My first rot...!

[Shuggy]

I blame my wife. After all, it was she who decided that a Contessa 32 was not for us, and that we had to have a wooden boat (she said that all good wooden boats allowed you to put water in your dram while down below merely by waving your glass towards the underside of the deck during a downpour). So I relented, and we bought Tafna.

Again, after much badgering, I bought an electric windlass to replace the very authentic but absolutely useless manual/broken original (contact me if you're mad enough to want it!) which I today attempted to fit.

A simple job, I thought. I managed to unbolt the old one without too much fuss and quickly had it off the deck - and then I discovered my first bit of rot... the entire underside of the deck behind the windlass is so soft you can stick your finger straight into it. Which I did. Several times. Just to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

So - all that GRP sealing the deck in place is going to have to come off. Now, I can deal with re-engining Land Rovers and doing other things involving metal but I have to confess that I'm not very practised in things wooden, so the next few weeks are going to be a voyage of discovery. Does anyone mind if I post my progress here in pictures? That way you can all laugh at me... and if I get the odd helpful piece of advice I'd be grateful.

Thank you.

A wooden beginner (about to cut his teeth).

 

[Peterduck]

You're welcome to bring your troubles here; that's what the rest of us are here for! We love to have the challenge of dealing with these arcane problems IN THEORY.

 

[Peterduck]

Aaargh! the damned computer posted my reply before I had finished it. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, we like the theory, but the practice and the financing is all yours! I think that your first priority is to determine the full extent of the rot. Not just in the foredeck, but every other part of the deck as well. The same rain that fell on the foredeck fell everywhere else, too. We can only hope that the rain's access to the under-deck was through the winch's bolt holes. This is why all deck fittings should be thoroughly bedded in some goo which will keep the water out from under the fitting. Once it gets under a fitting, water cannot get out again. Rot spores find the conditions very conducive their proliferation [long word of the week] and proceed to feed off your deck. So, with your slender screwdriver and torch, begin your own seek-and-destroy operation. Be sure to keep us posted on your progress!
Peter.

 

[Wansworth]

You are not alone,many have suffered the same,myself included. Reinforcing advice already offered ,thougher survey not only in known area.Please in formthe nature of the wood or is it in fact a plywood deck.

 

[LittleShip]

Welcome to wooden boats................

There are many on here who will give you good advice, your problem will be deciding who they are /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Don't worry too much about wood rot they haven't as yet stopped making trees......so you will be able to repair to as good as new! Just a little hard work and some new skills under your belt

Good luck

Tom

 

[chrishelen]

Hi, welcome to wood,my foredeck had a patch that was soft and being my first wooden boat wasnt too sure of what to do, i knew it needed replacing but how to go about it,?what i needed to do was find out where the water was getting in,it is a ply deck,i found a little gash about 1/2 inch long enough to let the rain in and it soon rotted,i had some good advice off this forum (and some not so good) if you read my previous posts and replies some might help,best of luck. chris.

 

[Shuggy]

Thanks all - I will indeed go digging deeper but I don't think it's too much of a problem. It's ply, so cutting out, replacing, reinforcing & re-glassing will sort it out. It's just alarming when you find your first soft patch! But I will post some photos once I've been back next weekend. Then we can all collectively suck some air in between our teeth and discuss what an awful thing it is...

Shuggy

 

[Mirelle]

Plywood is funny stuff, in this respect.

About four years ago, a friend walking up the deck leaned on the upturned bottom of my clinker ply dinghy, which was upside down on the coachroof - and his hand went right through! It was a soft patch about five inches square, formed when the epoxy "encapsulation" (ha, ha) had cracked and rain water had got in under the crack and sat there. (Fixed, no recurrences).

 

[Wansworth]

Iwas looking forward to total deck replacement including drilling out toerail fastenings........ dissapointed,Doncaster!

 

[Forbsie]

I had the same problem last year when I found a soft patch in the same place extending back about 40'

The repairs are progressing nicely. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Peterduck]

I would recommend that while you are at it, you double the thickness of the deck in the vicinity of the windlass. It will be nice to know that when the strain is really on it, that the windlass won't come out of the deck.
Peter.

 

[ccscott49]

I would also reccomend the doubling scenario, repiar the deck, then make up a solid timber pad, to mount the winch on, suitably fixed and sealed to the deck.

 

[Shuggy]

Thanks Peterduck - I'm going to get a steel backing plate made up to route the load onto a very solid deck beam. I really wouldn't like to lose the windlass over the side!

 

[Shuggy]

Thanks - I was going to do this anyway as I need to life the rear of the windlass by an inch in order to clear the back of the motor from the deck.

 

[graham]

Put canvas or plastic sheeting underneath to catch all the rotten bits as you chop it out. You dont want the rot spores taking root anywhere else in your boat.

Im sure some will laugh at this suggestion but i am convinced its worth doing.keeps the rest of the boat clean and tidy anyway.

 

[Shuggy]

Yup - sounds sensible to me!

 

[Shuggy]

As promised, I took some photos today. It's all a bit worse than I suspected but I feel better now I've measured up and ordered the ply. I was gutted to find a 1" thick laid teak deck on the rotten ply, and by the time I'd measured the 3 layers of plywood/teak/plywood it was 2" thick! So - 4 sheets of high quality 1/2" ply ordered (there's a slight sheer on the deck and there's no way I can bend 1").

Sadly, the damage extends from the stem to the hatch (just under 4 feet) and out to the sides of the deck. So it's all coming off and I'm going to start from good wood. The deck beams appear to be ok, so that's something. My screwdriver didn't penetrate anyway!

First photo from the chain locker looking at the top of the stem:

Here's one of the deck make-up:

and another...

So thanks for your help & I'll take some photos as I progress (need to remove deck fittings and pulpit before I do anything else).

Shuggy