Show us your Rot Porn!!!

[SeaMoose]

I've seen some fabulous Rot Porn here on Trawler Forum over the years, as well as having a pretty good collection of my own.

Thinking of buying that old tub at a great price? Look here first...

Here's my first submission with more to come:

This is from my 76 Taiwanese Trawler

 

[O C Diver]

I think boat leprosy might be more appropriate.

Ted

 

[BIG CAT]

Lol in for pics.

 

[Sealife]

Here you go:





For details:

https://caribbeansealife.com/about-our-boat/refit/

 

[toocoys]

This is from my 76 Taiwanese Trawler

Was that from an infamous window leak?

 

[healhustler]

Was that from an infamous window leak?

This one was. Part of cabinetry below salon window.

 

[Wayfarer]

 

[BruceK]

Here we liken the appearance to "wet Weet Bix", a brown flaky wheat based breakfast cereal which goes soggy when milk is added. No pics, but I had that in the head, someone tried to drill clear the copper tube which conveys water from the inner window frame to outside.The resultant hole in the tube drained the water right into the timber. Yuk.

 

[MvCaptainConner]

Frames what you don’t want to find.

 

[boomerang]

Here's my entry. The pictures are out of order and not titled but they show the flybridge floor and salon door threshold rot we repaired last year & the port, starboard & forward decks we're repairing now. And yes, that's water pooled up in the rotten coring on the foredeck. The same thing (puddles of water) were on the flybridge deck above last year.
When we bought the boat 2 years ago we knew the recoring was going to be a big undertaking but we didn't know how big of a PITA it was until we opened the can of worms! That's ok...she's coming our way now & it'll be one of the stoutest little Mainship 34's out there when we're finished next month.

 

[Simi 60]

I'm sure if I got into our decks all at once like some have above it would look equally ugly
Instead I do a section at a time as required.

Looks patchwork quilt like but makes the job manageable, keeps us sane, on the water and using the boat for its intended purpose.
Also makes for a nice big epoxy glue line between sections hopefully keeping rot issues separated.

I did replace the section under our incredibly heavy (4 to lift) s/s anchor windlass plate when out a week or so ago.
Didn't need an anchor while on the hard.

 

[jimfrens]

wow Boomerang, I guess Mainship didn't want to pay enough to keep those pictures off the web? Is that a boat defect, or did a previous owner screw something up?

 

[boomerang]

wow Boomerang, I guess Mainship didn't want to pay enough to keep those pictures off the web? Is that a boat defect, or did a previous owner screw something up?

Haha I wish Mainship was still in business as we knew them and I wish they could help me! Not with the money part but the damn labor!
It's actually not 100% Mainships fault as a lot of the responsibility rested with the dealers who rigged the boats when they were delivered from the factory. Mainly poor calking practices on the hardware. Still, the boat is 40 years old. I really don't think they were intending on them to still be around.

 

[jimfrens]

I hear that. Albins have a good reputation but they can be found with significant rot also. I'm glad my boat was built to last, 49 years young and going strong although it has its issues too. The key is catching them and fixing them before they become huge, and that has more to do with good owners than good manufacturers.

 

[Mrwesson]

 

[SeaMoose]

This week's entry:

Met this guy and wife a couple of weeks ago. They paid $5800 for this fine vessel, a 46' Jersey. The entire inside of the boat looks like this. I think the builder used RV windows...

 

[psneeld]

I hear that. Albins have a good reputation but they can be found with significant rot also. I'm glad my boat was built to last, 49 years young and going strong although it has its issues too. The key is catching them and fixing them before they become huge, and that has more to do with good owners than good manufacturers.

From my experience and reading...Albins like lots of boats have good reps....usually from owners with a well cared for boat or has never really dug into tbeirs.

Mine is not much different than many other Taiwan brands from the 70s to the 90s.....badly engineered for lack of maintenance, built for looks over ease of maintenance.....plus not the greatest hull shape on the 40s,

 

[Drago]

Gut Wrenching Rot

I guess I've been blessed by the Anti-rot God. I just had all of the windows pulled for replacement on my 1985 Marine Trader and the only damage was some staining on the inside trim and paneling. Nothing serious so you'll be getting no rot pics from me.......

 

[AZ2Loop]

Drago, interesting timing on your post. In our current search we've seen plenty Asian built trawlers with some obvious rot around the windows. On the boat we are strongly considering (also Asian built) there is some staining under about 1/3 of the windows, but nothing feels soft. The teak paneling is not even rough or "peeling" and it feels solid. The staining still makes me wonder what lurks beneath. As I look at the rot pictures in this thread I keep wondering if any of them looked good, with just a little staining, until they tore into it to find major rot? Or was it soft and obvious from the start there was a lot rot below the surface? Anyone who has posted pictures above care to comment? Did it look minor until you tore into it, or did you know?

 

[Drago]

No Rot Detected

I had the contractor check for rot under the windows and he found none. If your window frames are moulded like mine are there is no way for the water to get under the window rails. The damage to my boat was on the interior trim and paneling surface when the water came over the clogged rails. The reason for replacement was 1, to stop leaks and 2, the safety glass was delaminating and graying.

 

[Noreej]

48' Grand Banks. No pics but no rot either. Slight staining under forward port side saloon window, but no rot. Consider myself lucky.

 

[Yule Sea]

previous owners neglected the leaky vbirth hatch

had some very old solid fir shelving from one of our many past house renovations. brought it to the boat not knowing if I would ever use it but it paid off on resurfacing over the old floor.

 

[Dougcole]

I can't look away from these pics, I hope I don't get addicted. LOL.


Oh, and I hate wood. Wood, trees the whole kit and caboodle. I consider wind to be the enemy of man and trees to be the enemy of boats.

 

[sbu22]

My son and I had a 26 MacGregor - not an iota of wood. It was nice.

 

[bstanga]

Oh god where do I start !

 

[Mikemac676]

Wow that's a MAJOR undertaking Sean. I have an '80 Mainship and I'll be tackling some of this unfortunately soon. I'm anxious to follow your work and travels

 

[Simi 60]

Oh god where do I start !

 

[boomerang]

Drago, interesting timing on your post. In our current search we've seen plenty Asian built trawlers with some obvious rot around the windows. On the boat we are strongly considering (also Asian built) there is some staining under about 1/3 of the windows, but nothing feels soft. The teak paneling is not even rough or "peeling" and it feels solid. The staining still makes me wonder what lurks beneath. As I look at the rot pictures in this thread I keep wondering if any of them looked good, with just a little staining, until they tore into it to find major rot? Or was it soft and obvious from the start there was a lot rot below the surface? Anyone who has posted pictures above care to comment? Did it look minor until you tore into it, or did you know?

We didn't have too much damage from leaking windows; most of our rot was on the horizontal decking. It was very easy to spot in our case because the decks were spongy feeling when they were stepped on.
In your case ,looking for rot in the vertical walls under the windows, I would go outside and tap tap the fiberglass with a small, hard plastic mallet. You'll hear the difference in the sound good core makes vs rotten coring.

 

[South of Heaven]

What kind of wood was primarily used in the 70's/80's? Would balsa cored boats from the 90's and 2000's be the same?

Can a soggy foam core be as bad as rotted wood?

 

[SeaMoose]

IMHO you need a moisture meter to determine the water level in the core, with a tiny tiny hole being drilled to stick the meter probes in being the best approach.



In many cases on my boat it wasn't until the core was exposed to the air that the extent of the rot became evident.


If you live where it freezes hard, you'll get little cracks from the expansion that resist all efforts to repair, you cloth over them and next year they come back.