More help sought, having at least part sorted the water in the buoyancy tanks I slipped in the boat onto the aft side bench which cracked and split close to the aft support. Investigating the damage I find the the side bench is a sandwhich of fibre glass and plywood. The plywood I’d saturated and rotten !! Obviously why the side bench failed as the internal strength had gone.
Have others suffered similar problems? And if so what method has been used to repair the side bench?
I was first planning to insert a new piece of ply bonded with epoxy with a piece of solid hard wood bonded under the bench onto the stub and the aft support, after drying out the whole area. This will be fiddly as it means working in a small space between the two piece of the fibreglass
Another thought is to cut out the top of the side bench – makes the working space easier but bonding back the top piece to the inner side of the deck concerns me that there may not be enough strength in the joint.
has anyone done this repair and if so how did you approach it?
Thanks