Deck moulding

go to photos(dot)yahoo(dot)ca/theuntoldwant

This is an example of a 1974 Taylor (Canadian) built boat which I am currently restoring.  As the construction methods varied so much over the years with just the Canadian boats, I'd not even speculate as to whether or not you have a cored deck or what, if any, the coring material is.  Best way is to remove a cleat or a thru-deck fitting and have a look for yourself.

The wood is actually just the coring, there is a fiberglass liner that I took out and have yet to put back up (gravity....)  the holes in the wood are for the stanchion bases - I glassed all of this in, there's at least  1/2" of glass under the stanchion bases and fore and aft deck cleats now.....  The money thing is not the big issue.  Time and motivation are.  Material costs are not the biggie in a project like this, it's the labour.  If I was paying someone 10 bucks an hour to do what I've done so far, I'd have already had to sell the boat.  And probably my car. 

The name of my Contessa is Untold Want.  Great name for a boat....  It was like that when I bought her and it'll stay.

Camiel, I have the same problem on my 76 JJt.
I am using the hole drill method from west systems. Drill ahole where it sounds hollow and use a syringe filled with epoxy to fill up the void, I managed to get 2 cups of epoxy in one void, and it did not come out below decks! the crackles and softness of the deck is gone in the treated places, now I need to get the little holes look good....
I like your website!
Peter

The only problem in using the injection method on the fore or side decks of a JJT boat is the coring material.  If its wet, and if its plywood it will most likely be wet, then you have next to no chance at getting a decent bond.  Once you step on the repaired deck, you'll hear crackling at some point in time.  I tapped out the voids in the decking (fore and side decks, and cabintop) and realized that the foredeck was pretty much one big void.  Once I removed the plywood, I realized that attempting to inject the foredeck would be pretty much useless, as the wood was soaked and in some points the void (which had never delaminated, but was never actually laminated) was in the .060-.1" range.  Wow.  If you look at my pictures, you can see some of the back decks, lookin up thru that ugly hole in the transom.  image 19.  The little blobs, now ground off, is the resin that is supposed to hold the coring to the underside of the deck.  The rest of the yellowish fiberglass area was a 'void'  The whole foredeck was like that, and if I had to guess I'd generously say that only about 25% of the plywood was actually bonded to the bottom of the deck. 

I've had great sucess so far, however, in injecting the cabintop decking.  It's dry, and there is about 3/16 of glass outside of a thin core of something that I'm not sure enough to say what it is yet.  Looks like doorskin maybe, but could be pressboard or who knows what else.   Whatever the case, it takes epoxy, doesn't leak inside, and taps real nice now.  No hollow "thunk".  Just a "thud"

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for joining me on this discussion. It is of great help to me. On the other hand it worries me. Should I really bother? If I would like to fix the problem in a decent way, it's a hell of a job. Maybe not this year then. The problems Shannon is talking about sound familiair; we have the same problem with wiring from the mast. We also had water coming through from the place where we have two winches on top of the cabin, but I was able to fix that problem.

Also, when we are into some rough sailing (> 6 bft), water is coming in through alongside the bolts where the stayes are fitted to the deck. Once it's springtime, I will attack these points one by one.

This winter, we are also working on the shaft of the engine; we are replacing the bearings and also place a (I don't know the english word for it) special grease-barrel to lubricate the shaft. By doing so, we hope to get rid of any water entering the bilge via the shaft.

So you see Shannon, i fully agree with you; a boat should not leak, even if it are just drops of water. And I would like to be able to store my beer in the bilge without it getting wet and all greasy.

In Dutch there´s a saying:

A boat to buy, is to work till you die. Free translation from Dutch: Koop een boot, klus je dood.

Greatings, Camiel

Just because a boat hasnt been in the water doesn't make it dry.  Plywood doesn't dry out all that well.  Balsa is better.  But still has an amazing affinity to moisture.  You can see the mess I removed from my boat, and it was on the hard for 7 years before I started.......

Yep got exported to the desert.

Hey Peter,

But you see, water keeps pulling on you!

Camiel

Hi Camiel;

Where you say the "stays are fitted to the deck", I think you mean the "chainplates".  Yes, there is a little space around them that you have to put new putty (caulking) in to fill the little space - every year I do mine.   I clean out all old caulking and put in new stuff.  I have no leaks there at all when I discovered that it needed new caulking.

Too bad all that water and grease gets on your beer! (I think you are replacing "cutless bearing" - where propellor shaft enters the boat?!)  ;-)

Stefan D is right, who knows what went in to certain areas.  Some of us likely lucked out with the first owners who commissioned the boat - if they hung around the builder and watched things, by doing so, they unwittingly ensured at least some of it got done "right"! ;-) 
And yes, the key is a proper re-bedding:  if it leaks: take it right out/off and dry out the deck area and then rebed.

And Peter, your boat is looking pretty darn good too!  We can all see the work all of you guys have done on each of your boats, and Peter, you've done alot to yours!  So, you took off the rub rail, and those are the "rivets" holding the hull to the deck, and you are going to glass it all up?!  Good idea...once things are apart, may as well do as much as we can, hey?!

So Stefan, where are you now in your deck repair?!  Updated pictures anywhere?!