Soft spot

[Tunafied]

Have a 1988 342 on the fly bridge i have a soft spot by the captians chair. No cracks in the fiberglass however. How can i resolve this issue without cuting the deck off? I have heard of some kind of wet wood material that you simply drill a few hole and pour it in? does anyone have ideas?:dunno:

Thanks in advance

[Martuni]

Marine-Tex is a good filler but expensive. You can also use fiberglass resin as a lower cost alternative.

[Tunafied]

do you know if i need to somehow dry the wood inside first? The resin i dont think will react with the wet wod correctly? Marine -tex im going to goggle it now thanks

[irishrogue]

i think you need to dry the wood out completely.....open the area up and use low heat, air.....perhaps drill holes on the underside to allow it to drain.

[Rusty]

I believe there are no easy fixes!!Cut out; reinforce and re-glass damage areas is the way to go. You may try other fixes and the end result is poor and dollars wasted.
I went through my 99 - 32 Open last fall with numerous fiberglass fixes. The secret is an experienced workman. He can get the gel coat to match existing. I cannot tell re-works from existing.
Bottom line is dollars and looks!!
Good Luck
Rusty
Lafayette, La.

[Keepin' It Reel]

The best advice is do it right the first time, the stuff you inject is suppose to be good, and I think it dries and repairs all in 1. I had some softness on my bridge, seems when the helm chairs were installed way back when, there wasn't enough silicone used and water seeped in where it shouldn't have. I had a fiberglass guy do the work, he cut the floor up in 3 pieces, got out all the wet wood, put in all new wood with resin, fiberglass and all that good stuff, put the floor back and you can't see where he cut and repaired, the floor is super solid, but all this did not come without a hefty repair bill......$3000.00 was the tab...

[chick]

The correct way to repair it is as described above, remove and replace the affected area. The quick fix if the above is not in the cards is a product called Git-rot. It's been around a long time and can dry out some pretty bad spots. West Marine sells it. http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/16610-git-rot-penetrating-epoxy-32-oz-kit.html.
Chick

[Kevin&Cyndi]

Check this site out....http://www.rotdoctor.com/glass/GLrotrepair.html.
It talks about your situation and possible fixes. A buddy of mine used it and it works great
Gonna try it myself

[Gary G]

Check this site out....http://www.rotdoctor.com/glass/GLrotrepair.html.
It talks about your situation and possible fixes. A buddy of mine used it and it works great
Gonna try it myself

This stuff is supposed to be a pretty reliable product. I have seen a couple of vessels where it was used, and it seemed to work well. I believe that it works best on small repairs. Good Luck.
Gary

[Tunafied]

Thanks guys for the imput. Im heading to the annapolis boat show in a couple weeks (check some vendors) Then when i get home the work begins. Got to get it done this winter its driving me nuts when i stand on a soft spot and it is right by the helm seat and i believe your right not enough silocone used.

Best of luck and tight line to all:banghead: