On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:23:31 -0700, Gordon wrote:


30 foot sailboat, deck glassed to hull.
Toerail leaked allowing water to balsa core of deck causing no more core.
I've removed the toerail (teak) so I have access to the moist stuff
that remains.
I've dug and blew that out and let things dry and now I'm ready to
backfill.
I need to shoot whatever I use up to six inches in. Epoxy would be
the best but how do you mix and get it in to something to inject it?
One of the sikaflex products would probably work if I knew which to
use. I'm thinking it can't be anything compressable as things need to
bottled thru it!
I'm now open for ideas!
Gordon

You aren't going to like this at all but the only way to be 100% sure
you have completely fixed the problem is to cut the deck. I had a
similar problem except the core was plywood and after messing around
with things for some time I finally cut a section of the deck skin off
and discovered that the core was wet for a much greater area then I
had anticipated.

Having said that if you are intent on filling with epoxy then the
usual method is to drill holes literally all over the area that needs
to be filled. Use "laminating" resin as it flows easier and start
pouring mixed epoxy in the lowest hole. When the epoxy reaches a
higher hole stop (stick a cork in the lower hole). As soon as the
first batch hardens enough that it won't flow start pouring into the
next higher hole, and so on. Fill from the bottom up to avoid trapped
air.

Don't worry about the holes, since you have (hopefully) dug out all
the old mushy core you will end up with a solid epoxy deck. Just sand
the filled holes fair and paint.

Do not plan on pouring the entire deck full of epoxy at one go. Epoxy
gets hot as it cures and more epoxy gets more hot. I doubt that you
will set the boat on fire but it is certainly possible to get some
serious bulging and warping of the deck skin and trying to fix this
problem after you have poured the deck full of epoxy is not really
something you want to do. Take it easy, a little at a time.

Finally, Epoxy is expensive and you are going to use quite a bit for
this project. Polyester is much, much, cheaper. However, epoxy hardens
slowly and you have 20 - 30 minutes to work with it before it "kicks".
Polyester sets up much faster and if you use it you have much shorter
time to work before things go solid. People will tell you that epoxy
is the only way to go as it is a much better glue and this is true. Do
try to use epoxy if possible.

If you use epoxy mix it exactly as the directions tell you to. If you
want different properties (faster/slower hardening, etc.) you can buy
them, don't try to mix a little more or a little less hardener in the
epoxy. You can get away with this to some extent with polyester but
don't try it with epoxy. The hardening process of polyester and epoxy
are two totally different chemical processes.

Do not try to "thin" epoxy. People will tell you to pour acetone,
thinner, gasoline, snake oil, whatever, in epoxy to thin it. Don't!
There have been any number of tests carried out on thinned epoxy and
anything you can buy to thin epoxy results in a weaker bond.

Good luck with the project.

Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

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