3226 Cracks in floor

[Not for the boys]

I have a series of parallel cracks in the floor approx 8in by 4in just forward of the thwart. there is no cracking on the outside but it occurs just at the end of the rubbing strake. is it the top veneer delaminating? and if so what is the best repair please.

[John Meadowcroft]

Sorry but I can't help with a solution.  However, if as I guess your boat is 3326, then it was built by Gerry Ledger.  His number is in the NTOA booklet and I am sure that he would have a look at this photo and then be able to advise on some next steps.  Hope this helps.

John

[John Meadowcroft]

have now read the title of your post - it is 3326.  Senior moment.

[darebarry]

First things first you need to clear the problem area of the non slip to see what is going on. You will then have 2 options. 1. Remove the veneer and replace, should not be to dificult 2 or if you dont want to remove wood try cleaning back to clean wood, warm with a hair dryer and then epoxy. The warm wood should soak in the epoxy and glue the split edges together.Whan you have applied the epoxy cover with polythene and apply presure to any areas that have lifted. Hope that might help .
Dare Barry. N3521 

[Tim Gatti]

In addition to Dare's suggestions - if you decide to remove some of the veneer you could always use some concentric layers of glass cloth and epoxy to effect a repair, then fair off and repaint.
Make sure you feather the perimeter of your repair so you don't get a hard edge or it could end creating more problems in the adjacent area and manoeuvre the hull so you get the area to be repaired as near horizontal as you can to prevent the thin, warmed epoxy from running away from the repair site.

Keep an eye out for similar cracking on the other side of the boat.  I have an old Tigress and she has cracked in similar areas on both the stbd and port sides - in the areas subject to most punishment from the helm/crew when tacking I guess... but you may have a pressure point being caused by your launching trolley/road trailer??

[nigelf]

I am glad Tim has suggested the original problem might have been caused by an ill-fitting launching trolley since it is most likely that there has been pressure from underneath. I had exactly this problem in a Solo a long time ago and eventually realised that the boat was not being supported in the correct (strong) places. In those days it was Aerolite we used for such repairs but there are better glues nowadays and experts like Tim can advise. Strangely enough that Solo (No. 40) is to be on display on the Jack Holt stand at the forthcoming Dinghy Show. I shall have a look at the area I repaired, if it is still there, and will be interested to see whether my repair has held up.If it has it will have lasted 55 years! N3535.

[Alistair Edwards]

I had the same problem on my Tigress. When I removed the non slip I found that water had started to penetrate into the veneer. I caught it in time and hope you may also be fortunate.
Removing the non slip was not pleasant. Lots of nitromors + elbow grease.

[Not for the boys]

Many thanks for all the advice. Paint stripper and resin at the ready!