I have an area of rot on one coaming and asked for advice on the Ariel Forum. One of the pros there told me to do the following, which I am in the process of doing.I hope "Mike Goodwin" doesn't mind being quoted:
1st- soak the area with white vinegarI am currrently in the process of treating the coaming this way and will hopefully begin prepping the coamings for varnishing - however I'm supposed to do that.
2nd- soak it with real antifreeze ( not the "earth friendly" west coast stuff ), the stuff that kills cats and other small animals if they lap it up . It also kills rot spores . This soaks in and absorbs and replaces the moisture in the affected area . Remember PEG? Same stuff.
3rd- put a fan on it an let it dry real good , in my area that could take 48 hrs or more this time of year .
Now coat it with epoxy.
The vinegar kills rot and pickles the wood and soaks in deeper than anti freeze or epoxy. The antifreeze kills rot and soaks in more than the epoxy (it is chemo for rot). The epoxy fills the voids where the wood fiber is lost, bonds it back together, and seals it off from air and moisture (2 things rot needs to survive).
Using this method I have never had rot come back .
In any event, it's a nice distraction from the gruesome deck work ahead. Especially knowing that, by presawing all of the bloody starboard side deck where it wasn't even close to necessary (which actually may be a "good" thing since the delamination isn't as bad as I had thought and perhaps this little project will nip the whole core mess in the bud...) OK, back to reality. Now, I've created much more work for myself by sawing up all of the side deck, since I need to repair ALL those seams regardless of whether or not I recore the deck underneath. Oy!
