'03 22 Cruiser Work in Progress
- Thread starter WeekiTiki
- Start date
Those are screw holes where a strip of material (metal, wood or fiberglass was screwed in to help hold the tank in place. There may have been some "straps" also screwed in.
Best practice is to over drill the hole, and check for core moisture. If only a little, then clean out the wet material, and fill with thickened epoxy. The Marine Tex is a little thicker than I like, and "neat" (unthickened) epoxy should be painted on the adjacent core material.
Yes, the inner layer laminate is relatively thing. The core makes it more like and "I" beam, and gives it a lot of strength. The outer layer is considerably thicker.
The best practice, after you have filled the holes, and addressed any core issue, is to fiberglass a piece of material--foam, wood, PVC lumber in place as a batten to put screws into to both hold the tank in place, and perhaps to hold battery boxes if they are in the center in place. Screws into PVC lumber for example, will not cause any "core problems". The boat will then be good for the next 50 years.
Best practice is to over drill the hole, and check for core moisture. If only a little, then clean out the wet material, and fill with thickened epoxy. The Marine Tex is a little thicker than I like, and "neat" (unthickened) epoxy should be painted on the adjacent core material.
Yes, the inner layer laminate is relatively thing. The core makes it more like and "I" beam, and gives it a lot of strength. The outer layer is considerably thicker.
The best practice, after you have filled the holes, and addressed any core issue, is to fiberglass a piece of material--foam, wood, PVC lumber in place as a batten to put screws into to both hold the tank in place, and perhaps to hold battery boxes if they are in the center in place. Screws into PVC lumber for example, will not cause any "core problems". The boat will then be good for the next 50 years.
Yes, the strip of starboard and starboard bulkhead were there,
along with the strap that looks to have never been undone
Port side seems to be good, screws are tight
Actually think I'll just temporarily fill these holes
Go run the boat out of fuel
Then remove the tanks and fiberglass as you say "a batten" in place for each
There's 17 years of gunk under and behind those tanks
The batteries and isolation switch are in the starboard rear locker,
up and away from the bilge
along with the strap that looks to have never been undone
Port side seems to be good, screws are tight
Actually think I'll just temporarily fill these holes
Go run the boat out of fuel
Then remove the tanks and fiberglass as you say "a batten" in place for each
There's 17 years of gunk under and behind those tanks
The batteries and isolation switch are in the starboard rear locker,
up and away from the bilge
Is there not a space under those holes that would hold water?
So I enlarge the holes in order to get a necked-down hose inside to vacuum them out
Have no clue how much water could be there
It's saturated pretty good
Could see water puddling in the largest hole
And when I opened up the smaller ones with a screwdriver, water came out
So I enlarge the holes in order to get a necked-down hose inside to vacuum them out
Have no clue how much water could be there
It's saturated pretty good
Could see water puddling in the largest hole
And when I opened up the smaller ones with a screwdriver, water came out
The water will be in the core. If you can keep water out of the area, let the holes "breath"--that with some heat may help to dry out. But, if you see water pooling, that suggests some significant wet core in that area. The "space" there is fill with balsa core.
Even though the other side appears to be "sealed" experience is that often water intrusion still occurs.
The next issue is to find out how much core is wet, and if there is any break down the core.
My 2006 boat had the "cleats" or battens glassed in--hopefully that has been the practice since then.
Even though the other side appears to be "sealed" experience is that often water intrusion still occurs.
The next issue is to find out how much core is wet, and if there is any break down the core.
My 2006 boat had the "cleats" or battens glassed in--hopefully that has been the practice since then.
Finally put the boat in the water Thursday
Maybe put 60 miles on it
Sea fog rolled in mid afternoon and we, dog an I stayed out the night
Little Honda 75 burned about half a tank
I was really feeling my decrepitness with all the bending over in the berth
This thing is tight
Maybe put 60 miles on it
Sea fog rolled in mid afternoon and we, dog an I stayed out the night
Little Honda 75 burned about half a tank
I was really feeling my decrepitness with all the bending over in the berth
This thing is tight
Have come to the conclusion that I'm just going...
To do away with those plastic bulkheads forward of the fuel cells
Thinking I'll glass in all the screw holes
And just 5200 the small strips back down
I like the ability to see the fuel levels
Suppose these were just aesthetics anyway, right?
Too bad they're not simply removable for cutting-boards
To do away with those plastic bulkheads forward of the fuel cells
Thinking I'll glass in all the screw holes
And just 5200 the small strips back down
I like the ability to see the fuel levels
Suppose these were just aesthetics anyway, right?
Too bad they're not simply removable for cutting-boards
Avidmagnum12
Member
In my 2004 22 there were no covers. I liked seeing the fuel level also. Wish I could see the level on my 25 but they are under the cockpit sole. As far as tight crawling into the berth, it gets easier with muscle memory. The other alternative is to sleep on the dining table or making the opening bigger.
Tom
Tom
A
Anonymous
Guest
WeekiTiki":reedj4zn said:Yea, this is poor construction
I'll glass it in the way it should have been originally
But for now it's temporarily plugged with bolts, washers and silicone
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I would stay away from silicone except for the for the acrylic glazing in the bomar hatch. Nothing sticks to silicone (residue).
Honestly think I'll have to cut some of this out in order to
Dry out the interior
Looked to be pretty wet
Since I'm not familiar with how bad this balsa decays
Have no idea what the extent will be yet
It's a shame that they drilled into the floor at all
Especially just to add some BS that wasn't needed
Dry out the interior
Looked to be pretty wet
Since I'm not familiar with how bad this balsa decays
Have no idea what the extent will be yet
It's a shame that they drilled into the floor at all
Especially just to add some BS that wasn't needed
My boat had the same issue though the wet core was not extensive.
I drilled test holes till dry core was found and was able to remove most of the wet core.
I taped off the holes except for the end ones as they were pretty much in a line.
I got an aquarium air bubbler pump to move air through there for most of the summer. The sun got the core nice and warm and the air movement did the job of drying the core.
I filled the core with an epoxy-microballoon mix and the holes with a stronger epoxy-Cab-O-Sil mixture.
Check the aft sides of the cockpit over the chines, I found some wet core there too.
I drilled test holes till dry core was found and was able to remove most of the wet core.
I taped off the holes except for the end ones as they were pretty much in a line.
I got an aquarium air bubbler pump to move air through there for most of the summer. The sun got the core nice and warm and the air movement did the job of drying the core.
I filled the core with an epoxy-microballoon mix and the holes with a stronger epoxy-Cab-O-Sil mixture.
Check the aft sides of the cockpit over the chines, I found some wet core there too.
WeekiTiki":35c8q05s said:
Since the balsa is end grain, often the water doesn't make it very far into it. I'd recommend using a smallish drill bit (with tape on it to gauge depth) and drilling a few holes through the topside fiberglass and into the core in the area around the moisture. Start out an inch or so away and work your way out until you find dry core. That will quickly give you a sense of how far it goes.
