Use of Penetrating Epoxy in regards to Deck Core

Use of Penetrating Epoxies in regards to Deck Core Rot

All,

Let me point out some things and you draw your own conclusions:

Fact: Epoxy will not displace moisture.

Fact: Penetrating Epoxy formulations will not penetrate even dry wood further than 10mil +/-, unless the formulation has been excessively thinned down.

Fact: The more an epoxy is thinned, the less strength it has.

Fact: Epoxy will not penetrate a glue line in plywood. Fact: The deck is one of the most important structural parts of a boat.

Not only does it provide a stable platform for you to walk around on, it holds the hull in shape, and (with deck stepped masts and/or deck fastened chainplates) provides a huge amount of support to the mast structure.

Fact: The forces on a deck structure are enormous at times. Fact: Sandwich construction designed into a deck is critical to the deck's performance.

Fact: Wet deck core will ***not*** completely dry out (no matter what you try as a drying method, short of micro-waving it and I don't know if anyone has tried that method). Resulting in "dry rot", which eventually turns the core into powder.

Fact: Epoxy is **not** a fungicide so can not kill the "dry rot" spores present in a wet core.

Fact: you don't kill the spores, they keep merrily chomping away at your wood.
Suggestion: Take a look at the couple of core pix at:

Deck Core Pix
This core is a mixed Balsa and Plywood core. It had spent a full summer sitting outside in average 105 deg and 15% humidity, with "drain" and "vent" holes drilled bottom and top. At the end of the summer, test drilling showed the core was still wet. When I opened the deck the balsa was so wet I could "squeeze" water from handfuls of it. The plywood had separated at the glue lines and I peeled it away ply by ply.

Suggestion: Ask the manufacturers (actually re-packagers) of these products to show you evidence that they have injected the product into a wet core structure and then subjected that structure to destructive materials testing.

Fact: They can't meet your request because they haven't done such testing. Talk to some of the reputable epoxy "formulators" (West Systems or System Three or MAAS), rather than "re-packagers", and see what they have to say about such supposed "cures". BTW, "West Systems" has absolutely no connection to "West Marine".

Opinion: If you value your boat, and you value your life and the lives of those who sail on your boat, you will never take the "quick fix" route on structural components.