Whats in my walls?

[Leebee]

I purchased a '74 Marine Trader with some exterior cabin wall damage. It is most likely from leaky windows but the aft corner where there are some stairs to the mid deck is a mess.
My question while Im looking for a vendor to give me a quote on it is what is in the walls?
Should I expect fiberglass over plywood?
I have a couple 3' x 3' sections of rot with one looking puttied over and repainted as well as a complete corner under the stairs going to the mid deck. The interior paneling looks good except for a few water stains.
I am wondering how hard it is to do myself. I am very handy and have done some amateur fiberglass work. Sadly I have more money than time right now.
Thanks in advance.

 

[alormaria]

Ha Ha. More money than time. We'll take care of that for you...

If your boat is like mine you'll find the cabin walls made of 2"x2" handmade squares of scrap wood sandwiched between fiberglass sides. Elsewhere you'll find almost a complete wooden boat complete with knees, ribs and all the things wooden boats have inside tabbed to your fiberglass boat. Most will be good wood. The bad or rotted wood can be broken off and used as a pattern over good exterior grade plywood and re-tabbed to the hull. Anyone can make 2" x 2" squares of plywood. Epoxy is best used to attach things to cured (probably) polyester fiberglass.

The epoxy is expensive for what it is but the wood is cheap. This is mostly a time intensive project. You have to decide if time is money.

When you get to the finish wood work you can decide on teak or painted interior. But whatever you do start with full sized cardboard mock ups. Nothing on a boat is straight, level or plumb and certainly not the same as the other side. Cardboard is cheap - teak paneling ain't.

You have a great winter project in front of you. Best of luck.

 

[Leebee]

Alormaria,

Am into assume the inside (painted) panels are actually part of the wall sandwich?
Meaning if I go from the outside to replace the core the inside panel is what the core is attached to?
I was hoping to. Not be exposing the interior on all of the repairs.
Make sense?