Repairing Panel Core & Hatch Repair ADVICE

[Wild & Free]

Hi everyone i am new to this forum and thank everyone who have helped me in the past with projects!
I have a 1989 Seafarer 226 and I am in the middle of what seems to be a very common problem a "soft floor". Below are some images of before and mid way through the current project to put a new plywood core in the floor panel.


Currently i have it all removed and almost completely stripped down (below)

Any further advice about the next steps i would absolutely appreciate it!
BUT the reason i am seeking help is about the damage the soft floor flexing has done to the area around access hatch screws (image below) and how i should deal with repairing this and if possible a step by step DIY tutorial of some sort.


As you can see there are three small through cracks and stress cracks surrounding them.


I want to fix this correctly or obviously it will just leak directly back through and occur again - BUT I DO NOT have much of experiencing repairing nonskid stress/through cracks in gel-coat surfaces like this. This floor panel is located in the stern of the boat and is directly over the Main Gas Tank panel.
Thank you very much to everyone in advance...

 

[VeroWing]

I just finished recoring cockpit fuel tank cover on my 24 Offshore. I've done this on three of my Gradys now. What I do is: 1. Take a dremel or cut-off saw and cut fiberglass just inside lip of underneath fiberglass covering. 2. set circular saw and cut this fiberglass covering into manageable sections for removal. 3. using small pry bars, scrapers, etc, gently remove cut fiberglass sections along with bad core. 4. Scrape and sand surface and prepare it for new core. 5. Cut a new core from material of your choice and coat it with epoxy, especially edges, until dry. Make it a loose fit (1/8" all around), and when cutting holes for round inspection hatches keep back from hatch screw holes like the original. Make an epoxy paste from epoxy and filler (saw dust, etc) and use a floor trowel to spread on inside of floor covering and place new core into place. Place cover face down on flat surface and place heavy weights, concrete blocks, etc on top to hold core in place securely, and let set overnight. 6. Cut fiberglass cloth with 1" overlap all around and epoxy over new core, pushing cloth into 1/8th void around edge. Cut cloth in pop out hatch hole like a pizza and work sections down around core material. Don't worry about material over edge, you can trim it when dry. Be sure to thoroughly epoxy all cloth especially underneath old screw holes, and surface cracks to reinforce them. Work all the air pockets out and let sit overnight. In your case, the next day I would epoxy in another couple inch strip of fiberglass around underneath hatch cutout area for reinforcement. Be liberal with epoxy. Again let sit overnight. 7. Trim excess cloth from edges, hatch cutout, etc., and mark out round hatch plate holes in new location. Drill holes, and attach round hatch with screws and sealant. Redrill cover holes, reinstall cover to cockpit floor, and seal around perimeter.

Couple other tips are to round outer edges on new core material before epoxying to cover, because fiberglass doesn't bend around 90* corners very well. Some covers have two layers of core material, and some have one, I match amount of layers that were original. When you make epoxy mix for attaching core to cover, press some of it into holes in floor where cover will screw back in, then you can drill a new tighter hole to reinstall recored cover. When reattaching cover to floor, coat threads on screws with 3M 4200, or the equivalent as a sealant. Get some gelcoat and touch up old cracks on face of cover.

That's about it. :goodjob

 

[Wild & Free]

Thank you very much VeroWing for your response I appreciate it!
Do you have any further advice on repairing the deck side of the panel i.e. the damage around the hatch area?
Hope so!
Thanks again

 

[Lt.Mike]

I just finished recoring the hatch cover for my Overnighter. I used 5/8" plywood cut to leave about a 3/4" gap from the edges so that the deck screws are through resin not wood ensuring that it won't get wet again. When I was considering material and cost, I looked at poly at $50 for a gallon w/hardener opposed to epoxy at $150 w/hardener for the gallon. Quite a difference and though pricey I went with the west system epoxy and fillers. It took almost every drop of that gallon to complete the project and the hatch is now as solid as a rock! The pump mixing system made it ridiculously easy to do too.
My hatch also had spots that were cracked and where I had ground it down very thin when removing the core but the epoxy fixed it proper. No worries what so ever now.
That extra $100 spent for the epoxy was well worth the money for its ease of use and strength it provides.
Up top my decks diamond non-skid is really worn. I am presently prepping the deck for Interlux Interdeck non-skid paint. That involves using Marine-Tex applied from above to fill chips.
Going through the hassle of returning the deck to the original diamond factory new condition is in my opinion a waste of time, money and effort thats better spent elsewhere on the boat. I fully expect the Interdeck paint to make me very happy when it's finished.
Got another tip for you, I got my paint from http://www.Iboats.com. They were way cheaper than west marine and others on the net. Some internet sellers charge a hazzardous material charge, they didn't and it was at my door in two days. I had to give them a plug here for that.
:goodjob Iboats.
Good luck with your project.
Mike.

PS- don't you just love the itching? No matter how much I covered up it still got me. :lol: