[C38] The floor is ripped out, now how to epoxy in the new wood?

[Tom T.]

Hello Russ,

When the back stay knee rotted out on my boat, I ground out all the wood from one side and laid up layer after layer of fiberglass until I had the thickness of the original wood.  It's  a slow process but it will never rot again.

Is the wood between the cockpit sole and inner hull liner?  If so, that isn't structural and you may be able to stiffen it up by just filling the void with expanding foam.  I bedded my new holding tank that way. 

I connected a long piece of ice maker hose to a can of expanding insulating foam so I could start from the far side and as I emptied the can, I pulled the hose towards me.  I used a couple of cans to bed the entire holding tank.

18 yrs ago I stiffened the hull on my Catalina 27 which I still have using this procedure. I applied foam between the inner and outer hull.   To this day, the hull feels like it's 12" thick when you pound a fist on it.

Wood is a cheap way for manufacturers to make boats stiff but wood rots.  If your problem is between the hulls, you may really want to consider using expanding foam and leave the wood for the termites.

Tom Troncall
Renata hull #95
St. Pete, Fla



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Duff, Russ (R.W.) 
To: C38-List (Listserve at catalina38.org)
Sent: 5/15/2006 3:50:35 PM 
Subject: [C38] The floor is ripped out, now how to epoxy in the new wood?


First, the basics: 
 The wood underneath the cockpit sole of my C-38 has rotted out.  I was able to access the area from underneath and remove all of the rotten wood.  I plan on epoxying in new marine grade plywood as a replacement.  The area to be replaced is a basic "T" shape about 3 feet long by three feet wide with the "arms" and "body" of the "T" being about one and a half feet wide.  My plan is to cut a single sheet to fit this area and to epoxy it in.
Now, the questions: 
Is it best to use one solid piece of plywood, if possible, which I think it will be, or to epoxy smaller sections in at a time?
If a single piece is used, how do you get the air out of the epoxy from between the existing fiberglass and the new sheet?  Should I drill some holes through the plywood before epoxying it in place just for this reason (to give any air pockets somewhere to get squeezed out)?  Or is this why I should epoxy in small sections?
About how thick should I mix the epoxy with filler, and how thick should I spread it on?  Do I spread it on both surfaces or just one (I know to wet all surfaces with unthickened epoxy beforehand)?  Do I spread it on with a putty knife, bondo spreader, or one of those spreaders you use for grout or floor adhesive?
Any other advice is appreciated. 
Thanks. 
Sincerely, 
Russ Duff 
Catalina 38, Hull #112
"AVANTURA"
Lake Erie
Grosse Ile, Michigan
RDUFF AT VISTEON DOT COM 
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