Soft Deck, What Would You Do?

I’m no expert and have never done a repair like this. But I think I would do the same thing. You have a nice boat but it is older and hard to justify a repair that could easily exceed 10% of the boat’s value. I would guess most boats that have sat outside and are more than 10+ years old have similar problems.
 
I have heard of an expanding foam product that has a low rise rate that will not expand so much it causes the deck layers to separate. I do not know what it is called, maybe someone will here.

MM
 
I have heard of an expanding foam product that has a low rise rate that will not expand so much it causes the deck layers to separate. I do not know what it is called, maybe someone will here.

MM
“Inject a deck “12 lbs structural foam
 
“Inject a deck “12 lbs structural foam
Same material used to inject and repair concrete cracks but 4X the cost. It's a structural polyurethane foam. Very tenacious and hard when cured. Kicks off and foams slowly allowing the liquid state to flow into small cracks and areas. Simpson Strong-Tie and Sika are a couple of companies that make kits. But, to Frank's point the rotted material must be removed and surfaces rather clean so a good bond can occur. The polyurethane foam cures with moisture, consequently a moisture free area is not required like it is for epoxy.
 
Same material used to inject and repair concrete cracks but 4X the cost. It's a structural polyurethane foam. Very tenacious and hard when cured. Kicks off and foams slowly allowing the liquid state to flow into small cracks and areas. Simpson Strong-Tie and Sika are a couple of companies that make kits. But, to Frank's point the rotted material must be removed and surfaces rather clean so a good bond can occur. The polyurethane foam cures with moisture, consequently a moisture free area is not required like it is for epoxy.

Is this post about the injectadeck in particular?

MM
 
Is this post about the injectadeck in particular?

MM
You guys are awesome. Do you think I should put any marine plywood in there and then whatever epoxy/resin I choose to use? just to give it something more to adhere to?
 
You guys are awesome. Do you think I should put any marine plywood in there and then whatever epoxy/resin I choose to use? just to give it something more to adhere to?

For a boat the age of yours the injectadeck would be at the top of my list. Follow their instructions.

MM
 
The injectadeck is the same polyurethane we use to repair concrete cracks; except the injectadeck is 4X the cost.

I have not read the use instructions, so what you are saying is it can be wet and work, but rotted material must be removed to get adhesion? Would it require adhesion to fill a deck void and make it solid to walk on?

MM
 
will be trying this in the spring for my swim platform... its like a trampoline by the ladder area
 
According to the instructions/ product description it needs moisture to cure, so having a wet core should not be a problem except that the rotted core may keep the foam from getting an even spread thruout the core. You would have to make multiple injection sites to be sure the balsa doesn't dam up an area. I suppose you could do the area, let it cure, than come back and sound the area with a hammer, and fill any voids thru new access holes.

Says it will not bond and cure unless there is moisture present- even to wet it prior to injection and supply drain holes for water.
 
According to the instructions/ product description it needs moisture to cure, so having a wet core should not be a problem except that the rotted core may keep the foam from getting an even spread thruout the core. You would have to make multiple injection sites to be sure the balsa doesn't dam up an area. I suppose you could do the area, let it cure, than come back and sound the area with a hammer, and fill any voids thru new access holes.

Says it will not bond and cure unless there is moisture present- even to wet it prior to injection and supply drain holes for water.

I saw that as well. You think I could inject it through the hatch or does it have to go thru the deck? How would I patch the holes drilled?
 
That 2 or 3 will either be spent now, or will have to come off the price when you sell. Either way, you're gonna have to pay it. Might as well enjoy it.

Now if this is the same marina that charged you $2200 to replace a holding tank, you might seriously consider getting a bid from a different marina for the deck repair.
 
That 2 or 3 will either be spent now, or will have to come off the price when you sell. Either way, you're gonna have to pay it. Might as well enjoy it.

Now if this is the same marina that charged you $2200 to replace a holding tank, you might seriously consider getting a bid from a different marina for the deck repair.

$2200 holding tank??? Wow!!!

MM
 
I have to do some repairs to my swim platform in the spring. There is a vent on each side of the swim platform (you can see them in my sig photo where the chrome round vents are) and I'm thinking it either got wet through there or there are roughly 4"x4" pads on the bottom side that the supports attach to and the one on the port side has a crack in the fiberglass on the edge of that pad. So my swim platform is springy right beside that pad on the port side. Thought about the inject a dek but thinking it might be better to just cut the whole soft area out from the bottom and replace the plywood then reattach the cut out piece of fiberglass. Sure the repair will be noticeable but only from underneath the platform. I'd say the soft area is about 12"-18" around. I figure by the time I get all of the rotted wood out I would have had to remove a large section of the platform anyway. The platform is bolted to the transom and not integrated so no concern with it migrating into the transom. Another option is a larger platform from swimplatforms.com but they don't have one for my boat and I know I would screw up a template...lol. I could ship them my old one but I can only imagine my total cost when it's all said and done...lol
 
I had a platform damaged on my 390EC is Hurricane Opal in 1995. Like yours, it was bolted on and not integrated into the hull. We opted to haul the boat and remove the platform so it could be repaired from the bottom.

When it was removed, we were surprised at how weak the platform structure was. On the boat it obviously gained strength from the transom structure and its supports. So, we started grinding away the bottom skin. Water came from everywhere. There was no discernable entry point but t he plywood core was completely saturated to the point that it has the strength of a wet sponge. I decided to take the high road because the 390EC was a keeper. We replaced the entire plywood core with a structural foam and regelcoated the bottom. The swimplatform was much stronger and significantly lighter after the core was replaced than before.

1. If you have moisture (soft spots) in the platform, you can assume that there is more in the structure than you think.

2. You cannot dry delaminated plywood so that it regains its strength.

3. Injecting some magic goop into a plywood cored platform likely won't work because you cannot see where the damaged spots are. The core is part of the whole structure and adds to its overall strength so you canot look at it like it is just in one spot around a vent.

It is more work, but if you are going to keep this boat long term, you need to consider taking it off the boat and turning it upside down where you can block it up straight and level where you can see the extent of the damage you need to repair. This is one of the easiest areas to repair on a boat because it is not visible, so go for it!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,948
Messages
1,422,806
Members
60,930
Latest member
Ebrown69
Back
Top