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I am doing some building, not restoring, on a 25 express. This is the turquoise boat that was in New York, and the fellow had a pair of 225 merc two strokes on a nicely installed outboard bracket. I have a 250 hp Yamaha four stroke mounted, and am setting the boat up for exploring the BC coast with the idea of staying out for 1-2 days, then perhaps pulling in for a night at a hotel to get cleaned up and grub up again. So I have added a small stove, water heater running off the 70 amp yamaha alternator, and shower. Also added a toilet and holding tank.

On the front starboard fordeck I have a soft spot. About 1-2 foot square. I don't have the experience (or inclination) to chop this boat apart, and try a restoration quality repair. Wondering if I can drill a bunch of holes from below, and inject the hardest setting expanding foam in there, and have any expectation of hardening up this area? I can walk on it now, and I dont let any crunching of the existing fiberglass, so it's got quite a bit of integrity as is, but would like to do something more than nothing, but also don't want to make it worse, or bulge the deck up.........so, any chance of success here or am I being silly?

Steve

I don't have the experience (or inclination) to chop this boat apart, and try a restoration quality repair.

Steve,

Don't sell yourself short... You can do a quality repair just as easily as trying to drill holes and inject foam. (Which, by the way, would be very difficult and need some expensive tools, materials, and advanced techniques.)

Remove your headliner and inspect the plywood core. Remove any un-bonded or damp core, clean up and dry out the exposed fiberglass and cut a new piece of coring. Epoxy bed the new piece in place and seal out any exposed plywood. Replace the headliner and your done.

If you go this route and need further coaching, we're here to help...

Ok, I will cut open a small section and see what if find thanks.

Steve

Removed the liner by using one of those vibrating saws. Port side is still good, as the backing is a fibreglass honeycomb. Port side
Is balsa core. Why one side is wood and not the other? Ran out of material? So we laid up a couple of layers of roving, and that helped with the integrity, but was going to take way too many layers, so now installing some honeycomb material up there. The original decorative cover will go back on and be held in place with foam.

Just about to splash the boat with its single 250 Yamaha four stroke.

Steve

Howesounder wrote:So we laid up a couple of layers of roving, and that helped with the integrity, but was going to take way too many layers, so now installing some honeycomb material up there.

Steve

Exactly what the last owner did on the other side....

Howesounder,
Looks like the previous owner had added some core cell or airex material to the port side. Like Mike O said just get a piece of the same material and glass it in place. The hardest part is taking down the headliner. I don't think Bertram used balsa core under the forward deck, it was more like a cardboard type material if I remember correctly, although they did use Balsa core in the mid 70's in the 33's.
Pete Fallon

Pete...

You are correct.. the complete deck on my 1983 B33 FBC is end grain balsa core. Pretty much every screw hole I have checked had rot around it. The cockpit floor panel had about 60-70% core rot. I repaired that exactly as instructed above.

I think this must be the way the boat was built. (balsa one side and honeycomb on the other) In order to get to this area we had to use a vibrating saw and cut away a fibreglass layer that was original and untouched. Even the goop, or lack off on the hand rail fasteners was the same both sides. So for whatever reason, it looks like this boat was built with balsa one side of the bow, and resin honeycomb on the other. Repair is complete, and the bow is now walkable without any crunchy sounds.

Steve

Good job!