Delammination

[LENZ]

I Found A Spot On The Flybridge Of My 1972 43" Dbc Hatteras, And What I'm Wondering Is What Is The Process To Fix? Do You Cut In About A 1/4" With A Circular Saw Remove The Piece Of Fiberglass Then Remove The Rotted Balsa Wood, Install With New, Then Reinsert The Piece Of Fiberglass You Removed Earlier, Then Blend In? Curious..

[rtrafford]

going to be difficult to do a good job of balsa-coring on a vertical surface without some skill. best bet is to cut out the bad core, prep the area extremely well, fill the void with your preferred polyester or epoxy filler, cure, sand, and laminate new glass skin over this...

[Banshee36]

That is probably the best way , although i would use Coosa composite over balsa core, I fixed a spot in my cockpit that way.
JW

[TedZ]

Vertical? You didn't say vertical and on my 43 there is no balsa in anything but the sole of the flybridge.

If it is near the edge you can take the trim off and access it from the outside. If it is in the middle, set the skill saw to 1/4" like you say and cut the top skin off. Epoxy in whatever you like that is the same thickness. I like airex cuz it has the same feel on the feet as balsa. If you use an epoxy filler it will have a very hard feel and you can tell there has been a repair. Epoxy the top skin back on...epoxy filler...sand all and repaint with the correct paint and elastomeric beads. Roll both directions and it comes out perfectly.

Ted

[LENZ]

going to be difficult to do a good job of balsa-coring on a vertical surface without some skill. best bet is to cut out the bad core, prep the area extremely well, fill the void with your preferred polyester or epoxy filler, cure, sand, and laminate new glass skin over this...

It's on the sole of the bridge by the helm seat..

[TedZ]

I think i'd be tempted to use a filler in epoxy resin in that spot. It needs to tie into the balsa well however and that might be tricky. It might be easiest to use stainless dowels 4 - 5 inches long, maybe 3/16" and drive them half into the balsa. Take them out and inject a little resin and put them back in. Make a wood template for the helm seat cap screws (stainless with fender washers) then epoxy the whole mess in wood and all! Put the skin on while wet so no high spots and good adhesion.

My $.02

Ted

[LENZ]

I think i'd be tempted to use a filler in epoxy resin in that spot. It needs to tie into the balsa well however and that might be tricky. It might be easiest to use stainless dowels 4 - 5 inches long, maybe 3/16" and drive them half into the balsa. Take them out and inject a little resin and put them back in. Make a wood template for the helm seat cap screws (stainless with fender washers) then epoxy the whole mess in wood and all! Put the skin on while wet so no high spots and good adhesion.

My $.02

Ted

is there anything i can do for now? like drill some 1/2" holes and inject sometype of epoxy into the holes to fill the voids for now? It's a small spot and i don't want to start cutting up the boat yet.. would this buy me anytime? thanks Lenz

[TOP HAT]

I Found A Spot On The Flybridge Of My 1972 43" Dbc Hatteras, And What I'm Wondering Is What Is The Process To Fix? Do You Cut In About A 1/4" With A Circular Saw Remove The Piece Of Fiberglass Then Remove The Rotted Balsa Wood, Install With New, Then Reinsert The Piece Of Fiberglass You Removed Earlier, Then Blend In? Curious..

LENZ, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS USE "CAPITALS" ON YOUR TEXT FOR EVERY WORD. Just curious, but I would use cotton balls to fill the top instead of balsa....better milage to!

[LENZ]

LENZ, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS USE "CAPITALS" ON YOUR TEXT FOR EVERY WORD. Just curious, but I would use cotton balls to fill the top instead of balsa....better milage to!

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[Passages]

Check this out.

http://www.rotdoctor.com/glass/GLrotrepair.html