Deck repair

Hi All, I've removed all of the delaminated plywood from the deck of my Cal20, (all of it except for the forward bow section) some of which was very wet, and have scrapped and sanded the bottom surface of the upper deck. I found large areas where the upper layed of resin when applied didn't make full contact with the marine plywood leaving so there are areas that are recessed and other areas what are flat, about 50/50. My question is should the recesses be faired to provide better contact when I laminate in a new layer of plywood, and what would your suggestions be with regards to the filler? Any tips would be appreciated. I put a couple of photos for reference in the Photo Section under 3rdWeeHope... Anyone parting out a Cal20? I'd like to find a spinnaker pole, and one of the fittings supporting the main deck beam fell apart when I removed it. Thanks! Chris

Chris Barszcz wrote: > > Hi All, > > I've removed all of the delaminated plywood from the deck of my > Cal20, (all of it except for the forward bow section) some of which > was very wet, and have scrapped and sanded the bottom surface of the > upper deck. > Hello, Chris B: A friend of mine started this same project this fall, so I'll share your post with him. He's removed his rotted core but made no further progress before winter set in, I think. > I found large areas where the upper layed of resin when > applied didn't make full contact with the marine plywood leaving so > there are areas that are recessed and other areas what are flat, > about 50/50. > > My question is should the recesses be faired to provide better > contact when I laminate in a new layer of plywood, and what would > your suggestions be with regards to the filler? Any tips would be > appreciated. > Epoxy with appropriate filler to make it thick & sticky overhead. The Gougeon Bros. have excellent how-to books and are engaged in constant R&D to improve the use and effectiveness of their product. Go to their website. I know some of the guys who work for them--all sailors--and they are a curious, dedicated bunch. It's why I use their epoxy. > > > > Anyone parting out a Cal20? I'd like to find a spinnaker pole, and > one of the fittings supporting the main deck beam fell apart when I > removed it. > ????? My main deck beam, the big athwartships one under the mast step, is supported at the outboard ends by fiberglass tabs. In the middle, there are two compression posts, one on each side of the space for the head. There are also some aluminum brackets to secure the mast step fitting on deck. Those could easily be cut from some heavy aluminum angle stock, I would think. Going from memory here, there are also a couple of bronze brackets that secure the upper shroud deck fitting (serving as a chainplate) to the deck beam. But those are bronze and not likely to fall apart. Chris Campbell Cal 20 #1220, with original undelaminated deck, thank goodness > >

Thanks Chris! The problem fitting is the end of one of the compression posts, the aluminum just corroded and became brittle. A trip to Home Depot or Lowes for angle aluminum stock is probably in my future. I'll check out the Gougeon Bros. web site about the epoxy mix and thickener. Over the cockpit of the boat is a cover supported by 1" pcv pipes bent in a half circle so I'm able to crawl in and out. A small electric space heater keeps the chill off inside the boat, not to mention the physical work. I'll put up photos as things progress... Thanks again, Chris Chris Campbell <cl… [at] charterinternet.com> wrote: Chris Barszcz wrote: Hi All, I've removed all of the delaminated plywood from the deck of my Cal20, (all of it except for the forward bow section) some of which was very wet, and have scrapped and sanded the bottom surface of the upper deck. Hello, Chris B: A friend of mine started this same project this fall, so I'll share your post with him. He's removed his rotted core but made no further progress before winter set in, I think. I found large areas where the upper layed of resin when applied didn't make full contact with the marine plywood leaving so there are areas that are recessed and other areas what are flat, about 50/50. My question is should the recesses be faired to provide better contact when I laminate in a new layer of plywood, and what would your suggestions be with regards to the filler? Any tips would be appreciated. Epoxy with appropriate filler to make it thick & sticky overhead. The Gougeon Bros. have excellent how-to books and are engaged in constant R&D to improve the use and effectiveness of their product. Go to their website. I know some of the guys who work for them--all sailors--and they are a curious, dedicated bunch. It's why I use their epoxy. Anyone parting out a Cal20? I'd like to find a spinnaker pole, and one of the fittings supporting the main deck beam fell apart when I removed it. ????? My main deck beam, the big athwartships one under the mast step, is supported at the outboard ends by fiberglass tabs. In the middle, there are two compression posts, one on each side of the space for the head. There are also some aluminum brackets to secure the mast step fitting on deck. Those could easily be cut from some heavy aluminum angle stock, I would think. Going from memory here, there are also a couple of bronze brackets that secure the upper shroud deck fitting (serving as a chainplate) to the deck beam. But those are bronze and not likely to fall apart. Chris Campbell Cal 20 #1220, with original undelaminated deck, thank goodness --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

Chris Barszcz wrote: > Thanks Chris! > > The problem fitting is the end of one of the compression posts, the > aluminum just corroded and became brittle. A trip to Home Depot or > Lowes for angle aluminum stock is probably in my future. If you're not an aluminum welder (I'm not), a local welding shop ought to be able to fabricate a suitable bracket for the compression posts. I noted that on mine, they seem to have been compressed into the wood they sit on, at the bottom. My plan is to use a car jack or hydraulic jack to push up just enough on the beam to let me slip some shims under the bottom of the compression posts, just a little bit to compensate for lost height. > I'll check out the Gougeon Bros. web site about the epoxy mix and > thickener. Over the cockpit of the boat is a cover supported by 1" > pcv pipes bent in a half circle so I'm able to crawl in and out. A > small electric space heater keeps the chill off inside the boat, not > to mention the physical work. I'll put up photos as things progress... I look forward to seeing them, and will share them with my friend with the rotten deck to give him some encouragement. Chris Campbell >