Wet Balsa Core

[Mark Taylor]

I realised that a number of my deck fittings have been straight bolted through the sandwich without the core first having been removed and replaced with glass or a solid plywood pad or whatever, so...................Any ideas on how best to dry out sections of a balsa cored sandwich deck where there has been water leakage around fittings??

Mny thanks
Mark

 

[saltylegs]

I realised that a number of my deck fittings have been straight bolted through the sandwich without the core first having been removed and replaced with glass or a solid plywood pad or whatever, so...................Any ideas on how best to dry out sections of a balsa cored sandwich deck where there has been water leakage around fittings??

Mny thanks
Mark

You won't be able to dry the balsa it will have gone soggy so you will need to cut out the core by removing the top or bottom skin, (I find the top easier) and remove the soggy goo and replace with new core material, if it is fairly flat ply is ok.
I am sure you will get lots of advice on here there are some photos of what I did on the link below. (sorry for having to go through them all but I have'nt perfected the single photo thing yet).
http://s1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/saltylegs/

 

[Sneaky Pete]

Huge job time consuming but if you have good DIY knowledge and skill you could tackle it yourself. It basically involves identifying the area that has de-laminated, come away from the balsa, if the balsa is mush then it needs replacing that is done from inside the boat cutting out the area that has de-laminated. If it is damp it requires drilling a series of holes just inside the de-laminated area, allow to dry out completely bond with epoxy and fair the surface. There are a number of books on the matter. Pm me and I could send you some more info.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Do a search of the forum via google, refer to ybw and then what you are looking for, I have a number of step by step instructions that will help.

Good luck and fair winds.

 

[dgadee]

I had two minor bits - got the wet stuff out with a bit of poking from a hex key. Don Casey's Hull and Deck Repair was a good help and good value.

 

[john_morris_uk]

It also depends on how far the sogginess has gone. I have had some success with taking the fitting out and removing the balsa with a bent wire/nail/allan key etc etc until you get to sound dry wood. If you are lucky and the access hole is 10 or 12 mm then you can get quite a bit of balso out and its obvious when you get to dry stuff. Then dry it out with a hot air gun (be careful not to over heat the GRP) and seal the bottom hole with tape and fill the void with thickened epoxy. Drill through the epoxy when set to remount the deck fitting - job done.

 

[Koeketiene]

I realised that a number of my deck fittings have been straight bolted through the sandwich without the core first having been removed and replaced with glass or a solid plywood pad or whatever, so...................Any ideas on how best to dry out sections of a balsa cored sandwich deck where there has been water leakage around fittings??

Mny thanks
Mark

This article is fairly comprehensive and should you give a good idea of what's involved.

Good luck

 

[Mark Taylor]

Many thanks for all the advice which is much appreciated - looks like I'm going to be getting very dusty over the next few months!!

regards

 

[Sneaky Pete]

It also depends on how far the sogginess has gone. I have had some success with taking the fitting out and removing the balsa with a bent wire/nail/allan key etc etc until you get to sound dry wood. If you are lucky and the access hole is 10 or 12 mm then you can get quite a bit of balso out and its obvious when you get to dry stuff. Then dry it out with a hot air gun (be careful not to over heat the GRP) and seal the bottom hole with tape and fill the void with thickened epoxy. Drill through the epoxy when set to remount the deck fitting - job done.

Can I add to this a bent nail works well you could fit it to a cordless drill where it will do the job of cleaning out fairly quickly, an alternative to filling the hole completely is to pack the thickened epoxy into where the balsa core filler was leaving the hole untouched it saves drilling later on one advantage of filling the core is that should the fitting leak again the water will pass down the bolt and into the boat making it quicker and easier to spot without damaging the core.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Can I add to this a bent nail works well you could fit it to a cordless drill where it will do the job of cleaning out fairly quickly, an alternative to filling the hole completely is to pack the thickened epoxy into where the balsa core filler was leaving the hole untouched it saves drilling later on one advantage of filling the core is that should the fitting leak again the water will pass down the bolt and into the boat making it quicker and easier to spot without damaging the core.

I should have made it clear that I also meant 'put the bent wire/nail/Allan key I into a cordless drill'.