1966 Bristol deck

[tugboatdon]

I have a 1966 Bristol 27 that was given to me. The previous owner drilled a 3" hole in the outside deck, between the cabin trunk and the toe rail. He only took off the top layer of fiberglass. My question is ....should there be a core material between the two layers? I looked and all I saw was the outside deck layer and an inside layer of glass. When you walk up the side next to the galley trunk area it a little soft to me. This is my first sailboat, but it still seems that it should be a little sturdier. Any information anybody might pass along would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. I have pictures of my project posted on photobucket (www.photobucket.com/tugboatdon).

[Rachel]

Hi Don, and Welcome!

I didn't see a photo of the section you were talking about, but it sounds as though you might have some saturated deck core. Perhaps the person who drilled the hole was contemplating the "quick fix" method of drilling a number of holes and filling them back in.

To step back, the deck is made with a sandwich construction (as are many - or most - fiberglass boat decks). The upper and lower fiberglass skin are held apart by an inner core, and all three layers are bonded together. It's from this bonded unit that the deck gets its strength/rigidity.

The inner core is often balsa wood, which does its job really well until it gets wet. Unfortunately, boatbuilders often fail(ed) to do a really good job of closing out the core, and then over the years the core absorbed water and got spongy. Next, the core and skins (can) de-bond, and then you no longer have a rigid sandwich anymore.

The fix is known as "re-coring," and involves either digging out a small bit of wet core (say, an inch or so around a stanchion base fastening); or, in cases where it involves larger areas of the deck - or the whole deck - cutting off one of the skins, scraping out the rotten core, prepping, bonding in new core, and then re-fiberglassing (in a nutshell, and skipping some details). It's not a job that takes a high skill level, but it is a fair bit of work and does require a certain level of tidy working habits (good prepping, etc.).

Some people use a method where they drill out a whole bunch of discs from the top skin (say, 3" in diameter), evacuate the wet core, dig out what they can from in between, and then pour thickened epoxy or put new core disks in, and then finish off. That has always struck me as nearly as much work for what ends up to be not as good a job, but that's just my opinion. But when you said you had a circle of deck removed and with no core, that's one possibility I thought of.

I believe the Bristol 27 decks are balsa cored.

There are a number of good threads here about decks and re-coring, which you could probably find by searching something like "recore deck" Maybe throw in "balsa" if that's too broad (people re-core with foam, too, but usually the word balsa is in the thread somewhere.

Can you post photos of the area in question?

Rachel

[bcooke]

Hi Don,

I think the first step is ask yourself how much work you are looking to commit to. From the photos it looks like you have inherited a TON of work. A project like that is nothing to enter unprepared. First step would be to spend some time getting educated about fiberglass boat construction techniques. Then develop a plan of attack.

If this is what you want, then enjoy and good luck but don't think a little TLC and pocket change is going to put that boat back together again. On the plus side its a nice solid classic design that will bring a lot of enjoyment if you have the fortitude to stick to it.

[Rachel]

Britton,

Good points. It's a very good idea to get the big picture before diving in. Don, I didn't mean to send you down the road to a deck re-core prematurely!

Rachel

[Tim]

Can you take and post some photos of the specific area you're asking about? It would be most helpful, as there's not yet enough information for me to consider answering your specific question in any sort of helpful way.

You've clearly inherited a major project. Be sure you know what you're getting into before you get into it; this will help avoid future disappointment or undue suffering. There is lots of information to be found on this forum and some of the project websites you might see mentioned as you browse the posts here.

Note that however fun and easy big projects may look online, be assured that the process is often decidedly not fun and is rarely (if ever) easy, and that it always takes more time than you could possibly imagine, and costs more than you think no matter how modest your aspirations are. That said, few things are more rewarding if you get into it fully prepared: mentally, financially, and knowledgeably.

We encourage these projects, but it would be unconscionable not to warn in advance of the pitfalls that may lie ahead. Forewarned is forearmed: be realistic about your goals, skills, and expectations. And good luck.

[tugboatdon]

Thank you all for your insightful thoughts and sugestions. I am aware of the scope of this project and of the cost, that being said I am very tenacious when I put mind to something. There are a lot of tasks that I have never tried and succeeded to where I was satisfied with the result. My wife says that I am obsessive when I start a project (ie home repair, landscaping, auto and truck repair). I plan on reading as much material as I can through out the winter. I also have to learn to sail, all this would be silly if I could not use the boat. I am fortunate to have a web site like this one to ask for help. I have never done glass work but have a couple of friends that have. I will be pooling all the resources I can this winter and dive head first into this when the weather breaks here (Rhode Island). Now with a Question... if I have to recore the deck with balsa, where do you get that much wood. I looked at a few web sites and it appears that they are geared towards model builders. I am only guessing at this point, but I may need 40-50 square feet. That would make one hell of a airplane. Thank you all again Don

[Tim]

Here's a starting source for your materials procurement.

Jamestown Distributors

[Figment]

I have some balsa leftover from my deck recore. Figure out what thickness you need and PM me.