[Public-List] [Public-list] Soft spot

[George Dinwiddie]

Jon,

Sorry for the late reply, but I've been overwhelmed with work.  I didn't 
see any replies to this message, though.

Jonathan Budington wrote:
> I have been doing some boat maintenance, and I have 3 questions:
> 
> After refinishing my toe rail (10 coats of epifanes), I noticed the
> caulking that seals the toe rail to the deck is crumbling.  I plan to
> cut it away and re-caulk.  Is 4200 the right stuff for this?

4200 will work fine.  That's what I used under my taffrail.

> I purchased new chocks for the bow and stern.  The old ones were
> screwed into the toe rail (and quite loose).  Should these be bolted
> through?

I'm of the opinion that the chocks shouldn't be taking a load. 
Sometimes a bad lead will put a bunch of stress on them, however.  If 
you through-bolt them, you might want to put on backing plates.  A nut 
pulling through the deck will make a bigger hole than pulling out a screw.

> Finally, and most concerning: while I was inspecting the toe rail, I
> found a soft spot (the fiberglass buckles in about 1/8" and pops
> right back out) on the starboard rear deck near the lazerette cover.
> This is a 1965 boat with the masonite coring; does this need
> immediate attention?  My J-30 owning neighbor says it's like cancer.
> How would I fix something like this?

I would guess that this might be an area without coring.  I don't think 
the older boats had core right up to the edges of things.  (That's a 
good thing.)  You should be able to look from the bottom and see where 
the deck is thicker.

Since it's right at the lazarette, it should be pretty easy to grind 
from the bottom (whether there's core there or not) and lay up some new 
glass.

Your J-30 owning neighbor is familiar with balsa-core decks.  That's a 
more serious issue than the masonite.

Hope that helps,
    George

-- 
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   When I remember bygone days                         George Dinwiddie
   I think how evening follows morn;            gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
   So many I loved were not yet dead,           http://www.Alberg30.org
   So many I love were not yet born.
                'The Middle' by Ogden Nash
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