Deck moisture

[Shenanigans77]

I got an itch to change my kodiak anchor to a mirrored polish stainless one. I have to change the bow roller and am now glad i got into this project. The old roller had ZERO sealant on it, the bolts either. It was all wet on the underside of the deck and what I perceived was soft. I had the marina fiberglass guy come check it out and he said it was a little wet (checked with a moisture meter) but not cored there so just let it dry out and dont worry about it. Im inside heated so i will let it sit open all winter and reseal with 4200 in the spring. Would you guys agree with his assessment being as its solid fiberglass at the bow there?
Is it indeed solid and not cored at that part of the deck?

 

[Riptide III]

Weird. Looks like a wood core to me.

 

[Golfman25]

Tap it with a hammer to ensure there is not void. If it is in fact not cored, you're good to go.

 

[Shenanigans77]

Tap it with a hammer to ensure there is not void. If it is in fact not cored, you're good to go.

I did do that today when i was there and it doesnt sound “hollow”. Same noise as if tapping the side of the hull. Glass guy said the mushiness i was feeling was probably mold/algae from it being wet. Mechanically there is nothing on the boat I cant or havent fixed. Fiberglass issues scare the bejeezus out of me.

 

[Strecker25]

I did do that today when i was there and it doesnt sound “hollow”. Same noise as if tapping the side of the hull. Glass guy said the mushiness i was feeling was probably mold/algae from it being wet. Mechanically there is nothing on the boat I cant or havent fixed. Fiberglass issues scare the bejeezus out of me.

dont let it scare you, the hardest part of that repair, if you had to fix it, would be access. That’s assuming you’d cut and reglass from inside.

Drill a couple small holes from inside and catch the shavings. If they’re wet and stink, it’s wood and likely rotten. If it’s hard to drill into and just glass then your guy is right and it’s no cored. Be careful not to drill through the deck skin

 

[Shenanigans77]

So i believe the wood coring starts right there. Either way i got lucky and its dry and solid. It was just mushy mold i was feeling. Drilled the holes out from 1/4 to 5/16 and all the shavings were dry. Since im up here ive decided to rebed everything. Pulled the windlass today. Should this be sealed all the way around or left open at the bottom? You can see the dirt trail where its not sealed

 

[Shenanigans77]

Anchor bling is what started this whole mess..

 

[Strecker25]

View attachment 95315 So i believe the wood coring starts right there. Either way i got lucky and its dry and solid. It was just mushy mold i was feeling. Drilled the holes out from 1/4 to 5/16 and all the shavings were dry. Since im up here ive decided to rebed everything. Pulled the windlass today. Should this be sealed all the way around or left open at the bottom? You can see the dirt trail where its not sealed

Since the anchor locker is self draining it should be fine sealed or unsealed, although I'd probably opt to seal it so rain water isn't constantly streaming out the drains on the side of the hull and leaving a mess. The most important part is that those holes for the chain and motor are end sealed with epoxy. Our old boat had the coring exposed there so the chain would drip water all over the edge on retrieval

 

[rumrunner]

You may want to check with the manufacturer of your Windlass. I know mine used a seal between the windlass and the deck.

 

[Shenanigans77]

And this project is officially complete....