So after working for about an hour on this approach above I stepped back and decided that while the patch balsa program could work it was a lot of work for a potentially questionable result, particularly if you didn't get all of the bad balsa removed. The area that I have currently removed the exterior skin and exposed the balsa on is about 2' x 3'. What I know now is that with the pneumatic impact chisel I could have removed all of the skin and all of the balsa in this area in 30 minutes or so. In another 30 minutes, probably less I could have had the entire skin cleaned up and ready for new core. The time it would take to put in large sheets of core, vs. the plugs is a toss.
Completely replacing the core seems like a lot of work, but I am inclined to think that it is likely substantially faster overall to just get it out and get on with it. Then you know you have actually fixed the problem. So then I took the meter and starting at the waterline I slid it down to where the reading on my meter shows 1.5 and marked that off all around the bottom of the boat. Then using some fuzzy math I calculated that there is about 132 sq. ft. of balsa that needs to be replaced. The entire bottom of this boat though is going to get reglassed regardless of whether or not the core is getting replaced. Areas just getting glassed will be further dried before doing so. Hopefully then with some new epoxy resin and a proper thickness of skin this boat will go another 40+ years down the rivers and bays. Looking at Jamestown Distributors pricing for H80, 3/4" Divinycell that would be about $1,400 in foam core plus the cost of the resins and cloth, so about a $2,000+ adventure in working overhead.
There is light at the end of this tunnel, I'm sure of it.
The reason I am posting all of this adventure is so that someone else similarly inclined can get an idea of what this project entails and hopefully the best ways to go after the project. While this is a lot more work then I was thinking about when I bought the boat I still think when I'm finished this will still be an OK deal. My boat will be sound and capable of sailing anywhere I want to take it. I also expect that it will remain to be a competitive racer.
Last edited by Coastie; 06/02/17 05:44 PM.
