Balsa core problems

[Redƒox]

Back when I was ambitious enough to tackle a complete take-down of a small runabout (totally gutting it out from the floor construction to the transom) I found the foam (yes, foam!) to be totally waterloged
I don't believe it when they say stuff like "foam is impervious to water" all you need to do is have it freeze, and water (ice) will eventually force its way into what ever material it is, given enough freezings and time.
I opt C-Dory stick with good old wood .

Now, about the brackets on the floor: I had issues with that for several years (in the cabin) and finally put a stop to it by making larger brackets, and sealing the brackets to the glass with some good marine sealant. No more brackets coming loose since! Maybe I'll post some pix of mine when I get back... gotta go now ...

[flagold]

"found the foam (yes, foam!) to be totally waterloged" -- as much as I love Whalers (still have a 21 & 13) they have a propensity to get waterlogged foam in the hull/transom curvature. Nothing is perfect.

[Sawdust]

My 21 Whaler had so much water in the foam inner core that it took a couple of months and $$$ to fix. One HEAVY boat.

Dusty

[TyBoo]

[Waterball]

I found a small crack in the rear deck of my 81' 22 classic this spring. This boat as far as I know has been in Alaska for all of its life. The glass and core was wet in about a 4-5" area. I firstly ground the gelcoat away from the bad area away until I was away about 2" out from the visible damaged area. I placed a heat light on it for a week to dry it out and than ground the glass that was damaged. I used a product that is called fiberfiller, which is basically strands of fiberglass, and resin to fill the the hole. I than applied a thin layer of glass over the whole thing and applied 2 layers of gelcoat. At the start I was really upset about finding the damage but a good friend told me "Its not the end of the world, its part of being a boat owner". What good encouraging words, don't be quick to judgement, these are fine vessels with unique problems and common problems. However the vessel itself is diamond in the rough.
Shaun

[C-Otter]

Waterball.
I have an 1985 Angler which has some Balsacore in the transon. The water got in from the Two drain holes, I removed the brass thru-hulls and took about a coffee can of mush (basa-core) out of each hole. I than cut a larger round hole on the inside higher up and run a vacuum cleaner on blow for a couple days to dry it out.

I than filled the voids by pouring resin with a filler to fill the voids. I than redrilled the one inch drain holes and installed new brass thru-hauls, they will never leak again.

You may want to check your's. May be the source of your problem?

We have a C-Dory dealer in town who has sold C-Dory's for 25 years and he tells me that their is no balsa-core in the bottom or the deck of the early C-Dory's, only resin impregnated marine plywood covered with fiberglass.

I have drilled holes in the forward deck and it is solid plywood . If your thru-hulls are leaking, water could migrate between the fiber-glass and plywood,then freeze and pop the fiberglass.

Very easy to remove the thru-haul and check.


Jack on C-Otter.

[Waterball]

Thanks for the advice I'll have to check the drain plug out to see if there is any water penetration there. BTW I have only one drain plug, did they change to two plugs at some point? Are you talking about the drain holes from the fuel tank area? The boat was repainted 3years ago and I'm guessing any damage there would have been noticed at that time. The damage to the deck was what appeared to be a crack maybe caused from a fishing weight that dropped on deck? At any rate the glass aft of it wasn't damaged and in good shape. Fairly certain I caught it before it could do much damage.
Shaun

[C-Otter]

Waterball.
My 1985 has two thru-hulls, Port and Starboard in the corners of the transon. I have to install two plugs before launch. Only forgot once ,however it was still on the trailer.

My son-in-law is in the wood flooring busness and I used his moisture-meter on the transon to find the water. Jack on Sea Otter.

[alg]

"SHALJE" had the problem of loose floor cleats on the side of the bulging starboard tank. Factory sent a new tank which dealer reinstalled. One season and the new tank also bulged and tore the screws out.
I was concerned with the holes in the bottom. The screws on the non bulging port tank cleats were also coming loose. After talking with the dealer and the factory a new tank was sent and redesign took place. I took out all cleats and found some water and flaky balsa. I opened all holes to 1/4" and used compressed air and time to dry them out. All holes were filled with an epoxy called Git-Rot (West Marine).
To support the tanks I used poplar 1X4s. The poplar is hard, strong, and not too heavy. Also less expensive than oak. 2 coats of spar urethane were applied to all wood.
The mainstay of the system is a piece that runs across the bottom of the forward end of the tanks. The ends were cut and shaped to fit snugly between the gunwales behind the foam-filled sidewalls that I believe are unique to the CD19. This prevents forward tank movement. Because of the dished boat bottom water in the cockpit is not restricted from going to the bilge pump.
The original seaboard was reattached to this board and to where it was attached to the gunwale.
To prevent lateral movement poplar cleats extending to the bottom (to add support to the long crosspiece) were shaped to form a simple joint that holds two pieces of poplar extending to the transom. Another piece of poplar holds these pieces in place at the transom. Good support and easy disassembly were both important design considerations.
Everything is solidly in place and a water test will come soon. Don't see any reason to believe that it won't work.
The only drawback that I can see is the crosspiece restricting access to the area between the tanks. That piece, however will also keep things from sliding forward.
In the process the floor rings for the back curtain were removed and the holes treated the same as the cleat holes. Water and flaky balsa were found here, too. When the ring on the bottom of the port sidewall was removed. lots of water spewed out. Didn't fill those holes. Probably should open them up and create a drain.
Feel much better about the boat now that the floor is hole-free. It probably would have lasted long enough for an old guy like me but I'm hoping the sons and grandkids can enjoy her for years to come.
By the way, SHALJE is a 2003 CD 19. Bought her new in the spring of 2003.

[Jeff M]

We are now laminating the chocks to the deck of the 22. These chocks hold the fuel tanks firmly in place. The polyteak bulkhead is then fastened to the front side of the chock leaving a space between the bulkhead and the tank for any possible expansion. There are no longer any fasteners penetrating the deck. i will post some photos in the near future.

There was also mention of water intrusion around the drain plug and transom well drains on some older boats. We not only seal this area very well but we also changed to a high density foam core in the transom a little over a year ago. Balsa remains the core of choice for the hull of our C-Dory boats.

Thank you,

Jeff

[Lawrence]

HEY GARY

HOW DID YOUR FIX OF THE SCREW PROBLEM GO ON THE GAS TANKS?

LARRY
SQUIDWARD 2004 CD CRUISER
SANTA ROSA CA.

[TyBoo]

Thanks, Jeff.

That sounds like a good solution, and leaving the room for expansion makes a whole lot of sense.

Polyteak, huh? That a whole bunch more nautical sounding than StarBoard.

Pictures are always welcome, and in most cases, anticipated. You can post to any of the albums in the Tech Forum that you feel would be the best fit. Or, we can set up an album for your use. I also understand that one of the first 22s with the new retaining chocks is going to one of our taller members here, so we can bug him for pictures soon.

Now get back to work, because the Beer Guys are getting antsy.

[Little Catelyn]

Quote from TyBoo:

[Pat Anderson]

You got that right! If all goes according to plan, David will have a couple of days and we will have all of about four hours to put stuff on board for the Lopez weekend!

[Minnow]

This balsa core concern is also my biggest problem with the boat. I was convinced that the factory and dealers knew how to deal with it, but I have not seen any effort anywhere on my boat to properly seal the core penetrations. It is well documented here and elsewhere the simple precaution of removing a doughnut of core and filling it with thickened epoxy will maintain the water and structural integrity of the core. Of the many penetrations I have investigated, even below the waterline, it was simply drilled and and given a shot of sealant, period. The foredeck cleat was overtightened and crushed the core. In the bilge area of the 25, the limber holes that connect the multple compartments are not sealed and show bare wood coring. This is a problem because the hatches will always leak and there is always water sloshing around the aluminum fuel tank. How the F can the factory let this pass? Jeff told me I should consider a camper top to shield the deck! The response that the inevitable water intrusions only rot the boat a little bit, do not make me happy about spending this much money on a prototype. As to letting the factory or the dealer effect repairs, no thanks. To say that I have had buyers remorse is an understatement.