[alberg30] mast-step repair

[George Dinwiddie]

From: George Dinwiddie <gdinwiddie at min.net>

> Joe Tokarz said:
> 
> 1) After removing the core and outer fiberglass layer in a 2x2 foot area,
> when I replace the core do I need to use something other than solid
> fiberglass? Provided I can lay up that much fiberglass, is there any
> disadvantage to not using another coring material? other than cost +time?

You should put some new core into the deck.  Solid glass is going to 
add an awful lot of weight for being up that high.  Cored glass is
more rigid than solid glass, I think.  Also, you have to 
put the glass in a few layers at a time or the heat generated will
weaken the bond.  I used klegecell, a rigid polyester foam sheet.  I
got it from Fiberglass Coatings (http://fgci.com/index.html or
800-272-7890).  That's also a good place to get glass cloth and 
mat.  They're good people, but have a poor web site.  Calling on
the phone is probably best.

Jim Mennucci's articles on deck repair are a good source of advice,
as it Don Casey's book "This Old Boat."  I recommend reading both of
them.  My short description of the process is as follows:
  1. Cut away the top laminate and expose the wet or rotten core.
  2. Dig out all the wet stuff.  In some places, I had delamination
     but the core was still dry.  I left that core in place.
  3. Grind the top of the lower laminate to make it clean and give
     a good "tooth" for adhesion.  Gring the edges of the hole in
     the upper laminate to a very gradual taper, at least 8 to 1.
     You want a broad area for a strong bond.
  4. Cut the foam core to fit the hole.  It doesn't matter how many
     pieces it takes, just fill the space fairly completely.
     Take the core back out and set it in a convenient spot.
     I generally cut the fiberglass to fit at the same time
     so I can lay it down dry to make sure it fits.  It doesn't
     have to be perfect, it's going to stretch and move, anyway.
  5. Mix up some polyester resin and add some thickener, such as
     glass beads, to make a wet paste, something like toothpaste.
  6. Pour this into the hole and put the foam core back in on top
     of it.  Lay a small sheet of plastic down on top and put a
     weight on top.  This holds the core down to ensure a good 
     bond.  The plastic is just to prevent the weight from being 
     glassed into the boat.  You can also do fancy stuff with
     vacuum-bagging, but that takes a bit more knack.  I've done
     better using a weight.
  7. Clean up you tools and such and let this harden.  You don't
     need to let it cure completely before continuing, but it
     does have to be solid.
  8. Laminate new glass on top.  I like to start with some thickened
     resin on top the core, to fill any gaps, and the a layer of
     glass mat.  Then I alternate glass cloth and mat, one or two
     times depending on the thickness.  If I've got a low spot,
     I'll add more mat on top of that.  This new cloth should come 
     up on the beveled edge around the hole, extending further out
     with each piece.
  9. Let this cure overnight.  The surface will cure better if you
     paint some PVA (poly-vinyl alcohol, used as a mold release)
     on top.  Air inhibits the cure.
  10. Sand the surface smooth.  If there are any low spots, sand
     these roughly and fill with thickened resin, coating with
     PVA.  After it cures, sand smooth again.  Repeat as needed.
  11. Voila!  Now you're ready to paint.
 
> 2) After removing the mast-step plate I noticed that the six screws in this
> plate are screwed into the deck. How are they held there, were they screwed
> into fresh fiberglass? What kind of holding strength is that? I literally
> peeled the plate off with the screws still attached using a screwdriver as
> a pry bar. Has anyone ever thru bolted the mast-plate thru the deck? What
> do you think about that? Or maybe glassing the bolts in upside down so they
> can have nuts screwed on them topsides?(I think Scott Murry "Bill of
> Rites"did this.) What should I do?

Steve Weingart wrote an article about this.  I think it got included
in the manual.  
 
> 3) FYI: water leaked into the core thru the six bolts in the mast-step
> plate, and through the bolts for the hinges for the forward hatch. If I had
> rebedded these when I first got the boat in 1996 I probably could have
> prevented the majority of the damage. Removing and resteping the mast
> several times aggravated the problem. You might want to check your if you
> just acquired your boat.

I'll second that notion.  I'm in the same boat, so to speak.  It's
better to do a bad caulk job that to wait until you can do a better 
one.  Also, you have to remove things to caulk them.  It doesn't
work to put caulk around the edges.  I've just recently fallen in
love with Rule elastomeric caulk.  I did my chainplates with it, and
so far, I like it better than BoatLife.  Save the 5200 for metal
things that you can heat with a torch if you need to remove them.
 
> I have some jpg files of photos from this weekend if your interested.

Put them on your web site.  I'd like to see them.

 - George

-- 
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  George Dinwiddie                                  gdinwiddie at min.net
  The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span those hours spent in
  sailing.          http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Alberg30/
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------


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