Fixing a soft deck.
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:05 pmSome of the deck on Windchaser seemed to have a little give in it when I got her but after a year or so it was much worse. It got bad enough that I became very concerned that it would end up breaking. Found a method for repair somewhere (maybe in a West System document?) and decided to give it a go.
I drilled a small hole through the upper layer of fiberglass into the wood core. Pulled up some of the drill swarf and examined it. Rotten wood. Dry.
Drilled a series of holes. Mixed up Botecote epoxy with added TPRDA which makes it runnier and deters wood rot. Used a syringe (minus needle of course!) and filled the little holes. Didn't take long to soak into the rotten wood. Sat there keeping on filling up the little holes for ages and ages.
When the first lot of epoxy had gone off, I mixed up some epoxy with fairing powder and filled the holes best I could. It still ended up looking dimpled and I could not be bothered making the dimples go. The area is non-slip anyway. Painted the epoxy as it is not UV proof.
I made that repair a year ago and I had originally thought I might need to extend it. However, there has been no problem at all with the area and so I have not done anything more. As a method for repair, I am happy with it though hard to make the finish look like the original deck.
troppo
I drilled a small hole through the upper layer of fiberglass into the wood core. Pulled up some of the drill swarf and examined it. Rotten wood. Dry.
Drilled a series of holes. Mixed up Botecote epoxy with added TPRDA which makes it runnier and deters wood rot. Used a syringe (minus needle of course!) and filled the little holes. Didn't take long to soak into the rotten wood. Sat there keeping on filling up the little holes for ages and ages.
- Swiss cheese deck
- deck repair 1.jpg (344.1 KiB) Viewed 1958 times
When the first lot of epoxy had gone off, I mixed up some epoxy with fairing powder and filled the holes best I could. It still ended up looking dimpled and I could not be bothered making the dimples go. The area is non-slip anyway. Painted the epoxy as it is not UV proof.
- Repaired and strong again.
- deck repair 2.jpg (322.35 KiB) Viewed 1958 times
I made that repair a year ago and I had originally thought I might need to extend it. However, there has been no problem at all with the area and so I have not done anything more. As a method for repair, I am happy with it though hard to make the finish look like the original deck.
troppo