Oh dear. This may take some time.

Mark Halliday · 23 May 2008, 09:40

Well, I'm back.
Back with a bit of a problem.

The photos below are of my deck, or rather what is left of it.

Please feel free to give advice, LOL or just generally take the mickey.

Nasher · 23 May 2008, 10:07

Mark

Have the Mice in West Sussex developed a taste for decks then?

Or have the Moles gone all sophisticated?

Good luck, you know where to come if you need any help.

Nasher

Tim M · 23 May 2008, 10:35

Interesting. I was up at Porters a few weeks ago and they had a 6.5 in there having it's deck replaced. Are Porter's known for suffering dodgy decks?

Mark Halliday · 23 May 2008, 10:44

Thanks mate.

It looks very much like an attack of dry rot.
The ply is bone dry inside despite the bilge being full of water.
No sign of any fungus though.

Chain drilling with a 3.25" hole saw is a very satisfying thing to do.

Don't forget 21/6.

Mark Halliday · 23 May 2008, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim M

Interesting. I was up at Porters a few weeks ago and they had a 6.5 in there having it's deck replaced. Are Porter's known for suffering dodgy decks?

Hi Tim.

Knowing the history of my Porter, I am not supprised that there are a few iffy bits. It went into the mould as a BWM and came out a Porter.

jwalker · 23 May 2008, 10:57

Oops.

That's a bummer.

Whole deck out. Put new one in doing it properly. You know it makes sense!

Nasher · 23 May 2008, 11:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

Don't forget 21/6.

On the calender already.
And have a pass-out from She who must be obeyed

Nasher.

Mark Halliday · 23 May 2008, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwalker

Whole deck out. Put new one in doing it properly. You know it makes sense!

I'm sharpening my angle grinder as we speak. Watch this space.
What grade of diamond blade do you recomend?

I can now do a couple of well overdue mods while I am at it.
1) Better breather on the fuel tank to prevent blow-back when filling.
2) Loose the deck well, now that it is fitted with trunks.
3) Thicker (18mm) decking.
4) Move console forwards (and perhaps replace with a better design)
5) Position seats better/ more room at the back.
6) Raise deck forward of console for bigger anchor well/warp locker.

etcetera etcetera.................

Nasher · 23 May 2008, 12:15

'Rebuild' would be more appropriate than 'repair' then?

Erin · 23 May 2008, 15:08

There would be a lot of fungus there if it was true dry-rot. Looks like a clasic case of a general brown rot (wet rot) which has now dried out somewhat.

Either that, or they made it out of 'only the crumbliest flakiest chocolate'

Downhilldai · 23 May 2008, 18:17

Looks like the rot is in the position of one of your seat pods - was there anything caustic/nasty stored inside the pod?

As JW says - rip it out and fit a new deck - check the below deck structures, while you're at it - big job, but should be good in the end. Are you repairing it yourself?

Mark Halliday · 25 May 2008, 11:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erin

There would be a lot of fungus there if it was true dry-rot. Looks like a clasic case of a general brown rot (wet rot) which has now dried out somewhat.

You are right. No sign of any fungus. There is a slight "mushroom" smell, but that is all. The strange thing is that the bilge was full of water the day before I opend it all up. (I had forgotten to taken the bung out last back end.) The underside of the deck was wet, but only on the surface. If the resin seal on the underside had failed the whole lot would have been sodden. I suspect the water had been getting in from above and not been able to drain out. This was probably through the access hatch for the fuel tank sender between the seats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

Looks like the rot is in the position of one of your seat pods - was there anything caustic/nasty stored inside the pod?

Nope.
There is a 2-3mm GRP sheathing over the top surface, which is/was still sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

As JW says - rip it out and fit a new deck - check the below deck structures, while you're at it - big job, but should be good in the end. Are you repairing it yourself?

Oh yes.
There is no point in patching it. Somewhere else may be close to going. As I said there are some well needed mods that will get done at the same time.
I intend to bore you lot rigid over the next few weeks/months/years as I get on with it.

Mark Halliday · 28 May 2008, 10:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erin

There would be a lot of fungus there if it was true dry-rot.

Erin. Like this?
This was a bit of 2" x 2" deck bearer.
I have found quite a lot of the white stuff on the cables under the deck.
Perhaps it is time to move the boat away from the house.

Tim M · 28 May 2008, 10:37

Mark, how old is your boat?

Mark Halliday · 28 May 2008, 16:24

Tim
I think it is 1996-7.

Mark Halliday · 30 May 2008, 09:56

I think I have uncovered all the soft bits.
The console is stripped, seats removed and most of the spongy bits pulled out.
I removed the seats by cutting round them with a hole saw, chain drilling through the laminate sheath and then levering them out with a layer of glass still attached underneath. A 2" bolster and a crowbar worked around the edges unsticks the sheath from the ply.

Hopefully the console will come out in a similar way.

1) The extent of the rot.
2) Minimalist loft living anyone?
3) More white fluff.

AndrewH · 30 May 2008, 11:27

Tough luck Mark - you have my sympathies

. As you say though - may turn out to be a silver lining to the cloud as you'll get the layout you really want. Do keep the photos coming - very informative!

jwalker · 30 May 2008, 11:53

Mark, it may be worth cleaning the hull with a fungicide before you put new wood near it. You wouldn't want those nasty little spores getting a hold of your new wood.

From the dim and distant past, I seem to remember from my woodwork lessons that dry rot mycelia and spores will penetrate anything they can within many feet of the obvious damage.

Anyway, I'm sure it'll be good when you're done.

Erin · 30 May 2008, 13:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

Erin. Like this?
This was a bit of 2" x 2" deck bearer.
I have found quite a lot of the white stuff on the cables under the deck.
Perhaps it is time to move the boat away from the house.

Yep that could be dry rot. If so the white growth will go yellow once open to daylight. If not then it could be boring old 'cellar fungus' which is just a wet rot so less likely to spread than dry rot can.

And JW is correct. Dry rot can spread. Wet rot only lives on wet timber, so will die if teh source of water is removed. Dry rot will send its tendrils out to find water and transfer it to dry timber so it can keep on munching. I wouldn't have thought either would be too fond of sea water, so it must be rain saturation thats casued the prob.

Mark Halliday · 02 June 2008, 10:21

OK
The deck is now clear. I am getting to like the space. Perhaps real teak decks? And to make up the budget shortfall, a deck char and tiller steering.

I had to resort to a 4" bolster and lump hammer to remove the console. Fortunatly I managed not to damage the console too much.
Next job is to remove the sound floor which may be the hardest part. That will be a job for my trusty reciprocating saw. I am trying to keep the dust, and the itching, down by using low speed cutting tools.
The aft end of the deck was one bit of 10' x 5' x 1/2" ply. I am not sure you can get 10 x 5 sheets of 18mm (3/4"), so I may have to stick with 1/2" or go for 3 sheets of 8 x 4.

Erin & JW.
Thanks for the tips. I am watching the colour of the fluff.
When the fuel tank is out I will jetwash the inside of the hull and slosh loads of Armillatox around, before putting anything back.