Purchase of SanJuan 23 with deck leaks

["Tom Parkinson" <prknsn@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

I have purchased my first sailboat, a 1977 San Juan 23, sail number 44. It
came with the original owners manual from the Clark Boat Company and deck
leaks. I will sail it on Lake Michigan next season and so I have the "time
of hard water" to get it ready.

I pulled the port chainplate as an obvious leak and went to decore out the
deck in preparation for filling with epoxy (I have worked on an old
balsa-cored deck before - a '67 Bristol 24 belonging to a local BSA Venture
Crew - and know the drill - spin bent nail through the hole, saturate the
core, fill with stiff epoxy compound, redrill) but the deck core is clearly
plywood in this area. I pulled the stanchions and they also have plywood
core round the mounting holes.

I have read that the deck is balsa core and wonder if this plywood is just
local strengthening for mounting hardware (being more crush-resistant than
end-grain balsa). How can I decore the plywood round deck mounting holes?
How well will the plywood dry out?

The chainplates go through slots in the deck - does anyone have a metal
plate that screws down onto the deck round the chainplate slot and supports
the sealing goop?

Where is the darned water coming in? - it appears behind the lip of the
liner at the stern end of the cabin, right near where the scupper drain hole
bridges between the deck and the hull pieces - a likely weakness

I love the "San Juan 23 Tech Tips" page and thanks to you all who make the
"San Juan 23 Internet Fleet" page so inviting - without you I would not have
bought this gem.

Tom Parkinson
(847) 223-8076
prknsn@xxxxxxxxx



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