On Aug 6, 7:01 am, OzOne wrote:
On Sun, 05 Aug 2007 12:55:42 -0700, Bart
scribbled thusly:



Just about everywhere anything was through-bolted on
my Etchells, I found core rot or wet core. I decided to take
some time off from sailing to bring the boat up to Bristol
standards. I have plans to use the boat in the last week
in August and I want it perfect by then.

You know how core gets wet, people tighten things up
crush the core more and it just keeps spreading. I decided
to cut up a 24" and 28" piece of 3/8" fiberglass panel to
replace the balsa core under all deck fittings. The idea
being, this will prevent any ingress of water into my balsa
core. I will not use any bedding for any deck hardware,
and of course you should never bed the bottom, as you
want the water to find it's way though.

Pictures.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560166062GlPvzp

Neat video showing what wet core looks like and rotten core.

http://good-times.webshots.com/video...01903646kvMSDv

Question. What is the music playing in the background?
Who is the artist?

More pictures to follow later.

Bart

Hey Bart,
What is the hull number of your boat?
Seems like a lot of damage.

With my Etchells, all small holes are drilled slightly oversize then
thru bolts and inside of the hole coated with epoxy then mounted.
Larger holes have core scraped back under the inner and outer skins
then filled with epoxy.

Important to spray threads with a release agent, WD40 or Silicone
spray before coating so they can be screwed out later.

Not a great fan of the "leave the bottom open to let water out"
theory, as much damage is done by capillary action drawing water up as
water flowing down..


Hull number is 83. The boat was built in 1973 or so. So it has
seen better days.

Thanks for the tip about waxing the threads. That is a good
idea.

I would use your method if I was re-bedding my hardware. I choose
to put the bigger pieces in there because I had the material
handy.


I still believe in letting the water through on an open boat like
this. There is no risk of damaging anything else inside the
boat. However, here in Connecticut, freezing action is a serioius
concern. Any water in between the deck anywhere can
start a crack when frozen, and that will lead to more extensive
damage. Do you have freezing weather where you live?