Many thanks. I gained a new appreciation for the toughness of Idle Queen's construction through taking her apart. That gives me real peace of mind when things get rough. The repair has since held up perfectly.
I bought a 42 ft Bruno&stillman and it had wet balsa core in some places and I’m kinda scared but I’m not gonna put new balsa I’m just gonna make it solid glass
Thanks for you video it's very helpful. I've got two similar size areas on my Reliance 44 hull that are wet (balsa core). However, since I've got the interior gutted I have full access to the interior of the hull. Just wondering if you had the option, would you have worked from the inside?
Wow, you're lucky... The answer is yes, I wish I could have done this from the inside! You'll save all the hours of fairing, probably have gravity working more in your favor, and not have to worry about disturbing the integrity of the outer skin. It's not such an intimidating job from the inside. You will probably be able to finish in half the time compared to going from the outside. If I had not been staying on the boat at the time, I would have worked from inside. Still, I learned a lot from this project, so it was a good experience overall. I wish you luck on your project!
Nice work, our Alberg is out of water and we are starting a refit. I will be recording parts of the deck...you made it look easy...which I am sure it isn't.
Thanks! It was quite a bit of work, but I am happy that I did it for a couple of reasons: now I know for sure what is in there, and I also feel even better about the original construction because everything was very solid and well-bonded. Looking forward to seeing how your deck comes out! Good luck with it...
It was used to suck air. It probably wasn't a necessary step in the repair, as just pushing everything into the fresh "mash" by hand bedded it very well.
Sure, from a materials standpoint it might even cost less than solid GRP. This repair only cost a few hundred dollars in materials. If you are paying for labor, it will cost more, however, as there are a few extra steps to be taken when making a good repair. It took time for me to remove and replace the core. After that, it is just a fiberglass repair. The big thing I took away from the entire exercise is that the repair would not have been necessary if the hardware had been properly installed in the first place, or even decades later. It took almost 40 years for this damage to occur...
I think I would have accessed the rotten core from the inside and left the outside intact.This would have kept the strength and shape as well as the moulded in lines intact. This large of and area still needs to be strengthened from the inside anyway. Good luck.
Mike Lynch Hi Mike- I am currently out sailing an educational trip/delivery to NZ. I have not had an Internet connection fast enough to load a video in many months now. Looking forward to getting back to Idle Queen and to making videos... That will probably be this fall or winter. Cheers!
![Removing ROTTEN Balsa Core | Locker door [Part 1]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7mwGid1Hcpo/mqdefault.jpg)
Wow, amazing repair, thank you so much for putting together this video. Few videos of this type of repair to a cored hull exist.
Many thanks. I gained a new appreciation for the toughness of Idle Queen's construction through taking her apart. That gives me real peace of mind when things get rough. The repair has since held up perfectly.
I bought a 42 ft Bruno&stillman and it had wet balsa core in some places and I’m kinda scared but I’m not gonna put new balsa I’m just gonna make it solid glass
Thanks for you video it's very helpful. I've got two similar size areas on my Reliance 44 hull that are wet (balsa core). However, since I've got the interior gutted I have full access to the interior of the hull. Just wondering if you had the option, would you have worked from the inside?
Wow, you're lucky... The answer is yes, I wish I could have done this from the inside! You'll save all the hours of fairing, probably have gravity working more in your favor, and not have to worry about disturbing the integrity of the outer skin. It's not such an intimidating job from the inside. You will probably be able to finish in half the time compared to going from the outside. If I had not been staying on the boat at the time, I would have worked from inside. Still, I learned a lot from this project, so it was a good experience overall. I wish you luck on your project!
Nice work, our Alberg is out of water and we are starting a refit. I will be recording parts of the deck...you made it look easy...which I am sure it isn't.
Thanks! It was quite a bit of work, but I am happy that I did it for a couple of reasons: now I know for sure what is in there, and I also feel even better about the original construction because everything was very solid and well-bonded. Looking forward to seeing how your deck comes out! Good luck with it...
Fucking legendary. This gives me confidence to tackle my big hull project!
Looks great! Thx for sharing.
Matt Kurrle Thanks, Matt!
When you use the vacuum machine to push the balsa,you connect the tube in the back of the machine to push or in normal position to suck the air?
It was used to suck air. It probably wasn't a necessary step in the repair, as just pushing everything into the fresh "mash" by hand bedded it very well.
so cored hulls can be repaired just as economically as solid GRP?
Sure, from a materials standpoint it might even cost less than solid GRP. This repair only cost a few hundred dollars in materials. If you are paying for labor, it will cost more, however, as there are a few extra steps to be taken when making a good repair. It took time for me to remove and replace the core. After that, it is just a fiberglass repair.
The big thing I took away from the entire exercise is that the repair would not have been necessary if the hardware had been properly installed in the first place, or even decades later. It took almost 40 years for this damage to occur...
I think I would have accessed the rotten core from the inside and left the outside intact.This would have kept the strength and shape as well as the moulded in lines intact. This large of and area still needs to be strengthened from the inside anyway. Good luck.
Was this your last posting or are you posting some where else? Do you still have Idle Queen and are you now crusing or have you hung it up for now?
Mike Lynch Hi Mike- I am currently out sailing an educational trip/delivery to NZ. I have not had an Internet connection fast enough to load a video in many months now. Looking forward to getting back to Idle Queen and to making videos... That will probably be this fall or winter. Cheers!