Hi All,

I've started fixing my very soft deck on hull #10 and could use some advice.

I've removed all the hardware and started to drill out existing holes to ensure there's good clean core at each hole. Any hole exhibiting rot I've removed the top skin until good balsa was found and squared off the repair area. I'll be wetting and re-laying 1/2" Contourkore in these areas. Which resin should I use? The boat was originally built with vinylester, however at this stage in the game it's no longer a chemical bond, so is west system ok? The shelf life of vinylester and the fact that I've worked with west before has me leaning that way.

For smallish holes, about a 1/2in I was thinking of wetting balsa dowels in resin and filling the hole with the dowel to reduce the amount of resin used. Dishing out around the hole with the grinder and laying in either chop strand mat with vinylester or 1708 with epoxy. The smallest holes will just be filled with epoxy, possibly dished out with the grinder and laminated depending on size.

I've also got some delamination happening on the rear bulkhead in the cockpit. I think it was Brendan who said this was a common problem amongst the older boats, as the later boats had additional support under the cockpit. Does anyone have pictures of the supports? For this I was planning on adding the additional support under the cockpit, grinding off the glass that connects the bulkhead to the deck, and adding new material. Again, not sure which type of glass should be used for this repair. For now I've just wedged a 2x4 under the cockpit to reduce the chance of further damage.

The boat needs an entirely new non-skid and paint job. I'm leaning towards just hiring someone to do that as I don't really have the space required to spray.

Thanks in advance, any advice would be greatly appreciated.