Mt 34 sedan - very soft cockpit sole

[Bluewater2]

My newly acquired 1984 Sedan has extensive soft cockpit sole areas - essentially the whole deck each side of the lazarette hatch. Obviously the deck fittings have been leaking for years and the core must be mush. Has anyone had this issue and how did you deal with it? I’m familiar with the usual process of lifting the top skin and clearing out/drying/epoxied ply/glass/re-lay he skin, but only in a small area on a previous boat. But these are much larger areas........ grateful for any advice

 

[boomerang]

We recored our boat. I estimated around $5500 for the repairs ,which was pretty close. Thank goodness my wife rolled up her sleeves and helped with a majority of the labor but when it came to the decks, the summer was over & she had to go back to school teaching so my free labor was gone. I was fortunate to source experienced help from a friend/local boat builder so we were able to get the job done but if I couldn't do what I do, we would have more in the boat (materials plus labor) than it's worth. By far.

 

[DavidM]

This is a very common problem with older MS 34s and trawlers of its era. The only solution is to remove the top skin of fiberglass, dig out the mushy core, replace with balsa, nidacore, …. and reglass.

Lots of descriptions and pictures of these projects on this site if you search.

David

 

[AmericanVagrant]

This guy did a great series on the work:

 

[Comodave]

Not too difficult technically but it can be hard physical work. As said Andy at Boatworks Today has some excellent videos on core replacement and general fiberglass work. You can join Patreon and support his work and also get personalized one on one consulting from him for a very small fee. No affiliation, just a happy user of his site.

 

[Bluewater2]

Thanks Guys. I’ve been watching Boatworks Today for a while now. Excellent videos.
I’m going to have to wait until next winter to do the work as the summer rains and storms will be here soon and I don’t want to be rushed on such a large job.