Critical Path's Deck Repairs

If water is allowed to penetrate a balsa-cored laminate, it will eventually rot the balsa over a large area. Once the balsa breaks down and detaches itself from the fibreglass, the fibreglass skins no longer support each other and the area becomes weak and flexible, which accelerates the damage. The cure is removal of one fibreglass skin, replacement of the core and restoration of the outer surface, a time-consuming and costly process outlined here.

Prevention entails keeping the water out of the core, by replacement of core near fastenings with epoxy, as detailed in Deck Tracks (referred to below as the "over-drill, fill & re-drill" method) and with carefully maintained bedding of deck hardware.

The owner's comments on the project can be found on the second page. Note the photo dates, from January to June – hardly a weekend project. Some of this length can be attributed to the owner's desire to contribute his own 'leisure' hours to the project.

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