Repair question - deck rot and compression under the plate

[gabe1111]

Hi all,

I'm in the process of searching with the intent to buy within the next months, and one I feel strongly about has rot under the mast plate / above the compression post. The seller flagged the issue from the start and sent me these photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/148281...h/30586909201/

I'm not afraid of work - in my price range, most will need some - but I'm having a hard time gauging the depth or expense of this project. I'm thousands of km from the boat, which is located in NW WA, close to where I'll be moving in some months to liveaboard. If it looks like she's the one, I'll have her surveyed before travelling there, but I can't put money into that if she's a no-go.

Advice cautionary or optimistic is greatly appreciated! This is my first post but hopefully lots more in the future

[puffcard]

Rot like rust, doesn't sleep and what you see is only the start.

Buy a smaller boat with less problems and enjoy sailing more. Every boatyard is a field a broken dreams and boats full of wood eating spores.

[DeepFrz]

Check out this thread. It may answer your questions.

FRP Deck Rot Repair Costs - Page 2 - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

[gabe1111]

True re: the rot.

Living aboard in too small a boat can make you squirrely, in my experience, so it's a balance.

[gabe1111]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Check out this thread. It may answer your questions.

FRP Deck Rot Repair Costs - Page 2 - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Originally Posted by puffcard

Rot like rust, doesn't sleep and what you see is only the start.

Buy a smaller boat with less problems and enjoy sailing more. Every boatyard is a field a broken dreams and boats full of wood eating spores.

True re: the rot.

Living aboard in too small a boat can make you squirrely, in my experience, so it's a balance.

[gabe1111]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Check out this thread. It may answer your questions.

FRP Deck Rot Repair Costs - Page 2 - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Very useful. Much appreciated!

[mickelsen]

Given that this is your first boat I strongly advise you to walk away. Until you get into the rot you nor anyone really knows where it will go. If seller knows the issues there is a chance he realizes there is not a great chance of getting her repaired at a predictable cost and no you cannot do the work and save money.
Tell us what your budget is as we are all up to our ears in a fluid boat market.
All the best

[Dody]

Hi Gabriel,

I might be mistaken, but to me it looks like a plywood-deck and wooden deckbeams. It is difficult to say somthing about the amount of damage from a few photos, but the photos you are showing give me the impression that the plywood of a larger area and at least 1 deckbeam has to be taken out and replaced. Also, there is one photo taken close to the hull - or whatever it is. This wood needs replacing as well.

You didn't give an indication about what you are prepared to go through. I myself am - since 2 years - in the middle of the process of replacing my plywood-deck and some deckbeams.

There is no problem insofar that it can be done by anyone who enjoys working with his/her hands and is able to think.

BUT: you will have to remove some of the interior, you will have to take the old deck out wherever it has signs of rot - and I would like to warn you that you might find out that the whole deck needs replacing. During this process you will possibly find out that you also have to remove your deckhouse ... Once your deck is open you will find out which deckbeams need replacing. And when they are replaced you can start laying your new deck.

This whole process takes a long time. You will need some kind of a shed to store your materials and the equipment of the boat to protect them from rain. And, you need a proper cover over your boat so that when it rains it doesn't destroy what is still good and protects you from the elements when sleeping inside (which is possible, I am doing it, but not very convenient).

Prepare yourself for 2-3 years of that at least when you are working fulltime on the boat on your own.

Trouble is, once you've finished this, there might be other issues as well that need sorting out.

Do you mean WA = Western Australia? If not, in many other cases, very low temperatures in Winter etc. won't make your progress any more easy.

Wish you heaps of luck whatever your decision

Fair winds
Dody

[Cheechako]

A lot of good notes above. My gut is also, for your first boat? ....Too much going on there. I t looks like much of the cabin may be having water in the core/wood etc issues. These things can go on forever, the underside of the cockpit may be the same... rotting in place.
Is that an early Taiwan boat? Many were cheap ply with a bit of glass over... not unusual to have to rebuild deck/cabin/cockpit... everything but the hull.

[Dody]

Just had another look at the photos. There is one photo that shows white paint on a very uneven surface and a stainless fitting bolted on with a strong resemblance to a chainplate. Could you tell me what this photo is taken off?

The structure under this paint looks extremely similar to the top-layer of plywood where the glue has started to desintegrate.

If my assumption is right and this actually is a chainplate, and the structure under the paint is plywood, it would be a sign that the plywood used on this boat in general has reached the end of it's life. You would be much faster, end up a lot cheaper and heaps more happy if you would buy the boat for spares and build a new one next to it, using all the hardware from this one.

Good luck, and please let us know how this goes on!!!!

Fair winds
Dody

[gabe1111]

Thanks for the detailed information and for laying out the potential parameters of the project.

I think I'm going to have to let this one go, as I'm planning to liveaboard sooner than later in an area with heavy rainfall, and the cost in money and time seems like it could easily go beyond my capacity. One less boat in the running but one closer to buying, I hope!

[dgz3]

No. Oh, no. No, no,no, no, no. Please. No.