Digging Deeper
Post written by Marissa,The danger with rotten wood is that it often extends further than you think. The right course of action is always to remove it and replace it.
Last year, we discovered that the soft wood in the barrier between the v-berth and anchor locker had resulted in visible damage on the inside. I will not abide rotten wood on my boat, so we decided to tackle this project before the next winter season.
As far as we could tell, the damage hasn’t spread. However, the screws holding the board on were stainless steel, which made them a pain to remove. We bought a cobalt screw extractor set, which enabled us to finally remove the screws. However, the board still wouldn’t budge. Whoever installed it used 5200 (a high-strength sealant) sandwiched between an inch and a half of wood on all sides.
We ended up cutting out the barrier, by drilling holes and playing connect-the-dots with a jigsaw. With the inside of the barrier removed, we used a handsaw, chisel, and hammer to remove the rest of the plywood.
As we were doing this, we discovered that the damage is a bit more extensive than we’d like (more pictures). Water has penetrated the wood on a corner of the shelf, and the starboard side of the bulkhead is soft. It looks like we’ll need to replace the entire forward bulkhead.
Our plan is to remove and replace this bulkhead with new exterior plywood. We’ll cut back the lip so that it’s flush with the bulkhead, dig out any remaining rotten wood in the shelf, dry it as best we can, and then fill it with thickened epoxy. Finally, we’ll glass the bulkhead into place, turning the anchor locker into a giant, waterproof, fiberglass box.
As with most boat projects, this one is turning into a bigger deal than we’d first hoped, but I feel confident in our ability to repair this issue. Plus, we’ve been taking video footage of our work, so once it’s done I can produce a video showcasing our work.
Until next time, keep sailing! ⛵