[C320-list] cabin top leak/rotted balsa core

wdoc1 at aol.com wdoc1 at aol.com
Sat Feb 4 04:33:04 PST 2023


Shipmates-
I re-bedded the plate for the starboard mainsheet turning block mid-season last summer after identifying that as the source of a recurring leak. 
While the boat is on the hard/shrink-wrapped, I've begun to open the area up and clean out the underlying balsa core which appears to have rotted as evidenced by a subtle 3 inch area of depression of the deck. 
I used a hole saw to create 1" openings in the headliner and topside fiberglass, then used a bent screwdriver to remove wet balsa from the surrounding ~4 inch diameter area, hoping it will dry out over the rest of the winter.
An extensive on-line search yielded many different approaches, ranging from 'use a moisture meter and remove the entire section of glass and remove every bit of wet core' to 'drill a few holes and inject expanding foam and epoxy.' 
I've decided to try using a combination of heat from inside the cabin and a vacuum pump sealed to the topside. Assuming this will extract enough moisture I plan to then fill the void with thickened epoxy. However, this will not correct the subtle 3" diameter depression of the topside deck/non-skid, and I wonder if it's possible to heat this, then push it back up from below?
Anyone else been through this? All ideas/suggestions are welcome.  
Thank you in advance!
Bill McConnell2000 C320 DIVERSION


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