Grady white 228g soft spot

[Jacktrop99]

I have a 1990 Grady white 228g and at some point the previous owner put a single 80 gallon tank in it, the boat originally came with two tanks, on the floor in the middle of the back of the boat there is a huge hatch I think it was for the other fuel tank but nothing is in it now and the hatch that goes over it has a soft spot the whole center part of the hatch is a soft spot, and I was wondering if anybody else has had this problem or what to do with it.

 

[seasick]

Most likely its is rotten underneath assuming that it wasn't always soft. If the top is in good shape, the fix is to remove the panel, recore and glass.

 

[Fishtales]

If you pull it up, you will find the core is several square pieces of wood (almost like parquet flooring). There is a lot of end grain points for water to get in or for flexing over time. As Seasick indicated, usually the top glass section is ok and the core separates from it. If so, the repair is fairly easy. Strip out all the wood core and fab a new piece to glass in. There are some good pics of what others have done in threads in the forum. You'll have to search. Keep the new core away from hatches, deckplates etc by 1/2" or so and glass well so you don't get water in the new core.

 

[handinpalm]

I had the same problem with a 1984 228 gas tank floor hatch that I had. I removed the hatch and drilled ~1.5" holes in the bottom side with a saw blade hole saw, after removing the center drill, so you do not drill all the way through the panel. I went to Fiberglass Coatings Store and bought Rot Stop epoxy. Tape any cracks or holes on top side of hatch, because this epoxy is very viscous and can leak out. Turn the hatch upside down and pour the epoxy into all the holes. It will absorb into the wood like a sponge, even wet rotted wood. Wait a day for it set up, then do it again. Made the hatch on the floor rock solid from then on. It was a pretty easy fix, and was very happy with results. This is good stuff! Here is the link.

6 Tips on FGCI Rot Stop Epoxy

Here at FGCI, we have many different kinds of epoxy. Today, we are going to look at a different one that is very popular; Rot Stop! Rot Stop is a 2-part epoxy that is 1:1 ratio and is…

blog-fgci.com

 

[DennisG01]

While having rot "anywhere" stinks, the good thing is that it is a relatively quick and simple repair to replace the core. Personally, I wouldn't mess with drilling holes and such since replacing the entire core is so easy - and doing it properly will mean, easily, a few more decades of use... at least.

 

[Fishtales]

I like the complete replacement of the core as well. Can get a sheet of marine plywood, cut out hatches and access points and glass into the top piece.

 

[leeccoll]

That's what I did on both of my 228 hatches a few years back. Marine grade plywood cut up into sections then glassed over. Don't forget to seal the screws, that is the culprit for water getting into the wood.
3/4" was in the center of my pic, and 1/2" on the perimeter so it sits flush with the rest of the deck. There are many other ways to attack this as well, but I followed Grady Customer Service advice on the fix.

 

[seasick]

I like the complete replacement of the core as well. Can get a sheet of marine plywood, cut out hatches and access points and glass into the top piece.

Just make sure you use marine plywood and not pressure treated.
There are composites that also work very well

 

[Fishtales]

yea too bad the factory didn't use composites earlier. the greenwood xl is a cluster to glass over.

 

[HTHM]

That's what I did on both of my 228 hatches a few years back. Marine grade plywood cut up into sections then glassed over. Don't forget to seal the screws, that is the culprit for water getting into the wood.
3/4" was in the center of my pic, and 1/2" on the perimeter so it sits flush with the rest of the deck. There are many other ways to attack this as well, but I followed Grady Customer Service advice on the fix.

What is the reasoning behind using sections of plywood, rather than one complete piece? Seems counter-intuitive to me.

 

[leeccoll]

What is the reasoning behind using sections of plywood, rather than one complete piece? Seems counter-intuitive to me.

One single piece is far more likely to warp over time. Small pieces will not. Also, you would be limiting yourself to 1/2" ply in that case. I liked using the 3/4" in the center section for more rigidity (is that really a word LOL).

 

[Blaugrana]

Just wondering....when you take the hatch off, do you easily see that the underside are all those squares? I opened up mine and didn’t see any of that, just glassed up....

 

[DennisG01]

Just wondering....when you take the hatch off, do you easily see that the underside are all those squares? I opened up mine and didn’t see any of that, just glassed up....

No. The wood (or whatever someone chooses to use) is the "core", sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass. The core, itself, is not the structure. Instead, it's job is to separate the two layers of glass. This separation is what gives the hatch it's strength. For example, I re-cored a hatch with that purple-ish foam board insulation from HD. By no means is that stuff structural - but that hatch is as solid as anything else.

 

[Blaugrana]

Thanks....Would the soft spot be felt from the top and bottom if the core is compromised?

Just trying to understand. I had mine off and inspected it. Thought it was ok.

 

[HTHM]

No. The wood (or whatever someone chooses to use) is the "core", sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass. The core, itself, is not the structure. Instead, it's job is to separate the two layers of glass. This separation is what gives the hatch it's strength. For example, I re-cored a hatch with that purple-ish foam board insulation from HD. By no means is that stuff structural - but that hatch is as solid as anything else.

Same idea as a torsion box.

 

[seasick]

In many cases, you have to use cut pieces of plywood because the surface is not really flat. Even if close to flat, any variation may cause the coring to not make full contact and create a void.
When balsa is used as coring, it is alwats cut so that the end grain is exposed on the bottom and the top. That is done to help the resins get wicked into the pores

 

[glacierbaze]

I was thinking of ways to do this on my Tournament 22, then I bought the Seafarer, and have never gotten around to doing anything to it. I was thinking about using one piece of plywood, if it was flat, and good contact. If not, maybe cut the piece to size, them cut it into blocks on the table saw, without going quite all the way through, saturate it with resin, then glass it cut side-to-glass with two part. In case you can't tell, I have never worked with fiberglass, and really don't want to start, at 72.
After reading about the Rot Stop in post #4, I am thinking make saw cuts in the existing core, without removing it from the hatch, instead of drilling big holes, do the RS treatment, and one layer of fabric, if necessary.

Lee, is there fabric on top of yours, or did you just use saturated wood blocks?
If I wanted to use one piece of 3/4, couldn't I just rabbet it down around the edge, to 1/2 inch, or whatever was flush?

 

[seasick]

It's the glass layers that make the panel very stiff. The trick to getting the layers to adhere is to rough sand (60 or 80 grit) the underside of the existing panel making sure that it is sanded to the fiberglass (all coring removed.
The plywood is then coated with resin, then covered with glass cloth, and while still 'wet' a coat of resin is applied to the underside of the lid and the new coring is applied to it. If you skip the layer or two of glass cloth between the plywood and the panel, there is a good chance that the bond won't be good. It's the fiberglass cloth that 'fill' in the small gaps between the coring and the panel. After that sets up, more cloth and resin is applied to the top of the new coring. Yes it's a lot of messy work but done well, it will be very strong and hold up well.

 

[leeccoll]

I was thinking of ways to do this on my Tournament 22, then I bought the Seafarer, and have never gotten around to doing anything to it. I was thinking about using one piece of plywood, if it was flat, and good contact. If not, maybe cut the piece to size, them cut it into blocks on the table saw, without going quite all the way through, saturate it with resin, then glass it cut side-to-glass with two part. In case you can't tell, I have never worked with fiberglass, and really don't want to start, at 72.
After reading about the Rot Stop in post #4, I am thinking make saw cuts in the existing core, without removing it from the hatch, instead of drilling big holes, do the RS treatment, and one layer of fabric, if necessary.

Lee, is there fabric on top of yours, or did you just use saturated wood blocks?
If I wanted to use one piece of 3/4, couldn't I just rabbet it down around the edge, to 1/2 inch, or whatever was flush?

Fabric whetted down on top of the plywood. Picked it up at my local West Marine.

Yes, you can router down to 1/2" then it will be flush.

It is really nice having a solid deck under your feet!!

Good luck with it , not a hard project

 

[Willy-C]

I did same as Leeccoll, one layer of cloth under wood, two over. Put a 45 on all edges to be filled with epoxy/cabosil mixture so all screws would not be going thru wood


Rock solid