Commander Compression Post Discussions

[John]

Jerry,

If I understand what you are saying, once I have cleaned out the bad core, I fill the void until I have a 5 in. hole from deck to ceiling. then I proceed to lay in glass matting until I get to the deck level. At that point I start using increasing sizes of mat to rebuild the deck as it was. I can then grind to match the deck, fill if needed and stand back and admire my work. Oh, yes, then I can remove the Gator tape (great stuff by the way) and re-drill the holes to mount my mast step.

I plan on placing a soda straw over my mast light wires and hopefully leave them so they can be removed or fished if needed. This does mean that the glass will have to be layed gently with a slit on one edge to accomodate the wires. Also, if the ceiling does not rebound around the compression post cap, my plan is to cut 2 semi circles of 1/4 plywood and gently jack up the ceiling until it matches the surrounding area an the compression post has a litlle wiggle to it.

[Commander 147]

John

I believe you are following but just to make sure I will post a picture later possibly as late as this evening.

[Commander 147]

John not sure if this picture will do more to explain or confuse but anyway here you go.



If this confuses I will try again.

[Commander227]

John,
Jerry's above repair is very proper and the best and most permanent fix. Here is a quick and dirty repair that should get you at least another 40 years out of the mast step.
Use a 5" or 6" hole saw to remove the top skin, scrape out the bad core and dig it out from the edges until the balsa you are pulling out looks clean and dry. Using the same hole saw cut out a plug from 3/8" plywood. Draw a 8" circle around your hole and taper the edges out to that. Pack thickened epoxy into the void between the skins and lather up the bottom of the hole, stick in your plywood plug, butter everything up with the thickened epoxy and apply your repair plys of glass mat wetted out with epoxy. Pre cut your repair plys, mask off a large area and have every thing laid out and ready to go 'cause your going to be a sticky mess. If you put on 4 or 5 sets of rubber gloves you can keep peeling them off when they get too messy and you want to pick up a tool or something. The repair could be done with polyester resin instead of epoxy if cost is a factor, its not as good, but thats what the rest of the boat is made of.
.02 cents
Mike

[John]

Repairs have gotten more complicated. You can see pictures in the Mast Step discussion. I now have an open area of about 8" x 8" underneath the mast step. The compression post/wedge has already broken through the cabin ceiling. I am faced with raising the roof (really) and then rebuilding the entire structure. Also I did slip and there is a 1" puncture in the cabin ceiling. Fortunately, I am using a 1/4" bit in the router. Rather than continue duplicate discussions, I will continue the discussion in the Mast Step, as most seem to read both. Suggestions are welcome.