handmeawrench
New member
Hi everyone. I've posted a few times about my father's 1987 CD 22' Angler, and learned a great deal from other owners' issues/fixes/farkles. I wanted to start a topic about the trials and tribulations of getting this particular boat in the water.
The boat (which is as-yet unnamed) was purchased a couple months ago in Montana. It looked like heck...clearly having sat outside for years (and years, and years...). Oxidized gel coat, paint baked off the motor. It's clear this boat wasn't used much, but also wasn't taken care of much. BUT...the price was right!
A good friend of mine is an ex-Navy officer, and boat fiend. He's restored wooden boats by hand, built and rebuilt motors of ALL varieties (from big diesels to lawn mowers), and is generally a very handy and knowledgeable guy. The boat has been parked in his driveway since coming to the Pacific NW, and we (okay, mostly HE) have been fiddling with it since.
Initially, there were some apparent issues with the boat which seemed minor.
1) There were some holes in the transom where things like a transducer had been attached. These needed filling.
2) Also, having read the forums, I saw that the fuel tanks were screwed directly into the deck and that this might be a point of water entry into the balsa core.
3) There were multiple holes in the cabin where instruments and random accessories were (very poorly) installed by the previous owner. These needed some sort of work, if only for cosmetic reasons.
4) The motors looked SHOT. Kicker was inoperable, and the main was 30 years old - and looked it!
5) The caulking around the cabin (aft bulkhead?) where it meets the hull/deck was basically gone. Another potential source of water intrusion.
So, all in all, not such a bad place to start. Most of this work seemed minor - if not expensive (i.e. motor replacement).
So, first...the gel coat. Here are some photos of the polishing in progress. What a difference! Can you see the line in the blue stripe for before/after? If all remediation work goes this well, we will be boating in no time!
The holes in the transom seemed like a straightforward fix. Drill out the holes a bit, undercut the core, fill with thickened epoxy, then re-drill holes as needed for either a piece of starboard or new transducer mounting holes. But wait...what's this? Stress cracks where the transom meets the gunnels on either side. Hmm...what gives?
Well, it's going to need repaired, so we may as well open it up a bit and see what's going on.
Looks like some kind of putty or something. A hard-ish filler material. Okay, not so tough to repair (assuming there is no water lurking down there in the marine plywood of the transom). A little filler (or a lot), some epoxy, a layer or two of fiberglass, and some paint or gel coat to top it off. She'll be water tight and all fancy looking in no time!
While we're scoping out the work in the transom cracks, let's take a look at those fuel tank mounting screws drilled into the deck. That seems like a surefire way for water to get into the core. Okay, the first few screws backed out fine. But this one...is not resisting as we back it out. In fact...it can probably be pulled out. Uh oh...that didn't feel right. And now that the fuel tanks are out...is the deck supposed to bow when I stand on it? As much as we all hate to do this, I think we're going to have to get in there and see if the balsa core is wet. So..what are the results?
NOTE: Only click the link below if you like horror movies.
http://s1107.photobucket.com/user/handmeawrench/media/Wet_Core.mp4.html
Okay...not so good. But before we light this boat on fire and file an insurance claim, let's at least address the issue of the aft cabin lack of water-tight seal. Just to make sure there's no water surrounding the aft cabin door, let's blow some compressed air into a hole left by the rod holder mount and see what comes out. Here we go!
Wait a second...what's that little bug? A C-mite? Hoo boy. Time to blow in a bunch of pesticide and drive 'em all out. So that's exactly what we did...carpet bomb the bulkhead, then squirt of bunch of epoxy in there, and finally caulk the holy heck out of that bulkhead/cabin joint. NOTE: That bulkhead is tabbed on the inside of the cabin, so some appropriate caulking should be fine on the outside. We're just keeping water out, and not concerned with rigidity as that's already addressed.
Sooo...back to the spongy watery deck. It's time to call in a pro. The C-Saster was taken to a local shop to see just how bad the wet core issue in the deck really, truly is. The answer: wet core from the transom all the way to the forward bulkhead. The solution is to cut up the deck, replace the core and lay the deck back on.
The process sounds simple, and looks pretty simple when a pro is doing it. Here is a recap of the process to date, as observed by my Navy buddy:
" I spoke with the guy who's actually doing the work - time well spent! He said that he pulled out between 300 and 400 lbs of wet balsa! He said some of the wood looked like it had been wet for years. Even with that, he repeatedly stated how the boat was built really strong and how impressed he was with the construction in general.
So he carefully cut the inner fiberglass floor out in straight lines and manageable sections. Then he removed all the wet balsa and prepped the inside surface of the outer hull fiberglass. Next he glassed in some 2x2 wooden stringers (see pics) under the cuts - that's where he's at now. Next up he'll screw the inner fiberglass panels down (into the stringers) and drill some relief holes in the panels. Then, he'll start at the bow (the lowest point right now) and pour in 2-part closed cell foam through the holes. He'll work his way back, as the foam expands, adding more foam along the way. The foam will completely fill all the voids, and because it is closed cell, it will be completely impervious to water. After the foam has set up, he'll patch the seams from the cuts and foam holes, then fiberglass over the entire deck with cloth and resin (encapsulating all the screws & such). When that's dry, he'll gel-coat the new fiberglass and add a non-skid texture."
This is currently where we're at. Next step will be to re-install cabin furniture and repair the miscellaneous holes. Then outfit with new electronics, a windlass and new power. Not a small amount of work, but certainly on the downhill side of the equation!
A note about power. We have decided to go with Evinrude E-TEC main power, and getting a quote from an authorized dealer in the Portland, Oregon, area has been nothing short of a complete cluster-****. At this point, there is not a single Evinrude dealer I would trust farther then I could throw them. What a bunch of disorganized people. Yes, we called the factory and yes, they lit fires under appropriate bottoms. But it's been a hassle, to say the least.
As this project progresses, I will certainly update this thread with new photos and narrative. I hope it's been interesting, and maybe enjoyable. Our pain is your gain!
Thanks for having good info for new C-Dory owners.
The boat (which is as-yet unnamed) was purchased a couple months ago in Montana. It looked like heck...clearly having sat outside for years (and years, and years...). Oxidized gel coat, paint baked off the motor. It's clear this boat wasn't used much, but also wasn't taken care of much. BUT...the price was right!
A good friend of mine is an ex-Navy officer, and boat fiend. He's restored wooden boats by hand, built and rebuilt motors of ALL varieties (from big diesels to lawn mowers), and is generally a very handy and knowledgeable guy. The boat has been parked in his driveway since coming to the Pacific NW, and we (okay, mostly HE) have been fiddling with it since.
Initially, there were some apparent issues with the boat which seemed minor.
1) There were some holes in the transom where things like a transducer had been attached. These needed filling.
2) Also, having read the forums, I saw that the fuel tanks were screwed directly into the deck and that this might be a point of water entry into the balsa core.
3) There were multiple holes in the cabin where instruments and random accessories were (very poorly) installed by the previous owner. These needed some sort of work, if only for cosmetic reasons.
4) The motors looked SHOT. Kicker was inoperable, and the main was 30 years old - and looked it!
5) The caulking around the cabin (aft bulkhead?) where it meets the hull/deck was basically gone. Another potential source of water intrusion.
So, all in all, not such a bad place to start. Most of this work seemed minor - if not expensive (i.e. motor replacement).
So, first...the gel coat. Here are some photos of the polishing in progress. What a difference! Can you see the line in the blue stripe for before/after? If all remediation work goes this well, we will be boating in no time!
The holes in the transom seemed like a straightforward fix. Drill out the holes a bit, undercut the core, fill with thickened epoxy, then re-drill holes as needed for either a piece of starboard or new transducer mounting holes. But wait...what's this? Stress cracks where the transom meets the gunnels on either side. Hmm...what gives?
Well, it's going to need repaired, so we may as well open it up a bit and see what's going on.
Looks like some kind of putty or something. A hard-ish filler material. Okay, not so tough to repair (assuming there is no water lurking down there in the marine plywood of the transom). A little filler (or a lot), some epoxy, a layer or two of fiberglass, and some paint or gel coat to top it off. She'll be water tight and all fancy looking in no time!
While we're scoping out the work in the transom cracks, let's take a look at those fuel tank mounting screws drilled into the deck. That seems like a surefire way for water to get into the core. Okay, the first few screws backed out fine. But this one...is not resisting as we back it out. In fact...it can probably be pulled out. Uh oh...that didn't feel right. And now that the fuel tanks are out...is the deck supposed to bow when I stand on it? As much as we all hate to do this, I think we're going to have to get in there and see if the balsa core is wet. So..what are the results?
NOTE: Only click the link below if you like horror movies.
http://s1107.photobucket.com/user/handmeawrench/media/Wet_Core.mp4.html
Okay...not so good. But before we light this boat on fire and file an insurance claim, let's at least address the issue of the aft cabin lack of water-tight seal. Just to make sure there's no water surrounding the aft cabin door, let's blow some compressed air into a hole left by the rod holder mount and see what comes out. Here we go!
Wait a second...what's that little bug? A C-mite? Hoo boy. Time to blow in a bunch of pesticide and drive 'em all out. So that's exactly what we did...carpet bomb the bulkhead, then squirt of bunch of epoxy in there, and finally caulk the holy heck out of that bulkhead/cabin joint. NOTE: That bulkhead is tabbed on the inside of the cabin, so some appropriate caulking should be fine on the outside. We're just keeping water out, and not concerned with rigidity as that's already addressed.
Sooo...back to the spongy watery deck. It's time to call in a pro. The C-Saster was taken to a local shop to see just how bad the wet core issue in the deck really, truly is. The answer: wet core from the transom all the way to the forward bulkhead. The solution is to cut up the deck, replace the core and lay the deck back on.
The process sounds simple, and looks pretty simple when a pro is doing it. Here is a recap of the process to date, as observed by my Navy buddy:
" I spoke with the guy who's actually doing the work - time well spent! He said that he pulled out between 300 and 400 lbs of wet balsa! He said some of the wood looked like it had been wet for years. Even with that, he repeatedly stated how the boat was built really strong and how impressed he was with the construction in general.
So he carefully cut the inner fiberglass floor out in straight lines and manageable sections. Then he removed all the wet balsa and prepped the inside surface of the outer hull fiberglass. Next he glassed in some 2x2 wooden stringers (see pics) under the cuts - that's where he's at now. Next up he'll screw the inner fiberglass panels down (into the stringers) and drill some relief holes in the panels. Then, he'll start at the bow (the lowest point right now) and pour in 2-part closed cell foam through the holes. He'll work his way back, as the foam expands, adding more foam along the way. The foam will completely fill all the voids, and because it is closed cell, it will be completely impervious to water. After the foam has set up, he'll patch the seams from the cuts and foam holes, then fiberglass over the entire deck with cloth and resin (encapsulating all the screws & such). When that's dry, he'll gel-coat the new fiberglass and add a non-skid texture."
This is currently where we're at. Next step will be to re-install cabin furniture and repair the miscellaneous holes. Then outfit with new electronics, a windlass and new power. Not a small amount of work, but certainly on the downhill side of the equation!
A note about power. We have decided to go with Evinrude E-TEC main power, and getting a quote from an authorized dealer in the Portland, Oregon, area has been nothing short of a complete cluster-****. At this point, there is not a single Evinrude dealer I would trust farther then I could throw them. What a bunch of disorganized people. Yes, we called the factory and yes, they lit fires under appropriate bottoms. But it's been a hassle, to say the least.
As this project progresses, I will certainly update this thread with new photos and narrative. I hope it's been interesting, and maybe enjoyable. Our pain is your gain!
Thanks for having good info for new C-Dory owners.
