Fuel tank cover bottom cracks

[JayZ2012]

Hoping someone can help. I've got a 2012 AR240 and was putting on Seadek this week. To do that I'd removed the ski locker hatch and the fuel tank cover. The bottom of the ski locker hatch is nice and clean while the bottom of the fuel tank cover is plain fiberglass and stained looking. What I also found is that the fuel tank cover (FTC) has small cracks around the edges. It appears that it has wicked up water from the drain channels and has pulled that into the wood center. Parts of the FTC I can squeeze and see the cracks move when I do that. Obviously the answer is to stop doing that.

I'm not certain how well the wood inside is doing. I can see and feel the wood around the latch holes and it appears to be good there.
My questions are :

1. Should this be taken to a fiberglass repair shop and have the whole thing redone?
2. Would using epoxy be an acceptable way to repair this? Drip epoxy into the cracks to fill them so that the wood won't wick up more moisture?
3. Is there another/better option that I should be considering?

This makes me concerned for the back part of the boat where the exhaust is because I know it tends to stay damp in there and Yamaha used fiberglassed wood there too.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Jason

 

[Scottintexas]

your 4th picture with the hole, what part is that? your fuel cover?

This is a problem and you should address it, @swatski can give you better advice about the back area build but you should be concerned about your cleanout hatch, fuel cover and ski locker hatch,

check out this link to our FAQ about floor rot
https://jetboaters.net/faq/#faq-229

if any of the links don't work for you please let us know, we've had some upgrades and some links were broken,


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[JayZ2012]

Thanks Scott. I'll check it those links. The fourth picture is one of the holes in the fuel tank cover where the latch goes. The ski locker in the clean out Port patches seem to be fine it is just this one that is unfinished on the bottom and seems like it has taken water.

 

[swatski]

Thanks Scott. I'll check it those links. The fourth picture is one of the holes in the fuel tank cover where the latch goes. The ski locker in the clean out Port patches seem to be fine it is just this one that is unfinished on the bottom and seems like it has taken water.

@CrankyGypsy had the right idea, but frankly I would not want to do all that for the hatch. If we were talking a transom in an outboard boat, different story. But here, I would follow @Scottintexas and @Glassman and do this:
(may want to use one of those "auger" drill bits to remove as much rotted wood as possible before filling it back in; also - careful if pouring larger volumes if using epoxy, I would mix small amounts or the heat can become very destructive - you will see what I mean when you start doing it; just start with a small volume)

sorry, late to the party as usual.....did you fix this yet?

steined has the right idea. There are many penetrating epoxies out there designed for this very thing. I've used Git Rot successfully so many times I've lost count.
View attachment 4635 Shoot some in and let the lid stand on edge to let gravity help. Rotate the part and squirt more in the other side, keep rotating the part til you've come full circle. Don't push too much in or you could expand it somewhat if there is a deep cavity.

View attachment 20106 View attachment 20108 View attachment 20109 View attachment 20110 View attachment 20111 View attachment 20113 View attachment 20114 View attachment 20116 View attachment 20117 Cleanout hatch rot fix

I had the choice of

1. Cutting the bottom out and replacing it with a new piece of plywood and putting new fiberglass on top.

2. Filling the voids as much as possible with epoxy

With my manufacturing ability and skill level on the low side and I had never attempted anything like this before I chose the less invasive plan of just trying to fill the voids.

I chose “Git-Rot” on the advice of @Glassman I purchased at West Marine for convenience but it is almost twice as much as Jamestown Distributors sells it for. I ended up needing 3 16oz packages. Each package made about 4 squeeze tubes worth.

** The consistency of the mixture will be slightly thicker than water, I had some hairline cracks at the edge and when I applied it to the latch hole and gravity pulled it down it easily seeped out of those hairline cracks. I put some painters tape over the cracks and holes I drilled and that worked well to keep it in.

** important hint, if you mix more than you need at a particular time put the squeeze tube in the freezer, this will slow the curing. I left it in the freezer for aprox. 12 hours thinking I would probably lose the remainder of the tube but after letting it sit out for 10 minutes it quickly became pliable again and worked well.

It takes about 5 hours to go from a liquid water state to a tacky/firm non-moving mass.

I drilled a 4-5 1/8” holes around the edges trying to see if the area was hollow or it would help me inject the git-rot into deeper areas. I didn’t have much success injecting it into the drilled holes. I couldn’t get a good enough seal to keep the liquid in while squeezing the applicator.

I had a 18 inch long 1/8” drill bit that I used to punch deep holes through the rot to help provide a easier path for the liquid to penetrate deeper. I also used it wedged against the side to help raise the bottom side out and create a bigger void while I was applying the liquid.

I would stand the hatch on edge and fill the void as much as possible, return after about 15 minutes and see what gravity did and top it off again, repeating as necessary. I would then have to wait about 6 hours or overnight before I could rotate the hatch and repeat the process on a new side.

I am very pleased with the outcome. It dries to an extremely hard state with and the hatch lid has no give or flex at all. There are a few drips that occurred overnight from cracks that I will have to sand off or somehow remove.

Here are some pictures from along the way,
View attachment 20106

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[JayZ2012]

Thanks- I've been feeding in epoxy into the cracked areas and think that is the best option. I'll keep you posted.

 

[JayZ2012]

It looks good so far. I coated the entire 'lip' of the fuel hatch cover and fed as much into the cracks as it would take. time will tell.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

sorry, late to the party.
unless the wood is completely dried before it is sealed, it can start/continue to rot. unfortunately, the only way I found to accomplish this is with full exposure. dry, good wood is light tan, wet wood is dark brown, and rot looks almost black if it's wet, and light grey when dried out.