Water intrusion/soft spots!

S

South of Heaven

New member
So, I've been reading a lot of the older threads on here about water intrusion and soft spots....and now I'm freaking out and working myself into a hysteric state! :)

How prevalent are these problems with our boats?? Is there a direct correlation between keeping the boat in the water and a higher % of water intrusion? Or is a mostly trailer kept boat still as susceptible? Then a step further, does an uncovered boat vs a covered boat have different dynamics? What about geographic locations? Is the PNW more at risk with the rainier/ humid environment? Northeast bad?; because of the cold temps and freeze cycles? Is the ONLY way for water to get inside from a crack, screw hole or damaged area? Or will standing water eventually find it's way inside somehow?

What should I be looking for with my new boat? Is it worth it for me to drain the twin fuel tanks and inspect the floor underneath? What about the V berth area? Anchor locker??

Guys, am I overreacting?? I hope so! I also remember reading that even with most case of water intrusion the affected area is a small radius and USUALLY doesn't spread to a big area. Well, that's a good thing!
 
Well here's something to think about

(1) If you get a boat that does have soft spot, what is the cost of repair. On a 16' (Smaller boat) I got a ballpark of around $1000. Or you could do it yourself. Not the end of the world.

(2) Hire a marine surveyor to look it over if you want to avoid #1.

(3) If you want to look/inspect yourself, you may not catch a smaller problem, but significant soft spots in the floor (walk on it!) could be felt. Also push on the transom to see if it has any soft spots.

(4) The way they are manufactured is not the problem. It's people screwing things into the hull that is. At a minimum, seal and screw penetrations with 3M 5200 or similar. Or avoid holes altogether (they make a screwless mount plate for things like transducers).

Hope this helps. I've done a lot of research on this issue, including talking to the manufacturer and talking to a friend who is a boat builder here in the PNW..
 
Wood: I already bought the boat! Surveying is out of the question. I've inspected all the accessible areas already. I guess my big unknown is under the 2 fuel tanks.
 
Wood Zeppelin":2jkdfzej said:
(4) The way they are manufactured is not the problem. It's people screwing things into the hull that is.
Click to expand...

The "people screwing things into the hull" was the manufacturer in my case (and probably many other). My bow pulpit was factory installed. The deck cleats were factory installed. The cockpit gunnels, seat boxes, V berth supports were all factory installed with screws directly in to the balsa core, most without any visible bedding compound.

The possibility of balsa core damage is sort of opposite of what you would think. That's because the fungus (dry rot) thrives under certain conditions. It needs fresh water and temperatures above 40 degrees. Salt water actually kills the spores. At low temperatures, the rot is dormant. But if the boat is never used, sitting on a trailer, with a full cover over it, it would look pristine but those could be the worst conditions. Rainwater gets in and the full cover acts like a green house. The same conditions that promote mildew are what dry rot needs. If there has been fresh water intrusion into the balsa core, keeping the boat in a heated garage can speed up the problem. Most would think that a nice warm garage would stop problems.

I don't know how much a person should freak out. This isn't my first boat, so wasn't my first experience with rot. Dry rot stories? I've got dry rot stories. I've replaced planks and frames, so a little rotten balsa core was just frustrating, although I was glad it was such a small area. Frustrating because I know exactly who screwed things into the hull.

If one were curious, they could back out a suspect screw or bolt (anything deck mounted, especially if there isn't bedding compound) and probe in to the hole with something like a dental pick. From my own experience, it will be a crap shoot as to whether it will be dry wood, dry stained wood, soggy wood, or rotten wood. If it's good wood, pour in some penetrating epoxy, put on some bedding compound, and refasten. One down, fifty to go.

Mark
 
I have some first-hand experience in this topic. Bought my boat from the original owner who supposedly "kept it in the garage it's whole life". Yeah right. (I later found proof this was not true -see my photo album for photos I took of my boat 15 years before I bought it, moored in a slip in Friday Harbor!).

Anyway, at some point the original owner installed a raw-water washdown system, with the 1" thru-hull fitting drilled through the thin part of the core where the bilge pump lives. It was sealed with what appeared to be clear silicone bathtub caulk. The soggy core was not limited to a small area as I had hoped. It had spread much wider and just to be sure, I replaced the balsa core the full width of the boat from the transom to 2' forward. The good news was, at least in my 1990 boat, that the transom was fairly well isolated from the floor core, so the transom was not affected and remained dry. Another bit of good news is that wet balsa is super easy to remove with a chisel, unlike wet plywood or DRY balsa. Epoxying in the new core and fiberglass floor mat was also pretty easy, but the gelcoat was a bit of a PITA. The transducer is now mounted to a Stern Saver, and the same approach was also used for fuel and battery tie-down points. No more penetrations into my core to worry about.

Moral of the story - I hope you don't find any problems, but if you DO find any wet spots, it's a relatively easy repair job if you have the time and patience, and you'll end up with a better-than-new finished product you installed yourself, with a better job of sealing than what the factory ever did.
 
If you want to sleep better take a look at the threads on this site discussing "moisture meter" (cut and paste with quotes in search box).

For $100 you'll probably sleep better, or get a pro if it really keeps you up.

Editorial : never used such a gizmo, but am now educated on them through this site.
 
There are a million things you can worry about when you have a boat. I would recommend that you just be prudent and tackle the issues as they come and prevent where possible.

I know you mentioned under the fuel tanks. If your 19 is like mine the tanks are held in place by a strip of starboard that is screwed into the deck. Over time that area becomes a potential point for water intrusion if the screws become loose.

I removed the starboard, drilled out and sealed the holes, then glassed in a foot to hold the tanks in place.

Again, there was no real soft spot, but it had potential for future issues. I do keep my boat in the water and with the daily rain in Florida there is always standing water in the cockpit.
 
I'm on this mission now, and have a trusted builder going through the penetrations into my deck/hull in the cockpit and some of the cabin. I only have reason to believe that two of these screws are not into good core, and my boat is a 1993.

As mentioned above, salt water will HELP, and as I faced the same anxiety you are prior to getting into it, I just took the "loose" screws out and scooped salt water into my boat and let it set.

After that stopped fixing my anxiety, I would just leave a little pile of salt on top of each hole when I left the boat. I have no reason to believe the problems spread after this. I also have no reason to believe that it helped with the actual problem at all (but it probably did), but it was good anxiety medication, and salt is cheaper than valium.
 
I like you, bought my boat without a survey. I spent 30 minutes tapping the transom until satisfied, before i bought the boat. After a few months of owning it, istarted reading on here about moisture meters. I then bought one, and i did find some soggy balsa. The first spot was under the anchor nest on the bow. The second, and biggest spot was on the floor, all from just one screw hole that was holding the bracket for the fuel tank. This one screw, which had zero evidence of any bedding compound like the brackets next to it, had caused a 12"x12"area of rotten, mushy, nasty balsa. It had been leaking since 1988. Like others have said, once its fixed, its better than new. I think i am luckier than many that this is the only areas my boat had damage. I have since removed every single piece of stainless that penetrates the core and thru-hull and seeled with west six10 on the edges. There is not a single screw, bolt, cleat or anything that has contact with balsa. I started to obsess about it as you may be. But once you finish doing what i did, you'll sleep great. I also have tryed to eliminate any srews anywhere altogether whenever possible. I will preach passionately that there is no reason whatsoever to ever screw anything into a transom or the floor. There are alternative better ways to do so. Even when done properly (over drilled and epoxyed) method, i would rather use a stern saver.
 
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