Ideas

[thefishingfreak]

You can see the voids in here just paths for water to flow.

the black wood is allready rotted the red wood is soaked!

all cleaned up and ready for next step


was thinking why not just fill It with glass matt and epoxy? How about starboard in there or something similar I'm not going to be relying on the wood or whatever else that's in there for anything more than a filler. The wood obviously isn't structural
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[beamie]

Freak,

Have always been impressed at the speed that you work, opened up and cleaned off and ready for step 2.

The plywood or whatever a boat company uses as a filler in situations like this, if they use allot of glass under and over, is really used just as a form when they are laying up the deck. The form creates a fiberglass box which when hard makes a stiff structural member. So even though no one likes the fact that the wood is soaked and rotting this is not always a hugh concern. The obvious problem is that they don't think or no at the time, unless they are really ahead of the game, where all the fittings and stanchions are going. Those places best left solid glass or another material that won't compress and soak water.

You could use foam as a form between stanchions and make the stanchion areas solid glass matt.

On lighter built boats, and yours seems to be pretty heavy in that area, that filler is more stuctural stiffness.

[Notfishinenuf]

I think you should stay away from the wood and go with some type of composite core for a filler. I would also put in the plates as you described earlier under that core.Then I would drill a hole in the side and thru bolt the rail on as you originally thought. The hole only has to be big enough to fit a box wrench. Duct tape on the bottom of the wrench, stick the nut in the wrench and put it together. Glass over the holes and finish it up. It will out last your time with it.

Vic