Rotten plywood

[Little yogi]

Hi

I have a Seamaster 30


I've noticed that in the shower / toilet in side the wash basin cupboard the plywood between the shower and the engine bay the plywood wall has started to rot , guess from a leak around the was basin that was not addressed by pervious owners, it would be impossible to replace due to the amount of pipes either side of the plywood wall, would it be ok to just remove all rot, it can't be seen in the shower as its all behind the cupboard, does anyone know if this plywood wall is structural ?

Your thoughts would be appreciated

Thanks

 

[Rappey]

Could you provide pictures as it gives a much clearer idea as to what extent a problem may be?

 

[seasick]

I would try Ronseal wet rot treatment and hardener Screwfix £8 ,

 

[seasick]

I would try Ronseal wet rot treatment and hardener Screwfix £8 ,

 

[James L]

I used epoxy to strengthen a rotten plywood wall behind tiles as a quick fix expecting to get a few months out of it before we'd have to do a proper job. It lasted years and we only tore it down because we were renovating the rest of the bathroom.
It bound the rotten wood fibers into a fiberglass, or I guess a WRP.

 

[BruceK]

I used epoxy to strengthen a rotten plywood wall behind tiles as a quick fix expecting to get a few months out of it before we'd have to do a proper job. It lasted years and we only tore it down because we were renovating the rest of the bathroom.
It bound the rotten wood fibers into a fiberglass, or I guess a WRP.

Used to do a similar thing with 30% scale model aircraft engine firewall. Soft core balsa wood and run epoxy down the fibers using a heat gun or hair dryer. The epoxy would get really thin under heat and wick into the fibres to form a composite that would hold a 50cc single engine doing well over 10G in flight performance and vibrating as only a single piston can. I've had the wings clap in appreciation in high speed snap rolls and the firewall never gave way. Similarly after the wings have given their solitary appreciative clap I've buried the plane into mother earth at 100 plus plenty mph shredding everything but engine would still be attached to the firewall, and some mud. My vote as a lazy git goes to the epoxy and hairdryer method.

 

[Ferris]

Hi

I have a Seamaster 30


I've noticed that in the shower / toilet in side the wash basin cupboard the plywood between the shower and the engine bay the plywood wall has started to rot , guess from a leak around the was basin that was not addressed by pervious owners, it would be impossible to replace due to the amount of pipes either side of the plywood wall, would it be ok to just remove all rot, it can't be seen in the shower as its all behind the cupboard, does anyone know if this plywood wall is structural ?

Your thoughts would be appreciated

Thanks

My dad did this job on his seamaster 30 many years back. It’s a bulkhead so it is structural unfortunately. The pipes you mention must be the water pipes for the head/galley coming from engine compartment? Perhaps w/c water pipes to a holding tank?

Either way it needs to be patched with new ply and not just bodged. Eventually the rot will win unless it’s dealt with. Dad removed pipes, cut a new piece of ply and epoxied it in, drilled new holes and replaced the pipes.

 

[BartW]

if not too many pipes, you could make a patch from new plywood, that covers the whole area,
drill holes for the pipes on the exact location,
and cut this is in half (or more pieces) alway's cutting through the holes for the pipes,
so that you can bring the separate patches in position,
and apply epoxy on the old and the new plywood


I've just seen this method here, from guy's making a plasterboard wall,
without removing the existing pipes going through that wall ...