[Public-List] Cockpit core thickness in early boats?

[brooks.glenn at comcast.net]

I replaced the cockpit floor in Dolce last summer ( hull number 318, built in 1968). The old floor was 1/2" balsa core. I replaced the coring with 1/2" foam. The foam isn't supposed to pick up moisture, so cant rot and separate. 


BTW, after ripping out the old deck core and glass, I discovered the side panels in the cockpit were delaminated also- from misc small screw holes people had drilled over the years to install varoius cup holders, winch handle pockets etc... Water dribbled in and migrated throuigh a lot of the balsa core after 44 years... So ending up needing to replace maybe 60% of the cockpit sides port and stbd. The original sides were 3/8" core. I cut out and scarfed 3/8" foam into the delamination areas and smoothed over the all the gaps with polyester multi-strand putty, then laid mat and roving to build up the sides to match existing construction. The benefit of working on the sides is that you can lay multiple mat and roving layers from high up the sides down and across the floor in one application. makes a better finished presentation and seems very strong when done. 


Ended up using a LOT of filler on the whole project. Went through almost 2 gallons by the time it was done. Also faired out the existing laminates so that there are no visible overlaping joints on floor or sides with the new work. Everything is smooth and fair. But it takes a lot of work with the palm sander to do. I would recommend buying a commercial fiberglass orbital sander from a FG supply shop. They are spendy ($500), but would have cut my prep time from 4 weeks ( part time) to a few days. Well worth the money if your project takes on large proportions. Also can be used for the never ending other jobs, such as stripping bottom paint etc. 

----- Original Message -----
From: "George Dinwiddie" <gdinwiddie at alberg30.org> 
To: "Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all" <public-list at lists.alberg30.org> 
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 4:42:03 AM 
Subject: Re: [Public-List] Cockpit core thickness in early boats? 

Jeff, 

On Mar 22, 2012, at 7:32, Jeffrey <alberg30nh at gmail.com> wrote: 

> The cockpit floor of #116 is soft and needs a new core. Anyone know the 
> thickness of the core? In the liner boats, I've read 3/8 or 1/2. 

I've got a newer boat, #544. As I recall, the core was 1/2". But when I put in 1/2" core, I raised the cockpit sole and created gutters all around. That's doe to the glass mat I used to bed the new core. 
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