Purchasing a 1986 48’ ponderosa
- Thread starter Kelliray
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Comodave
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Welcome aboard. Most likely the decks are cored. Solid fiberglass decks would be very heavy in order to be strong enough without a core. The core makes it similar to an I beam for strength. It is very good that it doesn’t have teak decks. There is a much better chance that the core will not be rotten, but check near things like rails and any penetrations in the deck for wet core.
Comodave
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Core decks mean that there is a fiberglass layer on top of a core with another layer of fiberglass on the bottom. Having all 3 layers bonded together makes the deck strong. When water leaks into the core, typically it is wood in that vintage boat, the core starts to rot and the bond is gone. So the deck becomes weaker and the rot progresses larger and larger. If the boat has teak decks they used to screw it down with hundreds of screws. Each screw was a potential leak into the core. So no teak decks is a good thing. But if the things that are screwed to the deck were not done properly then they can leak into the core too. And back then most boat builders didn’t bed the screws properly. They would drill a hole in the fiberglass and squirt some caulk in the hole. Then screw the item down to the deck. That will leak. It takes a lot of work to properly install a screw into a deck so it doesn’t leak. For a good explanation go to marinehowto.com and look at the article for bedding screws to a cored deck. It isn’t too difficult to fix a wet deck depending on how wet it is. If it is just isolated areas it can be repaired fairly easily if you have some DIY skills. It is hard work physically though. Hands and knees and some hard physical work. For some videos look at Boatworks Today website.
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BruceK
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See if you can get a side look at the material between the top and bottom f/g layers of the "sandwich". What`s there can vary, blocks of teak offcuts which may or may not be bonded together, plywood, and if you are lucky foam material which doesn`t rot. Surprisingly my 1981 Island Gypsy had foam, visible surrounding the lazarette.
