So as much as half the deck is still sound, you're saying?


Michiel wrote:
Of the part of the deck that is cored, half is wet now.

Good enough, but just drying the wet part isn't going to be
enough. It's going to need to be dried & rebonded, you might
as well replace it.

... . There is some flex in a couple of
spots (maybe 3/16"), but not so bad it can't be used now. I can stand
on it just fine and I'm not the lightest. My concerns are leakage into
the interior, gelcoat cracking from the flexing and having the water
in the core can't be good.


Exactly. The former owner should have been concerned!

Fortunately, not the entire deck is cored.

The problem is not that the deck is cored, nor is it
unfortunate. Properly engineered cored fiberglass structures
are great, they're stiff & stronger & lighter than anything
comparable. The problem is that many owners of cored boats
don't take care of them & keep the cores from delaminating
and/or rotting.

To say that you wish your boat had no core is to say that
you wish it was heavier & weaker than it is (or was originally).




I would hope that the area between the mast step and the
compression post (the pillar inside holding up the spot the
mast sits on) would be solid. If it's any kind of core, even
plywood, it's going to compress over time.


There's a wooden core about 2" thick. The deck seems solid there. In
the interior photo's you can see the two posts that hold it up.


So, there's a wooden beam in beteen the fiberglass skins,
like say a 2x4?




Well, I think this is going to be my next project.

Thanks for your input!

You're welcome. BTW the advice to cut off the top & replace
the core without having to work upside down is good, if you
can put the boat inside or at least under a roof.

I also saw that you asked about using hardware stroe
polyester resin. I would not try this, since polyester's
bonding strength is much less than epoxy's. If the cost is
*that* much of an issue, then I suggest you try a different
approach, such as cutting away all the core from underneath
and building a plywood sub grid, and bonding it into place
with a lesser amount of epoxy. It will be heavier & less
elegant inside but strong enough and less expensive.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King