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Has anyone experienced any rotting timber in cockpit locker (lazarette)? The port side of cockpit floor of my mark 3 is 'springy' and the timber on the side of the locker is rotted. The side of the locker is fibreglass above the floor of the cockpit, but below the floor of the cockpit it is timber and this is the section that is also visible from the bilge area (original hose for inboard exhaust passes through a hole in this now rotted board and enters into lazarette).

It seems an area about 750mm wide and 25 mm high is rotted. My first thought was that it was from water ponding in the cockpit locker, but only a few mm of water would collect, because of holes cut in the vertical timber and draining into the bilge. The rot seems to start and inch or more above the floor of the cockpit locker.

If anyone has done such a repair, please tell how you went about it.

Thanks, John

Hi John

You could find that the plywood isn't marine grade , just plain old exterior ply ! it was common practice to do this as it was cheaper . The only real difference between marine grade and exterior ply is the grade of veneer .
And if isn't sealed properly it will rot in time.

cheers Bear