Do rivets on the deck floor leak on 2003 16 cdory cruzer

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Gabrielinnewzealand

New member
I just got my first Cdory wahoo!!!I’m very excited,I just went out for the last three days of coho fishing and did really well. The only concern I have with this boat is it seems the rivets attaching the side walls containing flotation seem to be penetrating through the fiberglass floor into the balsa core.
The previous owner has taken out at least half of the rivets and replace them with stainless screws. I have been nervous to take the screws out to look inside. My fear is as the rain and water sits on the deck the screws get partially submerged and im sure have been wet for periods of the boats life.
I am worried water is penetrating into the balsa floor. Seems like a faulty design on cDory’s part. Does anyone have any experience with these rivets leaking into the Balsa? And if so is it a huge deal if the core gets saturated.
I stepped on the floor all around the rivets to see if there’s any squishy areas but couldn’t find any. I also tapped on the hull and the floor with a screwdriver to hear for hollow sound but sounded firm and the same..
Any recommendations?
 
Welcome aboard!

You are right to be concerned. You have done the proper "diagnostic" by sounding with the handle of a screw driver. A simple painless moisture meter may also be of help.

My personal feeling is that there should be zero penetrations of the balsa core. How old is the boat? Where was it kept, and where are you located. These all enter in to the equation. If the boat has been in an area where there was freeze thaw cycles then far more likely damage.

At this point the best thing to do is remove all of the pop rivets and screws, over drill the holes, then route out the balsa core around these--I like a Dremel tool, but a bent piece of coat hanger or an Allan wrench in a drill will work. You want to remove about 3/16 to 1/4" of core. Prime it with "neat" (unaltered epoxy resin) and then fill with resin which is thickened to peanut butter consistency with Cabosil and high density filler. After the epoxy kicks off then drill the pilot. hole in the epoxy plug and re-install screw. I prefer to fill screw holes, and then use fiberglass tape / epoxy resin to hold furniture in place. Paint this to match the hull or furniture.

If you find the core is wet beyond the 1/4" outside of the hole you drilled, then you are in for a more extensive repair. Yes, this should all be addressed as soon as possible.

There is a lot of material on this site about the subject.
 
Thank you for the info!!
The boat has been in the San Juan islands most of its life and is still here...
If there was freezing damage do you think the rotten balsa would warp the floor or be visible in any way..
I guess I’ll start taking some screws out and check with a moisture reader...
Do you recommend any special screws?
 
There may not be any sign if there is only mild damage. Some boats have show flexing in the bottom of the hull (what you are standing on) and then it is very serious! Wet core is bad, if there is mold or failure of the core, that is worse.

The epoxy plug is what is important--this means that the core remains sealed. If there is any wet core, it should be removed. If the poking or removal of what core you can access with the enlarged hole, than you may have to do some surgery, and replace core.

I usually use Pan head 316 Stainless Steel screws: #10 are generally appropriate size, depends on the thickness of the furniture you are screwing down, but you want at least 1/2" to 5/8" into the epoxy plug. The epoxy plug should go all of the way thru the core, and to the inner skin of the outer laminate.
 
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