Hello all, name here is Charlie from OKC. I just may have bought the worse boat possible but it seems like a good deal for the price (500.00). It is an early 80's LII, has a nice strong hull no scratches etc....good sails/spin and such. Only problem is it has a spongy deck 99% and cockpit. The seam around the hull/deck joint seems solid though. It has one inspection port on the aft portion of the cock pit on the port side. It was damp in side as well. I now have it on the trailer tilted at about 60% with the port open and drain open hoping this Oklahoma sun will dry it out in a day or two.
My question is what are my options for repairing this boat? Should I repair it? Is it usable as it is now? Like I say it is pretty soft. I'm pretty familiar with using the West System line of products and fg in general. So far my thoughts are one or more of the following:
1.drill series of holes and fill with WS epoxy (but will take lots of it i'm affraid).
2. do same as above but incorporate a vacume bag technique to suck the seperated pieces togather. I'm not sure if this will work but it works in my mind
3. much less likely to work is to use the super low expanding spray foam and inject it in various areas of the deck
4. buy a new deck? Not even sure if this is possible/feasable
5. attempt to remove deck and repair that way.
6. leave it alone and go have fun
I've read the archives but haven't really found what I wanted just yet. Any suggestions? Is it a sound boat the way it is, meaning am I making a huge risk sailing it as it is? I will not be racing this boat it is only a fun boat for me, and I seem to have more time than money/sense at this point in the juncture. Thanks, and any help you can provide is much appreciated.
Charlie
OKC, OK
My question is what are my options for repairing this boat? Should I repair it? Is it usable as it is now? Like I say it is pretty soft. I'm pretty familiar with using the West System line of products and fg in general. So far my thoughts are one or more of the following:
1.drill series of holes and fill with WS epoxy (but will take lots of it i'm affraid).
2. do same as above but incorporate a vacume bag technique to suck the seperated pieces togather. I'm not sure if this will work but it works in my mind
3. much less likely to work is to use the super low expanding spray foam and inject it in various areas of the deck
4. buy a new deck? Not even sure if this is possible/feasable
5. attempt to remove deck and repair that way.
6. leave it alone and go have fun
I've read the archives but haven't really found what I wanted just yet. Any suggestions? Is it a sound boat the way it is, meaning am I making a huge risk sailing it as it is? I will not be racing this boat it is only a fun boat for me, and I seem to have more time than money/sense at this point in the juncture. Thanks, and any help you can provide is much appreciated.
Charlie
OKC, OK