13-footer, Rotten Wood
Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 2:23 pm
I started the disassembly of my 1979 SPORT 13 for a refresh of the boat. I was planning on doing interior paint and mahogany refinishing or replacement, as needed. I started by unscrewing and removing the mahogany, and, to my great chagrin, as I pulled out the screws from the gunwales they came out with some nasty brown slurry of rotten wood. The same held true for the floor panel where the console mounts.
I started probing with a metal probe and found I could push as deep as I could reach and pull out as much brown mush as I could grab.
To make matters even worse, I pulled out the bottom thru-hull, and got a nasty coffee-ground slurry from around the thru-hull. I could push my probe into the bottom portion of the transom as well.
So, needless to say, I'm at a loss for what to do next.
Does this mean that the rot extends through the whole slab of wood?
I take it this is some sort of plywood--which I know rots quickly once part of it is breached. Does my boat's rot extend all the way up to the transom?
Have others dealt with this problem with their restoration?
I know replacing the wood would exponentially increase the time and difficulty of what I thought was going to be a simple project. I don't, however, just want to screw my interior back into what I know is rotten wood.
To those with experience with rotten wood in their hulls: how did you address it?
I'm at the point right now where I'm regretting buying a Boston Whaler because of how much a task it is to replace the wood in it versus a conventional fiberglass boat.
I started probing with a metal probe and found I could push as deep as I could reach and pull out as much brown mush as I could grab.
To make matters even worse, I pulled out the bottom thru-hull, and got a nasty coffee-ground slurry from around the thru-hull. I could push my probe into the bottom portion of the transom as well.
So, needless to say, I'm at a loss for what to do next.
Does this mean that the rot extends through the whole slab of wood?
I take it this is some sort of plywood--which I know rots quickly once part of it is breached. Does my boat's rot extend all the way up to the transom?
Have others dealt with this problem with their restoration?
I know replacing the wood would exponentially increase the time and difficulty of what I thought was going to be a simple project. I don't, however, just want to screw my interior back into what I know is rotten wood.
To those with experience with rotten wood in their hulls: how did you address it?
I'm at the point right now where I'm regretting buying a Boston Whaler because of how much a task it is to replace the wood in it versus a conventional fiberglass boat.