are you going in a removing 
wet core within reach of the original hardware bolt hole or are you cutting up 
the top layer of deck and going in and replacing the core?

And as follow-on, is the balsa rotten or is it "merely" wet"? As I said, I say 
that because I'm wondering how much of the deck fiberglass I can expect to cut 
out and replace. I'm prepared for the worst...

Your observations would be welcome.

Best,
Dave Godwin
1982 C&C 37 - Ronin
Reedville - Chesapeake Bay
Ronin's Overdue Refit<http://roninrebuild.blogspot.com/>

On Apr 21, 2014, at 9:17 PM, Martin DeYoung 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:


Jimmy,

Thanks for the info based on your Bruckmann built Redline.  I will discuss the 
hatch conversion idea with Calypso's co-owner but I expect we will keep the 
teak dorade boxes.  One of our goals is to keep the boat mostly looking like it 
was when launched, just a little updated here and there.

> have you decided on deck treatment?<

I am planning to test Kiwi Grip (light gray) and EZPoxy 2 (color similar to the 
original off white) on a cockpit hatch.  I will be testing for how the paint 
applies with brush or roll/tip and how the Kiwi Grip looks/feels.  If the light 
grey non-skid area looks out of place we will stick with the existing all off 
white and use a custom color mix of Kiwi Grip or similar non-skid coating.

The original teak foredeck hatch was converted to a A&H 36"x36" back in the 
early 80's.  The mid and head A&H hatches were original from 1970.  All three 
opening A&H hatches were sent to Hammerhead for refirb.  I will report back on 
how they look when the 90lbs of hatches and packaging arrive back next week.

By the time we are finished over 200 holes in the deck will have been drilled 
out and refilled with epoxy.  Some work days we have found more old holes that 
were painted over than we filled.  Must be each past owner moved deck hardware 
around several times.  Most of the old polyester based filler ("bondo") is 
failing and allows water to seep by.  All deck hardware is being removed to 
inspect for water intrusion.  Most areas checked so far have some amount of wet 
or damaged core.  We are getting faster at repairing and sealing the areas.  
High load areas will be rebuilt with epoxy and glass so no further water damage 
will occur.

The interior will be sanded or stripped (it is painted Herreshoff style, white 
with teak trim) then repainted with white Brightside.  If time allows we will 
rebuilt the "stick built" sole supports.  After decades of racing and cruising, 
crew weight upon the floorboards causes enough creaking to be quite annoying 
when someone does a middle of the night anchor check.

Martin
Calypso
1971 C&C 43
Seattle

<image001.png>

From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jimmy Kelly
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2014 5:47 PM
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: Stus-List dorade box fastening

have 1968 redline 41 by bruckmann mfg....removed dorades..,back in early 
80s....were fastened from below as well as from inside boxes...also 
glassed....within box....were not designed to be removed......had to have yard  
..cut them off...instead of new dorades went with aluminium  14 by 8 inch 
hatches...alternated which way opened....one of best changes made....especially 
when in hot climates....30 yrs later..lewmar hatches still in great 
shape....also less teak to maintain...with way yard installed hatches ...  
length wise parallel to boat centerline....at least 2 can be open depending on 
direction of wave spray...have really worked well....also look great...not what 
had in mind when project started...later replaced teak hatches with lewmar 
aluminium hatches..no more leaks when teak wood dried out in hot summer 
sun.....good luck on your project....have you decided on deck treatment?
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