Starboard delamination

I had a crackling sound when I walked on deck, around the right side of the cabin top, behind the chainplate. I researched how to fix it and I came up with the only complete solution. Cut the top skin off, recore if needed, then glass the top back on. I drilled some holes to check the core. The wood came out dry. I assumed it would be a pretty straught forward job. It had to be easier than recoring the primary. Wrong.

I marked the dull drum sound areas and had a perimeter. I then used my angle grinder with a cut-off wheel and make my cuts of the top skin. I made an extra cut along the bottom to use as a sacrifical piece, so I could more easily pry up the skin and save it. I figured delamination meant easier skin removal. The skin was a pain to get off and I quickly realized there was no top skin to core delamination. I then assumed I had bottom skin delamination, because when the skin was removed and I put pressure on the core, I could still hear the sound. Damn, somehow the bottom skin has delaminated. I then did some core removal with the intent of just replacing the whole section with new balsa and glassing it all in.The bottom skin wound up being securly laminated. What the hell is making that flexing, crackling sound? Turns out it was a slight flexing of the deck core putting pressure on a piece of molding in the cabin. I went below and pryed the peice of moulding off and the sound stopped. No problem I figured, I'll just clean up the core, replace the areas I removed, and glass the skins back on. When it cures I'll glass the seams properly. I mixed up the west system, thickened it, prepped the balsa, prepped the site, and properly recored the area. I topped the site with release fabric. I placed thin plywood over the site and topped the repair off with heavy trash bags filled with sand.

Glassed primary

Used biaxal tape, two layers and tropical 209 hardener. Good thing it didn't rain because it took 24 hrs to harden.

Wet Core Under Primary

I faired the instrument holes a few times. With a full day off to work on the boat, I arrived early and anticipated a long day. I was correct. The plan was to rip up the skin and old core from under the left primary. I knew it was wet and had to be replaced. I read and studied all about the subject. It was still pretty difficult to take a cut-off wheel to a seemingly good outer skin.
I thought I could save the skin, clean it and then rebond it. That way I would only have to reglass the beveled edge. That plan did not work. The skin was still pretty well attached to the dry areas of balsa. I wish I would have taken picture of what everything looked like when I ripped it up, but I was too envolved. After 8 hours of pulling and grinding and cutting. I had a clean slate. I cut a new piece of plywood and glassed it in. I then cut the balsa to fit, I acetoned everything and mixed up alot of thickened resin. I attempted to fill the void areas first, then paint the resin onto the core before I pressed it in. I placed the new balsa in and cover the site with release fabric, I then placed two huge trash bags full with sand over the core to compress it while it kicked. It only took 2 hours in the 85 degree sun. I then removed the bags and mixed up more thickened resin and spackled all the remaining voids. This ate up a half gallon of west system. I really just needed a waterproof seal to finish the day. I'm going to honolulu during lunch and spending a fortune on another gallon of resin. I already have the slower"tropical" hardener unopened. I should have used that instead of the slow hardener for the core. Tonight I bevel, grind, fill and glass over the repaired core. More pics to follow.

Dirt and holes

I removed the instruments from the bulkhead as well as the compass. The compass wasn't even sealed with anything. As a result the balsa was compromised. I included a couple pics. The pic of the odd shaped hole is where the compass used to be. I probed that hole after drilling it oversized from the inside, and I can't find bugs or sign. After I fill and rebed everything it should be fine. If anyone(J30 forum) wants these old instruments just ask and I could ship them for the cost of shipping. I'l never use them again. Boat is a mess inside.

The shot of the transom shows the rust area where some extra mounts were installed to hang an emergency rudder.

Filling and Glassing

I've filled every hole that remained after removing all the deck hardware. I used west system 105 resin/206 slow hardener mixed with coloda silica. I overdrilled some of the holes and just countersink drilled some. I think I'm going to redrill oversize all of the holes that hardware will be re affixed too. It will just happen at a later date. I'm more concerned with keeping the whole operation dry while I work. Here are some pics finally.

Bugs in the handrails

I brought all the equipment to the boat. It was raining today so I figure I'd do something productive and work from the inside. I tried to remove the handrails because water is leaking from a couple of screws holding it. I first attempted to do the screw-through-the-bung drill trick in order to gain access to the screws. I then remembered I don't plan on keeping any wood handrails so I just broke out the angle grinder and used the cut-off wheel to cut into the rail from the topsides and just cut through the screw. I then popped the top rail off and went below to remove the inside rails. Thats when i noticed a few small bugs around one of the screws. I thought they might be termites but upon further investigation, they weren't. Camera is coming soon.