Alberg 30 Refit: Hull to Deck Joint failure

This week has been very productive. This is because the outside temps have fallen into the mid 80's with little humidity, making for a very enjoyable evening and an easier work day. This has led to some boat work. With the bottom of her hull drying out I was able to begin removing items from Sal's top deck.

You can see all the stanchions and the bow pulpit removed.

In this photo you can see where the bow pulpit base plates were mounted. I am not 100% sure when the last time any of this stuff was rebedded (sealed) but I am finding wet core material in her decks. I'll explain the core in a minute.

Here is a picture of Sal's mast base. 

Here it is again with the base removed; looks nasty. All of her core is rotten. This is a common problem on Alberg 30s of this vintage. Unfortunately her decks are worse off than I previously thought.  

Here is a good photo of  how the deck is made and how it should look. In this photo you can seen the yellowish-brown balsa wood core. On either side of the core you can see the fiberglass which adheres to this core to make a nice sound rigid structure. When making a hole on the boat one should seal these areas of exposed core to prevent water intrusion. The problem is many manufacturers never took that extra step and over the years water made its way into the core. With no way out for the water, it just sits there and rots the wooden core.

Here is a close up of the holes that were used to pass cable that went up the mast. Years of water intrusion has turned this area into a "soft spot" and there is now compression on the mast post below. That black stuff is wet rotten core.

On to Bigger Issues:

Hull-to-Deck Joint Failure!!!

While researching my Alberg 30's history online I found some forum posts about Salacia (named Dances with Waves at the time) having hull-to-deck joint issues. In the post, her owner described it as "Oil Canning" on the port bow. Ever since we purchased her I could see the evidence of where the repair had been made. Today I got a really good look. I'm not happy about what I found, but...it can be fixed.

Photo of Alberg 30 hull-to-deck joint. This where the manufacture fastened the deck and hull together. These boats were made in two separate pieces and then jointed together. This joint is crucial to the overall structural integrity of the boat and, ultimately, to her seaworthiness.

Here is a photo I pulled from Alberg37.org (Alberg 30's big sister, the Alberg 37). It is an exact representation of how Sal's hull-to-deck was built. Both boats were manufactured by Whitby Boatworks in Canada so it is no surprise the joints were built the same.

Here is the failure area. You can see the deck is lifted from the hull. The owner at the time just filled the gap with some sort of sealant and kept on sailing....

Here is the hull-to-deck joint that looks normal, with no gap. I will clean these areas over the weekend and post better photos.

As I continue to dismantle Salacia I continue to find issues. I am not unhappy about these things, and I am actually glad they are coming to light so I can fix them properly and feel confident in her seaworthiness.