Thank you so much :) Everything is easier when you're smiling ;) Also I love doing this kind of work so for me it's not that bad to come across something that needs to be fixed. I see there are a few "not-so-positive" comments in response to this video. I'll touch on that in next weekend's video.
About this point in time I think the universal tool of boat repair was a match...and gasoline (petrol) with some really good insurance on said boat. *sigh* Mads, come on to the US again, and head into the Freshwater area of Michigan! We have good food and good beer...and some of the best diving in the world for shipwrecks!
Ugh, all of these negative comments about wasting your money. DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!!!! You've made it clear millions of times (well maybe not quite that many) that you enjoy doing all of this work. What I love about this channel is that it isn't just about the end game, it is about the adventure getting there. Keep up the absolutely fantastic work and for what it is worth I would watch the videos each week even if they were twice as long. In fact, can you please make your videos twice as long?
My dad gave me this... Imagine that you have a wonderful piece of candy in your pocket. You know it is there and it is in your mind that you want to enjoy that piece of candy. Well, finally the time comes and you go to open the piece of candy. While unwrapping the candy you accidentally drop it on the floor. There are many individuals that would toss the candy away and just get another piece. Then there are others that will pick up that Warrior 38, knock off whatever bits of trash are on it, and consume it for what it is worth enjoying it just the same as had it not fallen on the ground. And that was when I learned not to take pieces of candy from my dad. Thanks for the video. Great stuff.
Interesting to read the comments of the obvious non-sailboat people (Including one masquerading as a marine engineer. Or maybe he is a real marine engineer who sits at a computer all day and doesn't know a damn thing about a real boat.) They believe that all of these common boat restoration problems are lethal catastrophes.Loving the project Mads.These nay-sayers need a dose of the real world where real men and women make plans and create the life they dream instead of sniveling about imperfection and giving up. I hear them now. "Oh the agony! The deck has a soft spot! Now I have to work instead of having a flight of angels deliver unto me a perfect yacht. Fetch me a cocktail and a xanax while i weep!" I hope they don't get a hangnail and have to be euthanized. I recommend for them a day sailing and enjoying the beauty of nature. Fair winds,James K
+James K Thanks, James! :) To be honest I feel the exact same way. The issues aboard Athena are not that freaking bad :) Yet one comment literally says that she is "almost unsalvageable". And a few others that Athena is a money pit. I'll touch briefly on those statements in the next video. Spoiler alert: I don't agree and not only that I'd do it all over again. Meaning I haven't regretted choosing Athena :)
So right James K! Athena has a perfect condition to work on. I could see nothing in the vids that could not be fixed. It's a lightly "used" one with a huge bunch of miles on her salty hump and I'm sure with a good soul. I would have choosen her too Mads.
Well said James. When the refit is complete Mads will know Athena inside and out. When things go astray, as they inevitably do on boats, Mads won't be one of those shiny new boat owners who's only option to fix the problem is their cellphone to call for external help. He'll be able to roll up his sleeves and correct the issue. I watch with interest the effort being put into future proofing against problems and ease of access and repair if they do - labeling all cabling, care taken where items are mounted for access in future etc. Mads constantly refers to seeking external expertise for advice and at times asks channels subscribers their opinions. Of course the risk with that is there is always a bunch of people who love to sit in their comfy armchairs and demonstrate the kind of negativity that frankly, dooms them to a life in their armchair. Mads will have the last laugh when they're still trolling the internet and he is on the hook in the Caribbean.
You are right on James. Most boats were built to take a beating for many many years. Yes things get damaged or age but here are very few things on a boat that cannot be repaired to be as good or better than it was when new, it just takes some time and money. As an older boat owner and Engineer I am constantly working to find a balance between perfect (my engineering brain) and what will do the job. It can be tough but I have learned to not try to make everything perfect or I would never get anything done. If I can fix/ improve the boat to make things close to what they were when the boat was new then that's good enough. If its made it 30 years this way then it will be fine for as long as I need. Love the videos/ project, keep up the good work!
Mads you are a brave man! I can't help but feel it would have been less effort to build a brand new boat from scratch! Amazing effort and she is going to be a beaut once you're finished with her!
Greg Sargent the real work is just starting on this boat. Good news is although it's the hardest work, it's pretty much the start of the end and after the deck and bottom paint it can finally splash. But rigging after that 😅
depends on the person. if all you want to do is sail, then yeah, buy a sail-ready boat. If you want to build a boat, then build one, if you like DIY projects, buy a fixer-upper.
You'll find most boats of this age will have some rot in the core somewhere on the boat. It's pretty common due to the 1970's sealant breaking down. The trouble is you can't see it happening.
Hi Mads, Once you opened the forward deck, you might as well construct a hatch for the chain locker below. This will ease things when your cruising life begins... Greetings from Denmark, Christian
Hi sailor, Try an Allen wrench in a drill to remove the core. Put the Allen tool long end in the drill. Spin the short end to whack the core loose. It Works well. The pros build a walkway around the boat to enable them to work from the side and 2 to 3 feet towards the middle. Use scaffolding around the boat with boards across the scaffolds for the walkway. The bridge you made could be used for areas out of reach. This should allow all of the job to be done in one cycle. I Enjoy your videos a lot. I wish you continued success.
Yes I've seen an allen wrench used and does a sweet job. SV Uma owner Dan used one for removing the wet core around his chain plates and then re-glassed. Sweet!
I was hanging out with my friend Eric this weekend in Austin and found out that you have been sailing with him aboard his Beneteau on Lake Travis. VERY COOL. You have a big following and I look forward to your episodes each week. Thanks.
Sorry to see your teak deck troubles...but most of us who have old grp boats, even without teak decks, have some deck work to do. I will watch with interest as you tackle this problem in your usual thorough, methodical, and well-researched way and will take notes for my similar project. Keep up the good work!
Mads, you sure look and sound calm in the face of a LOT of freaking work! But in the end, as you're beating into 6 foot seas, you can take comfort knowing the new deck will shed the water. Very enjoyable video!
I'm starting to think that you picked out the best/worse sail boat you could find just to have something to do. It's a good thing that you are the most talented DYI person I've seen so far. Keep up the great work.
Great video! I honestly believe you enjoy the repair work more than the sailing, and you are great at doing it! When you finally shove off for distant shores, you should bring all your tools and work your way around the globe fixing boats for other travelers (especially the tech side of things). Keep the videos coming and I'm glad you got this "project" boat for the rest of us to learn the DIY for sailboat refinishing.
Oh my God! I'm so glad, that I see this so late after you have recorded this! Otherwise I would think, your project is doomed to be failed. :-) I am eager to see, how you fixed this.
Hello Mads we are long time watches, me Luke and my brother Adam are currently sailing around Great Britain on our sabre 27 we left on the 1st of May and we have reached Plymouth so far we are really enjoying the trip and learning a lot would just like to say we sit down every Sunday evening and watch your video we have watched all your videos on your channel at least once some of them even twice, we really enjoy your videos and it's great entertainment, thanks for making them over and out haha
Hi Denmark! Methodical investigation and repairs give you an undecided advantage with results you can rely on. Athena will be more shipworthy than when you brought her home. She deserves you. Your project makes my own repairs seem simple by comparison. Each step takes you closer to you goal. Captivating stuff. The production quality is very good. Next chapter please! Canada
Dude, you inspire me! I feel slightly less overwhelmed about the soft spot on my port bulkhead/chainplate repair...after watching you take off your teak decking. Whatever gets thrown at you, you just deal with it...a true sailor. It's the adventure, the unknown, the mystery of the thing. You are my north star.
OMG !!! I had no idea that you would have to replace the core. I would have thought that with some heat and being in the shop it would dry out. Man, I have to give it to you, you have more patients that I would. Keep up the great work......stay strong. You are doing fantastic.
The more I watch the more I am impressed with your skills, and even more your stellar attitude. I've seen most of the re-core project, a good portion of the earlier stuff, and have been following everything the last few months so I know the "spoilers." But watching you dip your toe into this massive job and observing your reaction to the scope of the deck repair ballooning massively, I am nothing short of astonished at your can-do reaction and calmness accepting the mantle of this behemoth undertaking. Bravo! You deserve to win the internets,, and the prize for the best DIY sailing vlog ever. You are a master at DIY. You can easily figure it out as you go, which in my estimation is worth a ton of "old knowledge" in specific maintenance tasks. Anyone can do the same thing over and over again. You adapt and learn, listening to experts and Internet know-it-alls alike to synthesize your own plan that works. Your end results speak for themselves. You very much deserve and have earned the fruits of your labor. Athena will be better than new eventually, and you'll be the master of her knowing every square centimeter, confident that every part will be top-notch once you are done with this refit and will be able to maintain her that way with little effort going forward.
It's not the quantity, it's the quality that's important. This was a very interesting video regardless of the length. I have an old boat and I am pretty sure the deck is good, but now I have a sense of what the structure looks like if I need to make repairs. By the way I am amazed you can contemplate replacing almost the entire deck without curling up in a fetal position and whimpering for a few hours. What a daunting task!
Can of diesel fuel and a match will cure the moisture problem, until the fire dept shows up, then you will have the moisture problem all over again. I see many many more videos in your future and I look forward to watching everyone of them. I hope you can complete this project in a timely order. I know that the satisfaction of completing this project will be enormous and your round head will grow three fold. Prepare to move up a couple of hat sizes. Fair winds my friend!
We follow every episode! Fascinating to watch your logical approach to all aspects of systems of systems: electrical, electronics, infrastructure, plumbing...keep up the great work! Vikings Rule!
Mads, in my opinion you need to replace the entire foam core, the reason being that after being waterlogged for years, the foam is no longer bonded to the bottom skin and even if you're able to dry the foam and lay a new outer skin on top of the old foam, it will not be a sound repair as the sandwich will not have the mechanical properties it should have. Think of how easy it was to remove that section of the top skin from the bow triangle. If it was a sound sandwich, it would have taken much more effort and you would have got a lot of foam still bonded to the glass.
Silly question number 234576. If you dried the foam then impregnated with resin and a vacuum bag - wouldn't that reattach the foam core to the base layer of glass?? Just wondering is all...
Robert von Kulig That could work, but you would be spending more in resin alone to infuse all that foam than if you just go and buy new foam which isn't expensive. Plus the deck would become very heavy with all the resin necessary to infuse the foam. If you could dry it. Considering the time it would take to dry the foam and the work required to infuse it, it is more time and cost effective to just remove the foam and replace it. In my supplier I can get a sheet of foam 1.2 meters wide by 2.5 meters long for €20. That is cheap enough to consider replacing all the foam in the foredeck and side decks.
Ah thanks that makes sense then - I didn't realise the core foam was so cheap! Just a thought though, if you did wouldn't the close cell foam not need that much resin? Still would replace now but just wondering....
Robert von Kulig When you do a sandwich construction like Mads' deck, one of the design goals is to make it as light as possible so you don't want the foam to get soaked in resin. Sometimes the two skins are vacuum bagged and when cured bonded to the core. This is always the case with honeycomb cores as they would just fill with resin. With foam, it will soak some resin, and you can get by laminating glass on top of that but you never want too much resin in the foam as it defeats the purpose of the sandwich construction.
Mads, I dealt with a similar problem on my good old boat (1964 Seafarer). Had large sections of rotten core on side decks. I made the mistake of removing too much of the core in one session in hopes of being able to repair large sections at once. Better to do it in smaller sections -I recommend not much larger than the area you already uncovered in this video - and definitely install a brace under the area being repaired to support the repair and maintain the camber of the deck. Maybe brace the hull sides as well to keep the hull from flexing in while you fix her up . Excellent work, excellent videos, excellent positive attitude! Thanks for providing inspiration to the rest of us!
Mads, I'm so impressed with your attitude and skills. Every heartbreaking new discovery you find you greet with a smile and a can-do approach. A better man than I. Cheers
Well Madz it may have been a short video but it certainly carried impact and has generated many comments and advice. I will throw some in for consideration too 😀: 1. Drying the core - try your vacuum mats? 2. Accessing deck for repair AND maintaining hull shape - erect a scaffold tower either side of the boat and fix the sides of the boat to the scaffold using horizontal scaffold poles attached to the towers and the toe rails (adjusted using opposing wedges) this will also allow you to erect a deck working platform. 3. I would also prop the deck from underneath with a 4x2 using pad pieces top and bottom, adjusted by opposing wedges and once tight dog the wedges to the lower pad. You may also wish to consider knock up a temporary cabin top workbench with shelves underneath for storing tools. You are going to be spending a lot of time up there. This is a great project and your resilience and good cheer is 'kinder' amazing (sorry for the pun).😉
Hey Mads, you deserve double likes just to put you back in shape with the suprise hurdles of this week. So sorry for all that, guess that upside is that we can all learn much more.
wow Mads that rotten core is a big problem. I'm always amazed how you face down these big bugbears with a shrug! Very interested to see where this goes....you have me hooked
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Keep up the great work mate. Your videos are more entertaining and teaching than anything on tv. And you have very good attitude. Attempting such scale of deck repair work on diy is really brave. To my perception that work may require more expertise than amateur diy. However, considering the great work done so far, I think you will succeed this one as well. There is another important matter; we occupational health and safety professionals call it as "working at height". I strongly recommend you to consult a professional and maintain fall protection or prevention while working on the deck repair. If you fall from that height, you may hurt really bad. And I recommend you to use ear protection while using noisy power tools for your long term health. Thank you very much for the quality of your diy video.
I must admit I was amazed that you still had a cabinet scrapper left after your previos episodes where they disapeared into the abiss below lol!!! Love your channel.
Hey Mads, just two quick comments regarding some of the negativity, especially the one from what I presume is a marine surveyor. If someone asked me if they should buy a wooden boat, I'd tell them to run a mile. I love wooden boats, but I for one don't have the time to maintain one. Nor do most people. But for those that do have the time and dedication, they are wonderful craft and a joy to behold, under full sail. A marine surveyor has a responsibility to tell a prospective buyer that their dream boat has problems (ie, osmosis) and they should consider another one. Fine. Maybe the prospective buyers are weekend sailors and just want something which spends most of its life tied to a pontoon and don't want to have to strip back fibreglass. But that doesn't mean osmosis is a make-or-break decision for everyone, just for a lot of people. Well done for choosing to breathe life back into this boat. Second, you've removed the teak deck and cut away the upper layer of fibreglass and found rot. Do people seriously believe that their own boats are in pristine condition, without also cutting in and having a look? I have heard of people drilling into the deck from below, to be greeted with a stream of water. They're condemning your boat because they've seen inside. Most fibreglass experts will tell you that crazed gelcoat can be symptomatic of much worse de-lamination in the fibreglass, and that just filling in the cracks only hides the problem. In other words, all boats have some or other issue. Keep it up and let the armchair boat owners dream of perfect GRP.
A very disappointing discovery but incredibly well handled, well done Mads, or so the vlog indicates. I actually have visions of 'tears off-screen' and a few 'despairing dang its' for good measure. I doubt Athena's condition is the exception. It looked to be a fantastic boat and clearly passed survey several month's ago, so I'd be very interested to hear what Trident Marine - the builders may have to say. I bet a few professional boat surveyors are following your disclosures. Your fantastic vlog will help hundreds, if not thousands of other boat owners to 'sus' out their boats. Thanks for sharing.
Your show is great. I like your approach to project management and systematic goals. I hope someday to make the same projects. In regards to the deck, remove it all and replace it.
Phew big job ahead! I have recently finished replacing rotten ply in the decks of my yacht. I would highly recommend getting a set of chisels from 6 - 25mm especially to get under those flanges you will have around the edge! Also if its possible, getting a high scaffolding set up so your deck is at about hip level would make it a lot easier, especially on the side-decks. Keep positive and focused, like you do and "she'll be right mate!" :-)
Keep smiling Mads! I took a look at "Replacing Deck Cores" on UA-cam (you may have heard about this channel!) and found many good and several bad examples of deck repair work but well worth a look. You may have already looked several hundred times already but it reminds one that we are not alone and many determined guys have battled through the same challenge. One thing I did not see was stepping or overlapping of replacement core. I have always stepped the joint to avoid creating a weak line anywhere. Good luck and my favourite channel by far.
Well Mads your idea of bridging the deck is perfect. This gives you a stable platform to work from. I suggest a more secure connection to the toe rail or better yet a scaffolding along the side of the boat.
Mads I love your videos and wish you the best. Looks like a lot of work to come, but you like to see things done right. I know the deck to come will be even better.
I'm guessing this is like Goudis Sagrada Família, will it ever be finished? You amaze me with your calmness, I would have lost my mind by now. Having said that this is obviously now a way of life and it'll look great when it's done. 10+ points for keeping calm. I think there's a lesson here for us all who face difficulties.
Mads, don't let the negative comments below put you off particularly from the pros. Their perspective is on of cost to repair and since your labour is free is makes the repair cheap for you. Remember that the function of the core is just keep the upper and lower skins apart. Provided it is still bonded to both it doesn't really matter if the foam is wet. Replace the wood (and foam core if you must) in small overlapping sections re-skinning as you go. Then a skin of bi directional over the whole deck. Fair the lot at the end. Oh and don't worry too much about a bit of osmosis - the harbors aren't full of sunken yachts that died from fatal blisters disease. In 100,000 years the only thing left of our civilization will FRP boat hulls . And I would buy a used boat from you.
Just for credibility sake. I am not a marine engineer. I am a live-aboard sailor/cruiser who has restored five boats from a Dyer Midget to a Brewer 42 Ketch.I ENJOY DOING all my own work from fiberglass to mechanical to electrical and carpentry.I am still learning. Including from your videos. Thank you! I believe you are doing a fine job on a fine boat which will weather a strong blow and see many a mile beneath her keel before she is done sailing the seas.I hope to meet you someday afloat and share stories (mostly true) and rum. Just look for the blue Allied Princess S/V Sea Dragon out of Oriental,NC
Well, you are going to do it. Good on you! Even if you wanted to dry out the core you would have to remove the top layer anyway. At this stage taking out the foam core is the way to go. This boat is going to be a beauty when you are done. 👍
Hi Mads, while I love your videos your costing me a fortune. Every time you recommend something to keep the Angry Pixies at bay my husband has to buy it. In fairness you recommend some good stuff so I don't mind putting good stuff on our boat. We always look forward to your videos and wouldn't mind if they were longer. Cheers Anne
Mads, maybe you should use straps across the deck from toe rail to toe rail to keep the shape of the boat. Also possibly get some long pipes or 4x4s to use as supports from the ground up to deck height to support your make shift scaffolding to sit on and work. I think the best is to keep your weight entirely off the deck while your removing the core. Just suggestions. I find your videos so very fascinating. thank you for sharing.
My opinion, if you can afford it. Start fresh with new core. Know there is nothing hiding under your feet waiting to catch you out. (collapse, and make you want to tear your ears off - or pull your hair out - whatever) Of course, this from someone who, currently, finds it an achievement to get out of bed when I don't need to work. Kudos Mads. really enjoy your videos.
I would leave the foam. Let it dry a good percentage. Repair thoroughly around deck fitting and hardware. Possibly attach 1-2" strips of marine plywood across the deck onto the lower fiberglass in grooves after removing some foam in a strategic grid pattern.Then Replace the top deck to this grid and middle area where new core is necessary. It will be good for another 30 years or more. Of course I don't know anything about boats, except what I watch on UA-cam. Boat works today I'm sure Andy will chime in and tell you your best options. But you are the type to do it all good and "spiffy". I'm thinking functionality Will she be strong and seaworthy with some moister in the foam core? If so I'm move on the the hull and shortcut the deck. Love your channel look forward to it every Sunday!
Your little platform is a good idea... Like Bryant i think you should turn the timber so it flexes less. Cut a slot in the edge timbers it rests on to fit over the metal rail thingy so that timber won't slip. I §would defo go for replacing all that core. Boatwoks today has some helpful videos about that sort of thing. life happened i'm cool with the shorter vid... just blessed to watch your stuff.
Hey mads, this is the first time I saw one of your videos with just 5 comments, so I just had to comment! I love you videos and watch faithfully! Great work, thanks for sharing!!!
Would love to see a where are we now recap of what's been done to the boat and what's left to do. Something similar to the boat tour you did in Scotland right when you where purchasing Athena. Keep up the great work
Mads- I think the Gougeon Brothers have a technique for drying out a foam core where you drill a bunch of holes into the core and then basically vacuum the water out of the core, then fill the holes and add on a layer or two of glass on top. Since you're getting that fancy dancy vacuum soon I'd give it a shot. Either way, I'd call them, if you haven't already, cause they're kinda the gurus of epoxy repairs ( in my opinion) Good luck and thanks for the positive videos
You should consider renaming your boat, "Legend" because you are fast becoming one on UA-cam and most certainly will be one by the time you launch. I'm like many who eagerly await your weekly uploads. The deck work will be most informative.
Regarding your remark about cheap chisels; I have a nice set of 3 Craftsman chisels that I use for better woodworking projects; I keep them very sharp and stow them away in their little case. Then I have an old Fuller chisel with a plastic handle that I found on a jobsite years ago. I don't keep it very sharp and just toss it in my toolbox when I'm done with it. But for jobs like that wet plywood core, a chisel that you can use and abuse is nice to have. Thanks for another interesting video.
Hi, I once replaced a small section on my deck where the genoa car ran. I used epoxy and foam from SP System in Schleswig. They were very helpful and great experts. Greetings from Hamburg. Joachim
Hey Buddy! fellow friend from the north here (Stockholm). i*m as well in the middle of a refit and i thought i would recommend a tool that i have found extremely useful, Tormek t7. i know its an expensive kit, but so is working with dull tools, i have a sett of crappy chisels, and a set of good ones, but they are all literally razor sharp, and that makes all the difference when working, + its super fast to resharpen so i never need to buy new tools for the fresh and sharpness :)
Sounds like a good idea. That way you (Mads) can fill in full length pieces of wood or plywood (I'd go for solid hardwood strips instead of plywood!), which I guess will be good for the strength of the deck. Even if it may sound like a huge task to take on replacing the foam core, I don't think it is that big. There is also a time factor to consider. Drying it out will probably take ages (and you'll never know how long!), whilst replacing it is forseeable and the result is guaranteed. Thumbs up, Mads! You're crazy good at what you're doing!
For your platform, instead of lying the cross-struts on their side, stand them up (with some stout attachment to your footing pieces at the end so they don't fall over) like you see in a floor joist - less flex and you can span further as you move back. The screw/glue the deck on the bottom of the cross-strut, so you don't have to reach too far below where you'd be sitting - reaching below your floor level sux for any length of time.
Hi Mads I love watching your videos and look forward to seeing them each week. I think you should contact Andy Miller from boatworks today and you guys could bounce ideas off of each other and maybe he could offer some insight with you core replacement. He'd be the guy I'd go to for advice if I was undertaking a project like yours
Hey Mads, thanks for the inspiring videos and perspectives you're supplying on a weekly basis. Don Casey's Sailboat Maintenance manual seems to suggest replacing the core, perhaps you should look into his chapter on core problems and delamination. I guess this was a somewhat depressing find for you, but I'm quite certain that you if anyone are up to the job. It does not seem to be a very complicated job, but it's in need of grit. And grit you've got! Oodles of it :-). By the way I'm a fellow software developer repairing my own 80s sailboat up in Tromsoe Norway. Hope to see you here with Athena one day. Regards, Thomas.
several years ago I had to re core the bottom of my 30 ft racing boat. There was no blistering but the core was soaked. spent several months using heat. fans and all manner of recommended gimmicks. In the end we ended up removing it all. funny thing was that after this was done the leftover foam which was in a big pile in the back of the shed dried out. we discovered that the boat was cored with scored divynicell and when replacement was costed out it was more expensive than what the boat was worth.We ended up using balsa core instead.It was well saturated using west system epoxy and bonded to the outer skin in sections with vacumm bags .its difficult to do a large area at a time.It was then re skinned on the inside using biaxial cloth. Every thing was done with epoxy which is water proof. after 11 years i never had a problem again.Unfortunately its easy to get either foam or balsa in Canada or the US I can't help with Europe.But there are boat builder's in Sweden and England and their using it so any well stocked fiberglass supply house should be able to get it for you. I hope this is helpful.
Man DIY is one thing, but this might have been easier and cheaper building from scratch ! I like DIY too, but man ??? Love your videos and all your work, Good luck, because you need it !!!
I like your solution for working on the structurally compromised deck, but would spend a bit of time on the feet to make sure they firmly grasp to toe rail. And I disagree with your boat repair multi-tool cabinet scraper. Get a scraper bar (looks like a thin 20cm long, 5 cm wide crowbar) and then you'll really have the ultimate reno multi-tool. You can pry and scrape. It will even replace a slotted screw driver in a pinch.
If you built shoring (supports) from construction lumber under the deck in the cabin, it would brace the deck while you were recoring it. It would help you preserve the curve in the deck while supporting the center until you could finish glassing in your repair section. Build a timber beam that goes athwarships following the curvature of the overhead in the forward cabin and put a compression post from the beam to the cabin sole in the center.
I've had to do this on my J30. I'd do it in sections as well. Fortunately it was only 3 small areas and just filled with resin. Worked out really well.
Wow, you don't get phased by any size of job! You have my admiration! Things are going to get even more interesting. Thanks for posting these really great vids. One request if you happen to have a few hundred spare hours- is it possible you could group your vids as playlists under a particular topic e.g. insulating the hull; replacing the decking; rewiring the DC etc? I will make a swift retreat while you cuss your UA-cam fans...
In Good old boat, a guy replaced his deck supporting it from underneath with wood strapping. He was able to replace large areas of the deck at one time. I think you should support the deck, or at least the forward section from below. Doing it bit by bit from above would take longer and you risk falling or stepping on the deck using the "bridge" that you showed. Good luck!!
Great vid, Mads. Interesting, that strip of plywood down the center of the deck. Never saw construction like that before. Not sure I understand the builder's logic, though. IMO yeah...just replace the core. Anything will dry out if you *wait* long enough. But time is money, as they say.
I love your optimism, I would be feeling so disheartened at this point. I'm no boat builder, but if it were my boat I would be tempted to not recore, except for the wood strip. If the foam isn't delaminated from the fiberglass, I would drill holes into the underside of the deck from inside and use the vacuum pump to draw out as much moisture as possible. Once you fix all the ingress points on the deck and get the boat back into the sun the foam will finish drying and you can glass over the holes in the underside later. That is all dependent on 1) the foam still being adhered to the fiberglass, and 2) being able to access the underside of the deck. If the deck feels solid under foot I would be very tempted to not do a recore.
Hello Mads, your scaffolding to bridged the deck is a good idea but as you say sketchy, to make it less sketchy and easier to use can I suggest some improvements. If you fabricate two right angle pieces using the same wood you have balanced on the toe rail, say 1100mm long so you span at least four of the holes in the toe rail, or perhaps two shorter sections for each side to deal with the curve, then you can use bolts with wingnuts to fix them in place anywhere along the toe rail to support the pieces which are spanning the deck. The span pieces will be stronger if turned on their edge and if you make a frame with two spanning pieces port to starboard and three braces bow to stern that is 1000mm front to back and as wide as the widest point of the deck plus 500mm for a safe overhang, then sheet it with plywood, once it is in position screw the platform to the toe rail brackets suing some L brackets and you have a safe movable and pretty spiffy work platform. Regarding the core, just remove it and re-core it! Regards, Dave.
The current (June 2017?) issue of Good Old Boat has a good article on making your own water maker system at a fraction of the cost of a commercially available system. After listening to a couple of podcasts by cruisers who are tired of rationing and hauling water in jerry cans, I would think that project would be right up your alley.
Hi Mads, I see you try to remove moisture by heating. It works better when cooling the air around your boat and thereby de-humidify it. Warm air holds more water while cold air less. Drying out boats on the hard is usually done with a small de-humidifier, while the boat is in a plastic tent. Air around the boat flows over a coil which is connected to a direct expansion system (as in a air conditioner) and moisture condensates on the coil and is diverted to the outside. While the air becomes increasingly dryer, the moisture in your laminate/core material will come out. Actually the reverse path of when your boat is in the water.
Work one side of the deck first and then the other. I replaced my deck core with 1/2'' marine ply, underscored it with saw kerfs to facilitate the deck camber and set the pieces into wet chopped mat. Then I laminated over that. Finished off with fairing compound. Deck cores samples turned out very solid, dry. Do it in staggered sections to keep some stiffness in the deck and let you move around, as well as maintaining shape.
You are the most positive person on the planet.
so true. i would have cried 3 times
I was holding my breath in the hope that it would all stop..
Thank you so much :) Everything is easier when you're smiling ;) Also I love doing this kind of work so for me it's not that bad to come across something that needs to be fixed. I see there are a few "not-so-positive" comments in response to this video. I'll touch on that in next weekend's video.
About this point in time I think the universal tool of boat repair was a match...and gasoline (petrol) with some really good insurance on said boat. *sigh* Mads, come on to the US again, and head into the Freshwater area of Michigan! We have good food and good beer...and some of the best diving in the world for shipwrecks!
Yeah, that's what I thought, too! Just wonderful to see!!
Oh the glory of revisiting old episodes and listening to you thinking you want to save the curve
Ugh, all of these negative comments about wasting your money. DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!!!! You've made it clear millions of times (well maybe not quite that many) that you enjoy doing all of this work. What I love about this channel is that it isn't just about the end game, it is about the adventure getting there. Keep up the absolutely fantastic work and for what it is worth I would watch the videos each week even if they were twice as long. In fact, can you please make your videos twice as long?
what you think are negatives may be extremely wise...
My dad gave me this...
Imagine that you have a wonderful piece of candy in your pocket. You know it is there and it is in your mind that you want to enjoy that piece of candy. Well, finally the time comes and you go to open the piece of candy. While unwrapping the candy you accidentally drop it on the floor.
There are many individuals that would toss the candy away and just get another piece. Then there are others that will pick up that Warrior 38, knock off whatever bits of trash are on it, and consume it for what it is worth enjoying it just the same as had it not fallen on the ground.
And that was when I learned not to take pieces of candy from my dad.
Thanks for the video. Great stuff.
So is the moral of the story not to buy a warrior 38 from mads? :)
Interesting to read the comments of the obvious non-sailboat people (Including one masquerading as a marine engineer. Or maybe he is a real marine engineer who sits at a computer all day and doesn't know a damn thing about a real boat.) They believe that all of these common boat restoration problems are lethal catastrophes.Loving the project Mads.These nay-sayers need a dose of the real world where real men and women make plans and create the life they dream instead of sniveling about imperfection and giving up. I hear them now. "Oh the agony! The deck has a soft spot! Now I have to work instead of having a flight of angels deliver unto me a perfect yacht. Fetch me a cocktail and a xanax while i weep!" I hope they don't get a hangnail and have to be euthanized. I recommend for them a day sailing and enjoying the beauty of nature. Fair winds,James K
+James K Thanks, James! :) To be honest I feel the exact same way. The issues aboard Athena are not that freaking bad :) Yet one comment literally says that she is "almost unsalvageable". And a few others that Athena is a money pit. I'll touch briefly on those statements in the next video. Spoiler alert: I don't agree and not only that I'd do it all over again. Meaning I haven't regretted choosing Athena :)
So right James K! Athena has a perfect condition to work on. I could see nothing in the vids that could not be fixed. It's a lightly "used" one with a huge bunch of miles on her salty hump and I'm sure with a good soul. I would have choosen her too Mads.
Well said James. When the refit is complete Mads will know Athena inside and out. When things go astray, as they inevitably do on boats, Mads won't be one of those shiny new boat owners who's only option to fix the problem is their cellphone to call for external help. He'll be able to roll up his sleeves and correct the issue. I watch with interest the effort being put into future proofing against problems and ease of access and repair if they do - labeling all cabling, care taken where items are mounted for access in future etc. Mads constantly refers to seeking external expertise for advice and at times asks channels subscribers their opinions. Of course the risk with that is there is always a bunch of people who love to sit in their comfy armchairs and demonstrate the kind of negativity that frankly, dooms them to a life in their armchair. Mads will have the last laugh when they're still trolling the internet and he is on the hook in the Caribbean.
You are right on James. Most boats were built to take a beating for many many years. Yes things get damaged or age but here are very few things on a boat that cannot be repaired to be as good or better than it was when new, it just takes some time and money.
As an older boat owner and Engineer I am constantly working to find a balance between perfect (my engineering brain) and what will do the job. It can be tough but I have learned to not try to make everything perfect or I would never get anything done. If I can fix/ improve the boat to make things close to what they were when the boat was new then that's good enough. If its made it 30 years this way then it will be fine for as long as I need. Love the videos/ project, keep up the good work!
I love you dude !!! I just bought my first 38’ ketch and it needs every inch of my attention
Mads you are a brave man! I can't help but feel it would have been less effort to build a brand new boat from scratch! Amazing effort and she is going to be a beaut once you're finished with her!
I agree, very impressive that he can tackle such huge projects without flinching WHILE also documenting the process so well at the same time.
Greg Sargent the real work is just starting on this boat. Good news is although it's the hardest work, it's pretty much the start of the end and after the deck and bottom paint it can finally splash. But rigging after that 😅
true, but fortunately, there's still plenty of sanding left to do! right Mads?
depends on the person. if all you want to do is sail, then yeah, buy a sail-ready boat. If you want to build a boat, then build one, if you like DIY projects, buy a fixer-upper.
You'll find most boats of this age will have some rot in the core somewhere on the boat. It's pretty common due to the 1970's sealant breaking down. The trouble is you can't see it happening.
Hi Mads,
Once you opened the forward deck, you might as well construct a hatch for the chain locker below. This will ease things when your cruising life begins...
Greetings from Denmark,
Christian
Hi sailor, Try an Allen wrench in a drill to remove the core. Put the Allen tool long end in the drill. Spin the short end to whack the core loose. It Works well.
The pros build a walkway around the boat to enable them to work from the side and 2 to 3 feet towards the middle. Use scaffolding around the boat with boards across the scaffolds for the walkway. The bridge you made could be used for areas out of reach. This should allow all of the job to be done in one cycle.
I Enjoy your videos a lot. I wish you continued success.
i agree with the allen key idea. can also use a bent nail
He is right
Thomas D Harrell or a piece of coat hanger
Yes I've seen an allen wrench used and does a sweet job. SV Uma owner Dan used one for removing the wet core around his chain plates and then re-glassed. Sweet!
I was hanging out with my friend Eric this weekend in Austin and found out that you have been sailing with him aboard his Beneteau on Lake Travis. VERY COOL. You have a big following and I look forward to your episodes each week. Thanks.
Sorry to see your teak deck troubles...but most of us who have old grp boats, even without teak decks, have some deck work to do. I will watch with interest as you tackle this problem in your usual thorough, methodical, and well-researched way and will take notes for my similar project. Keep up the good work!
Mads, you sure look and sound calm in the face of a LOT of freaking work! But in the end, as you're beating into 6 foot seas, you can take comfort knowing the new deck will shed the water. Very enjoyable video!
I'm starting to think that you picked out the best/worse sail boat you could find just to have something to do. It's a good thing that you are the most talented DYI person I've seen so far. Keep up the great work.
Great video! I honestly believe you enjoy the repair work more than the sailing, and you are great at doing it! When you finally shove off for distant shores, you should bring all your tools and work your way around the globe fixing boats for other travelers (especially the tech side of things). Keep the videos coming and I'm glad you got this "project" boat for the rest of us to learn the DIY for sailboat refinishing.
17 minutes Mads!! I can live with it. Good luck with the deck.
Oh my God! I'm so glad, that I see this so late after you have recorded this! Otherwise I would think, your project is doomed to be failed. :-) I am eager to see, how you fixed this.
Hello Mads we are long time watches, me Luke and my brother Adam are currently sailing around Great Britain on our sabre 27 we left on the 1st of May and we have reached Plymouth so far we are really enjoying the trip and learning a lot would just like to say we sit down every Sunday evening and watch your video we have watched all your videos on your channel at least once some of them even twice, we really enjoy your videos and it's great entertainment, thanks for making them over and out haha
Hi Denmark! Methodical investigation and repairs give you an undecided advantage with results you can rely on. Athena will be more shipworthy than when you brought her home. She deserves you. Your project makes my own repairs seem simple by comparison. Each step takes you closer to you goal. Captivating stuff. The production quality is very good. Next chapter please! Canada
Dude, you inspire me! I feel slightly less overwhelmed about the soft spot on my port bulkhead/chainplate repair...after watching you take off your teak decking. Whatever gets thrown at you, you just deal with it...a true sailor. It's the adventure, the unknown, the mystery of the thing. You are my north star.
OMG !!! I had no idea that you would have to replace the core. I would have thought that with some heat and being in the shop it would dry out. Man, I have to give it to you, you have more patients that I would. Keep up the great work......stay strong. You are doing fantastic.
As always Mads, an entertaining and informative vlog post. Keep them coming and have a great week!
The more I watch the more I am impressed with your skills, and even more your stellar attitude. I've seen most of the re-core project, a good portion of the earlier stuff, and have been following everything the last few months so I know the "spoilers." But watching you dip your toe into this massive job and observing your reaction to the scope of the deck repair ballooning massively, I am nothing short of astonished at your can-do reaction and calmness accepting the mantle of this behemoth undertaking. Bravo! You deserve to win the internets,, and the prize for the best DIY sailing vlog ever.
You are a master at DIY. You can easily figure it out as you go, which in my estimation is worth a ton of "old knowledge" in specific maintenance tasks. Anyone can do the same thing over and over again. You adapt and learn, listening to experts and Internet know-it-alls alike to synthesize your own plan that works. Your end results speak for themselves. You very much deserve and have earned the fruits of your labor. Athena will be better than new eventually, and you'll be the master of her knowing every square centimeter, confident that every part will be top-notch once you are done with this refit and will be able to maintain her that way with little effort going forward.
I had no idea 💡 you could make such extensive repairs to a boat 🚣 of that type. Great 👍🏻 videos!
Hi Mads, your infinite energy provides so much motivation for working on my own boat... Thank you for that.
Short but sweet. Always enjoyable. Thanks Mads.
It's not the quantity, it's the quality that's important. This was a very interesting video regardless of the length. I have an old boat and I am pretty sure the deck is good, but now I have a sense of what the structure looks like if I need to make repairs.
By the way I am amazed you can contemplate replacing almost the entire deck without curling up in a fetal position and whimpering for a few hours. What a daunting task!
Wow, a whole lot of work ahead, looking forward to the continued series on deck replacement.
Can of diesel fuel and a match will cure the moisture problem, until the fire dept shows up, then you will have the moisture problem all over again. I see many many more videos in your future and I look forward to watching everyone of them. I hope you can complete this project in a timely order. I know that the satisfaction of completing this project will be enormous and your round head will grow three fold. Prepare to move up a couple of hat sizes. Fair winds my friend!
We follow every episode! Fascinating to watch your logical approach to all aspects of systems of systems: electrical, electronics, infrastructure, plumbing...keep up the great work! Vikings Rule!
Mads, in my opinion you need to replace the entire foam core, the reason being that after being waterlogged for years, the foam is no longer bonded to the bottom skin and even if you're able to dry the foam and lay a new outer skin on top of the old foam, it will not be a sound repair as the sandwich will not have the mechanical properties it should have. Think of how easy it was to remove that section of the top skin from the bow triangle. If it was a sound sandwich, it would have taken much more effort and you would have got a lot of foam still bonded to the glass.
Silly question number 234576. If you dried the foam then impregnated with resin and a vacuum bag - wouldn't that reattach the foam core to the base layer of glass?? Just wondering is all...
Robert von Kulig That could work, but you would be spending more in resin alone to infuse all that foam than if you just go and buy new foam which isn't expensive. Plus the deck would become very heavy with all the resin necessary to infuse the foam. If you could dry it. Considering the time it would take to dry the foam and the work required to infuse it, it is more time and cost effective to just remove the foam and replace it. In my supplier I can get a sheet of foam 1.2 meters wide by 2.5 meters long for €20. That is cheap enough to consider replacing all the foam in the foredeck and side decks.
Ah thanks that makes sense then - I didn't realise the core foam was so cheap! Just a thought though, if you did wouldn't the close cell foam not need that much resin? Still would replace now but just wondering....
Robert von Kulig When you do a sandwich construction like Mads' deck, one of the design goals is to make it as light as possible so you don't want the foam to get soaked in resin. Sometimes the two skins are vacuum bagged and when cured bonded to the core. This is always the case with honeycomb cores as they would just fill with resin. With foam, it will soak some resin, and you can get by laminating glass on top of that but you never want too much resin in the foam as it defeats the purpose of the sandwich construction.
Luis Martins h
Mads, I dealt with a similar problem on my good old boat (1964 Seafarer). Had large sections of rotten core on side decks. I made the mistake of removing too much of the core in one session in hopes of being able to repair large sections at once. Better to do it in smaller sections -I recommend not much larger than the area you already uncovered in this video - and definitely install a brace under the area being repaired to support the repair and maintain the camber of the deck. Maybe brace the hull sides as well to keep the hull from flexing in while you fix her up . Excellent work, excellent videos, excellent positive attitude! Thanks for providing inspiration to the rest of us!
Mads, I'm so impressed with your attitude and skills. Every heartbreaking new discovery you find you greet with a smile and a can-do approach. A better man than I. Cheers
Well Madz it may have been a short video but it certainly carried impact and has generated many comments and advice. I will throw some in for consideration too 😀:
1. Drying the core - try your vacuum mats?
2. Accessing deck for repair AND maintaining hull shape - erect a scaffold tower either side of the boat and fix the sides of the boat to the scaffold using horizontal scaffold poles attached to the towers and the toe rails (adjusted using opposing wedges) this will also allow you to erect a deck working platform.
3. I would also prop the deck from underneath with a 4x2 using pad pieces top and bottom, adjusted by opposing wedges and once tight dog the wedges to the lower pad.
You may also wish to consider knock up a temporary cabin top workbench with shelves underneath for storing tools. You are going to be spending a lot of time up there.
This is a great project and your resilience and good cheer is 'kinder' amazing (sorry for the pun).😉
Thank you for sharing Mads - great info. and a learning experience. We admire your work ethic and attention to detail.
Hey Mads, you deserve double likes just to put you back in shape with the suprise hurdles of this week. So sorry for all that, guess that upside is that we can all learn much more.
wow Mads that rotten core is a big problem. I'm always amazed how you face down these big bugbears with a shrug! Very interested to see where this goes....you have me hooked
Keep up the great work mate. Your videos are more entertaining and teaching than anything on tv. And you have very good attitude.
Attempting such scale of deck repair work on diy is really brave. To my perception that work may require more expertise than amateur diy. However, considering the great work done so far, I think you will succeed this one as well.
There is another important matter; we occupational health and safety professionals call it as "working at height". I strongly recommend you to consult a professional and maintain fall protection or prevention while working on the deck repair. If you fall from that height, you may hurt really bad. And I recommend you to use ear protection while using noisy power tools for your long term health.
Thank you very much for the quality of your diy video.
I must admit I was amazed that you still had a cabinet scrapper left after your previos episodes where they disapeared into the abiss below lol!!! Love your channel.
Hey Mads, just two quick comments regarding some of the negativity, especially the one from what I presume is a marine surveyor. If someone asked me if they should buy a wooden boat, I'd tell them to run a mile. I love wooden boats, but I for one don't have the time to maintain one. Nor do most people. But for those that do have the time and dedication, they are wonderful craft and a joy to behold, under full sail.
A marine surveyor has a responsibility to tell a prospective buyer that their dream boat has problems (ie, osmosis) and they should consider another one. Fine. Maybe the prospective buyers are weekend sailors and just want something which spends most of its life tied to a pontoon and don't want to have to strip back fibreglass. But that doesn't mean osmosis is a make-or-break decision for everyone, just for a lot of people. Well done for choosing to breathe life back into this boat.
Second, you've removed the teak deck and cut away the upper layer of fibreglass and found rot. Do people seriously believe that their own boats are in pristine condition, without also cutting in and having a look? I have heard of people drilling into the deck from below, to be greeted with a stream of water. They're condemning your boat because they've seen inside. Most fibreglass experts will tell you that crazed gelcoat can be symptomatic of much worse de-lamination in the fibreglass, and that just filling in the cracks only hides the problem. In other words, all boats have some or other issue. Keep it up and let the armchair boat owners dream of perfect GRP.
A very disappointing discovery but incredibly well handled, well done Mads, or so the vlog indicates. I actually have visions of 'tears off-screen' and a few 'despairing dang its' for good measure. I doubt Athena's condition is the exception. It looked to be a fantastic boat and clearly passed survey several month's ago, so I'd be very interested to hear what Trident Marine - the builders may have to say. I bet a few professional boat surveyors are following your disclosures. Your fantastic vlog will help hundreds, if not thousands of other boat owners to 'sus' out their boats. Thanks for sharing.
More power to you. The labor is just crazy. Better you than me.
One of my favorite UA-cam channels. Keep up the fine work. I look forward to your vids every week.
Your show is great. I like your approach to project management and systematic goals. I hope someday to make the same projects. In regards to the deck, remove it all and replace it.
I learn so much watching your channel. Thanks again.
I watched a lot of your videos love your modesty
Phew big job ahead! I have recently finished replacing rotten ply in the decks of my yacht. I would highly recommend getting a set of chisels from 6 - 25mm especially to get under those flanges you will have around the edge! Also if its possible, getting a high scaffolding set up so your deck is at about hip level would make it a lot easier, especially on the side-decks.
Keep positive and focused, like you do and "she'll be right mate!" :-)
Love you videos today! I help my breath when you opened up the bit of deck!
Keep smiling Mads! I took a look at "Replacing Deck Cores" on UA-cam (you may have heard about this channel!) and found many good and several bad examples of deck repair work but well worth a look. You may have already looked several hundred times already but it reminds one that we are not alone and many determined guys have battled through the same challenge. One thing I did not see was stepping or overlapping of replacement core. I have always stepped the joint to avoid creating a weak line anywhere. Good luck and my favourite channel by far.
Well Mads your idea of bridging the deck is perfect. This gives you a stable platform to work from. I suggest a more secure connection to the toe rail or better yet a scaffolding along the side of the boat.
Love it Mads. Thanks for taking the time to do a video, I can't wait for next week.
You are about to tackle one seriously major job! as in all your other projects I am sure you will do a bang up job! Good luck.
I would reach out to Boatworks today on UA-cam, he does this stuff for a living and has a nice channel. Good luck and keep your positive attitude.
Brian Totten where is the boatworks today guy When you need him???
Brian Totten I said the same thing
mads even your so called "light " videos are better then anything else on youtube. Good luck in the next couple weeks !
Mads I love your videos and wish you the best. Looks like a lot of work to come, but you like to see things done right. I know the deck to come will be even better.
To take up the missing 2:38 seconds, you could show footage of your dog sleeping.
I'm guessing this is like Goudis Sagrada Família, will it ever be finished? You amaze me with your calmness, I would have lost my mind by now. Having said that this is obviously now a way of life and it'll look great when it's done. 10+ points for keeping calm. I think there's a lesson here for us all who face difficulties.
Mads, don't let the negative comments below put you off particularly from the pros. Their perspective is on of cost to repair and since your labour is free is makes the repair cheap for you.
Remember that the function of the core is just keep the upper and lower skins apart. Provided it is still bonded to both it doesn't really matter if the foam is wet. Replace the wood (and foam core if you must) in small overlapping sections re-skinning as you go. Then a skin of bi directional over the whole deck. Fair the lot at the end.
Oh and don't worry too much about a bit of osmosis - the harbors aren't full of sunken yachts that died from fatal blisters disease. In 100,000 years the only thing left of our civilization will FRP boat hulls .
And I would buy a used boat from you.
The concern isn't sinking in the harbor... it is being worthy of the sea.
Yes, I was being facetious. My point is that FRP boats don't sink because of hull osmosis.
Wow, I didn't realise your earlier work was so extensive!
Just for credibility sake. I am not a marine engineer. I am a live-aboard sailor/cruiser who has restored five boats from a Dyer Midget to a Brewer 42 Ketch.I ENJOY DOING all my own work from fiberglass to mechanical to electrical and carpentry.I am still learning. Including from your videos. Thank you! I believe you are doing a fine job on a fine boat which will weather a strong blow and see many a mile beneath her keel before she is done sailing the seas.I hope to meet you someday afloat and share stories (mostly true) and rum. Just look for the blue Allied Princess S/V Sea Dragon out of Oriental,NC
Well, you are going to do it. Good on you! Even if you wanted to dry out the core you would have to remove the top layer anyway. At this stage taking out the foam core is the way to go. This boat is going to be a beauty when you are done. 👍
Hi Mads, while I love your videos your costing me a fortune. Every time you recommend something to keep the Angry Pixies at bay my husband has to buy it. In fairness you recommend some good stuff so I don't mind putting good stuff on our boat. We always look forward to your videos and wouldn't mind if they were longer. Cheers Anne
Mads, maybe you should use straps across the deck from toe rail to toe rail to keep the shape of the boat. Also possibly get some long pipes or 4x4s to use as supports from the ground up to deck height to support your make shift scaffolding to sit on and work. I think the best is to keep your weight entirely off the deck while your removing the core. Just suggestions. I find your videos so very fascinating. thank you for sharing.
My opinion, if you can afford it.
Start fresh with new core. Know there is nothing hiding under your feet waiting to catch you out.
(collapse, and make you want to tear your ears off - or pull your hair out - whatever)
Of course, this from someone who, currently, finds it an achievement to get out of bed when I don't need to work.
Kudos Mads. really enjoy your videos.
Fantastic work. That's gonna be one awesome boat when it's done 😊
I would leave the foam. Let it dry a good percentage. Repair thoroughly around deck fitting and hardware. Possibly attach 1-2" strips of marine plywood across the deck onto the lower fiberglass in grooves after removing some foam in a strategic grid pattern.Then Replace the top deck to this grid and middle area where new core is necessary. It will be good for another 30 years or more. Of course I don't know anything about boats, except what I watch on UA-cam. Boat works today I'm sure Andy will chime in and tell you your best options. But you are the type to do it all good and "spiffy". I'm thinking functionality Will she be strong and seaworthy with some moister in the foam core? If so I'm move on the the hull and shortcut the deck. Love your channel look forward to it every Sunday!
No!
Your little platform is a good idea... Like Bryant i think you should turn the timber so it flexes less. Cut a slot in the edge timbers it rests on to fit over the metal rail thingy so that timber won't slip. I §would defo go for replacing all that core. Boatwoks today has some helpful videos about that sort of thing. life happened i'm cool with the shorter vid... just blessed to watch your stuff.
Bob Mullins the slots are what I would have suggested.
Hey mads, this is the first time I saw one of your videos with just 5 comments, so I just had to comment! I love you videos and watch faithfully! Great work, thanks for sharing!!!
Would love to see a where are we now recap of what's been done to the boat and what's left to do. Something similar to the boat tour you did in Scotland right when you where purchasing Athena. Keep up the great work
Mads- I think the Gougeon Brothers have a technique for drying out a foam core where you drill a bunch of holes into the core and then basically vacuum the water out of the core, then fill the holes and add on a layer or two of glass on top. Since you're getting that fancy dancy vacuum soon I'd give it a shot. Either way, I'd call them, if you haven't already, cause they're kinda the gurus of epoxy repairs ( in my opinion) Good luck and thanks for the positive videos
Another great video, I can't wait to see the progress on the deck.
Heat up the boat from the inside for a week and let it evaporate out. Great videos! Thank you.
Great video. You are courageous. But keep it up because you have encouraged me.
You just won my subscription and my loyalty in watching all the freaking add !!! Congrats and keep the good work !
You should consider renaming your boat, "Legend" because you are fast becoming one on UA-cam and most certainly will be one by the time you launch.
I'm like many who eagerly await your weekly uploads. The deck work will be most informative.
Regarding your remark about cheap chisels; I have a nice set of 3 Craftsman chisels that I use for better woodworking projects; I keep them very sharp and stow them away in their little case. Then I have an old Fuller chisel with a plastic handle that I found on a jobsite years ago. I don't keep it very sharp and just toss it in my toolbox when I'm done with it. But for jobs like that wet plywood core, a chisel that you can use and abuse is nice to have. Thanks for another interesting video.
Perhaps you could use a wire wheel on an angle grinder to get the rotten wood out from under the lip?
Mads, I really want to cry for you. You are one tough dude! I now know where you hair went! you pulled it out!
Hi, I once replaced a small section on my deck where the genoa car ran. I used epoxy and foam from SP System in Schleswig. They were very helpful and great experts. Greetings from Hamburg. Joachim
Only now I realized the magnitude of the project that will be recoring the deck... (at least what I understood it means) Can't wait to watch it!
Filipe Santos walking talking example of get a surveyor out before you buy a boat
I love your videos. You may have purchased the wrong boat...
Hey Buddy! fellow friend from the north here (Stockholm).
i*m as well in the middle of a refit and i thought i would recommend a tool that i have found extremely useful, Tormek t7.
i know its an expensive kit, but so is working with dull tools, i have a sett of crappy chisels, and a set of good ones,
but they are all literally razor sharp, and that makes all the difference when working, + its super fast to resharpen so i never need to buy new tools for the fresh and sharpness :)
Regarding the flimsy, no-core deck, building the suspended platform seems like a great idea! :)
Sounds like a good idea. That way you (Mads) can fill in full length pieces of wood or plywood (I'd go for solid hardwood strips instead of plywood!), which I guess will be good for the strength of the deck.
Even if it may sound like a huge task to take on replacing the foam core, I don't think it is that big. There is also a time factor to consider. Drying it out will probably take ages (and you'll never know how long!), whilst replacing it is forseeable and the result is guaranteed. Thumbs up, Mads! You're crazy good at what you're doing!
For your platform, instead of lying the cross-struts on their side, stand them up (with some stout attachment to your footing pieces at the end so they don't fall over) like you see in a floor joist - less flex and you can span further as you move back. The screw/glue the deck on the bottom of the cross-strut, so you don't have to reach too far below where you'd be sitting - reaching below your floor level sux for any length of time.
by deck, I mean the platform deck
Hi Mads I love watching your videos and look forward to seeing them each week. I think you should contact Andy Miller from boatworks today and you guys could bounce ideas off of each other and maybe he could offer some insight with you core replacement. He'd be the guy I'd go to for advice if I was undertaking a project like yours
Hey Mads, thanks for the inspiring videos and perspectives you're supplying on a weekly basis. Don Casey's Sailboat Maintenance manual seems to suggest replacing the core, perhaps you should look into his chapter on core problems and delamination. I guess this was a somewhat depressing find for you, but I'm quite certain that you if anyone are up to the job. It does not seem to be a very complicated job, but it's in need of grit. And grit you've got! Oodles of it :-). By the way I'm a fellow software developer repairing my own 80s sailboat up in Tromsoe Norway. Hope to see you here with Athena one day. Regards, Thomas.
several years ago I had to re core the bottom of my 30 ft racing boat. There was no blistering but the core was soaked. spent several months using heat. fans and all manner of recommended gimmicks. In the end we ended up removing it all. funny thing was that after this was done the leftover foam which was in a big pile in the back of the shed dried out. we discovered that the boat was cored with scored divynicell and when replacement was costed out it was more expensive than what the boat was worth.We ended up using balsa core instead.It was well saturated using west system epoxy and bonded to the outer skin in sections with vacumm bags .its difficult to do a large area at a time.It was then re skinned on the inside using biaxial cloth. Every thing was done with epoxy which is water proof. after 11 years i never had a problem again.Unfortunately its easy to get either foam or balsa in Canada or the US I can't help with Europe.But there are boat builder's in Sweden and England and their using it so any well stocked fiberglass supply house should be able to get it for you. I hope this is helpful.
Man DIY is one thing, but this might have been easier and cheaper building from scratch ! I like DIY too, but man ??? Love your videos and all your work, Good luck, because you need it !!!
I like your solution for working on the structurally compromised deck, but would spend a bit of time on the feet to make sure they firmly grasp to toe rail. And I disagree with your boat repair multi-tool cabinet scraper. Get a scraper bar (looks like a thin 20cm long, 5 cm wide crowbar) and then you'll really have the ultimate reno multi-tool. You can pry and scrape. It will even replace a slotted screw driver in a pinch.
If you built shoring (supports) from construction lumber under the deck in the cabin, it would brace the deck while you were recoring it. It would help you preserve the curve in the deck while supporting the center until you could finish glassing in your repair section. Build a timber beam that goes athwarships following the curvature of the overhead in the forward cabin and put a compression post from the beam to the cabin sole in the center.
I've had to do this on my J30. I'd do it in sections as well. Fortunately it was only 3 small areas and just filled with resin. Worked out really well.
I cannot even watch this whole video, it makes me feel sad. Good luck dude.
Wow, you don't get phased by any size of job! You have my admiration! Things are going to get even more interesting. Thanks for posting these really great vids. One request if you happen to have a few hundred spare hours- is it possible you could group your vids as playlists under a particular topic e.g. insulating the hull; replacing the decking; rewiring the DC etc? I will make a swift retreat while you cuss your UA-cam fans...
In Good old boat, a guy replaced his deck supporting it from underneath with wood strapping. He was able to replace large areas of the deck at one time. I think you should support the deck, or at least the forward section from below. Doing it bit by bit from above would take longer and you risk falling or stepping on the deck using the "bridge" that you showed. Good luck!!
Great vid, Mads. Interesting, that strip of plywood down the center of the deck. Never saw construction like that before. Not sure I understand the builder's logic, though.
IMO yeah...just replace the core. Anything will dry out if you *wait* long enough. But time is money, as they say.
You know it's going to bother you for years if you don't replace the core.
I love your optimism, I would be feeling so disheartened at this point. I'm no boat builder, but if it were my boat I would be tempted to not recore, except for the wood strip. If the foam isn't delaminated from the fiberglass, I would drill holes into the underside of the deck from inside and use the vacuum pump to draw out as much moisture as possible. Once you fix all the ingress points on the deck and get the boat back into the sun the foam will finish drying and you can glass over the holes in the underside later. That is all dependent on 1) the foam still being adhered to the fiberglass, and 2) being able to access the underside of the deck. If the deck feels solid under foot I would be very tempted to not do a recore.
Hello Mads, your scaffolding to bridged the deck is a good idea but as you say sketchy, to make it less sketchy and easier to use can I suggest some improvements.
If you fabricate two right angle pieces using the same wood you have balanced on the toe rail, say 1100mm long so you span at least four of the holes in the toe rail, or perhaps two shorter sections for each side to deal with the curve, then you can use bolts with wingnuts to fix them in place anywhere along the toe rail to support the pieces which are spanning the deck.
The span pieces will be stronger if turned on their edge and if you make a frame with two spanning pieces port to starboard and three braces bow to stern that is 1000mm front to back and as wide as the widest point of the deck plus 500mm for a safe overhang, then sheet it with plywood, once it is in position screw the platform to the toe rail brackets suing some L brackets and you have a safe movable and pretty spiffy work platform.
Regarding the core, just remove it and re-core it!
Regards, Dave.
have a great week Mads, always look on the bright side of life.. - Monty Python.
;) Cheers from PEI Canada, Bryan
The current (June 2017?) issue of Good Old Boat has a good article on making your own water maker system at a fraction of the cost of a commercially available system. After listening to a couple of podcasts by cruisers who are tired of rationing and hauling water in jerry cans, I would think that project would be right up your alley.
Hi Mads, I see you try to remove moisture by heating. It works better when cooling the air around your boat and thereby de-humidify it. Warm air holds more water while cold air less. Drying out boats on the hard is usually done with a small de-humidifier, while the boat is in a plastic tent. Air around the boat flows over a coil which is connected to a direct expansion system (as in a air conditioner) and moisture condensates on the coil and is diverted to the outside. While the air becomes increasingly dryer, the moisture in your laminate/core material will come out. Actually the reverse path of when your boat is in the water.
being positive is great!! love this channel
Work one side of the deck first and then the other. I replaced my deck core with 1/2'' marine ply, underscored it with saw kerfs to facilitate the deck camber and set the pieces into wet chopped mat. Then I laminated over that. Finished off with fairing compound. Deck cores samples turned out very solid, dry. Do it in staggered sections to keep some stiffness in the deck and let you move around, as well as maintaining shape.