Carolina Skiff J16 Deck Repair

[Jordan2015]

Hi everyone, I just acquired a 1999 Carolina Skiff J16 with a 25hp outboard. The hull is in decent shape for a 1999 and wasn’t used much as it was a police boat on the Eastern Shore. After buying it I noticed there is damage on the rear deck on the wall of the cut out above the drain hole area opposite the transom. It’s about the size of a quarter and maybe 1/4 deep with exposed foam. While I’m patching up other screw holes in the deck I’d definitely like to fix this. I’m using Marine Tex on the other smaller repairs. Only problem with this one is that the foam is wet where I need to repair it and I’m unsure Marine Tex would adhere to it. What would be the best way to permanently fix this?

 

[Sea18Horse]

Welcome Jordan!
Pictures would be helpful. Post a couple more times until you can post pictures. A wider angle shot of the general area along with a closer shot of the details. Are Carolina skiffs of cored construction like a Boston Whaler? My knee jerk reaction is wet foam = bad JuJu! I'd say the only really safe way to address it would be to widen the hole until you find dry foam, Dig out the wet stuff and scarf in a new piece of foam, then grind the existing fiberglass back 3 or four inches around the repair and then lay in new glass until the repair is smooth and then re-gel coat or paint the area. If you can't find dry foam then you may have bigger problems. You may want to weigh the hull to see if it matches the advertised weight. Good luck and keep us posted. Looks like a fun boat!

Cheers..........................Todd

 

[Scott Danforth]

yes Carolina skiffs are foam core just like a Whaler

wet foam is bad juju

wet foam wont stop at the area of the damage, weigh the hull, I bet you find it weighs 300-400# more than it should