Cabintop Repair

[Norm Faulkner]

I am new to this forum and was hoping for some advice. I own a 1966 Tartan Blackwatch 37. She has honduras mahogany cabinsides that are beginning to rot in some places where the cabin meets the deck. I would like to cut and replace a 3/4" piece along the base, but I do not know what kind of tool to use. Because it sits flush to the deck, I can't use a circular saw. There is a 1" fiberglass lip behind the cabinside that prevents using a reciprocating saw. I thought of trying a dremel or router, but I question how straight of a cut I could accomplish. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[JimConlin]

Maybe a Fein tool with one of these
http://www.jimslimstools.com/images/products/Fein/Multimaster/2.5sawblade_small.jpg
followed by one of these in a die grinder http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/114/gfx/large/4313ac1l.gif

[CAPNBIL]

I've had chunks out of teak and mahogany and made almost invisible repairs. Unless you must replace the whole length of the cabin side I'd suggest using a fine chisel to pull out the rotten areas and then fit in matching wood pieces in the voids the best you can. Then I've made up a putty out of sawdust from the same wood with epoxy as a binder. Guys I worked with in yacht joinery called it moon salad, the bosses didn't like it, but it can make a nearly invisible repair with a little luck and when I've done it on my boat it's stood up under the weather quite well. Try it in a small area and see what you think.

[redbopeep]

I am new to this forum and was hoping for some advice. I own a 1966 Tartan Blackwatch 37. She has honduras mahogany cabinsides that are beginning to rot in some places where the cabin meets the deck.

CAPNBIL suggested exactly what we did with our cabin sides where we had a couple spots of rot.

However, are you sure that it is rot? Is it soft/punky or just black (which is how mahogany gets when exposed to iron and "wet" at the same time...its not rot, though)... If really rot, you should be able to use a sharp chisel or other hand tool to dig out the rot and even some of the good wood to get to where its hard and the right color again. We cut graving pieces for these spots but used epoxy in a couple tiny ones. Our cabin sides are painted, however so the epoxy doesn't show.

Good luck!

[Norm Faulkner]

Thanks for the feedback. There is definitely some rot, but I think it is a good idea to focus on just the bad areas as opposed to replacing the entire length. I had heard of mixing sawdust with epoxy to fill voids; I am anxious to give that a try.

A couple more questions: the previous owner had used 5200 to fill the gap between side and deck. That is where the problem originated. As the sealant breaks down, it is trapping moisture behind the wood. How long should 5200 last? Is it the best product for this application? Would I be better off with epoxy? It seems that the 5200 provides good flexibility.

Thanks again for the advice!

[CAPNBIL]

Well, if it's a rigid interface between the cabin side and the deck regular epoxy is probably a good bet for your problem. In our old house we had a rot problem in the softwood window casings and adjoining sills and gouged out the soft material that we could get at, then used a thin epoxy made for the purpose which tended to penetrate into rot we couldn't get at (can't remember the make) then followed up with regular epoxy and one of the adhesive thickeners to make a putty of a workable consistency for trowelling to surface the repair. Last time I looked at our old house it seemed to be OK.

[floatingkiwi]

Are the carlins and half beams ok?

[pila]

There are circular saws made to get down close to the floor for interior work in houses. I see there is even a cheap one at Harbor Freight. One of those might be an option for you to cut the old board out if you should decide to do it that way.