Deck softening

[motley]

I have a 20 year old Slipper 42' and the deck is going soft in places. The construction is partial sandwich with foam stiffening panels in places. Can anyone advise me how to rectify this problem?

 

[RobertMartin]

Not to hard to fix as long as your not scared to use epoxy, Drill small holes in the deck in the soft area, just down to the balsa/foam, NOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH!!. Lots of holes every inch or so, then let the area dry out. It can take 1 week in good sun to 1 month. Once the core is dry, inject expoxy resin into holes until they overfill. Once dry, sand and paint. Also you may need to rebed all your deck hardware. The water must be getting in somewhere and its probably through a leak on the deck.

Bobby aka Seawolf..
Sail as if your free

 

[motley]

Thanks Bobby aka Seawolf,

Many thanks for your very prompt reply. Do I have to inject the epoxy under pressure and is epoxy with micro-fibres better than straight epoxy? The deck shouldn't take long to dry out as we have just entered the dry season here in colombia!

Steve aka Motley (As in fool)

 

[RobertMartin]

No you need to use pure expoxy, it needs to seep into the surrounding foam/balsa. Just get a big plastic syringe from the chemist and make the holes big enough to take the nipple of the syringe. Look up WEST Expoy. They do a great little book., which explains it all in detail..

Bobby aka Seawolf..
Sail as if your free