Question about cockpit sole construction v22

[gedaggett]

Here is what I have. A 1973 V2-22. I found a crack (pictured below) in the cockpit sole and need to repair it. My question is this, does the cockpit sole have a plywood core or is it reinforced with fiber? I would like to repair it but want to know if there is wood inside that is going to need to be cut out from underneath and replaced or if it can just be sealed up with glass and epoxy?

Thanks,

Gary

[ChockFullOnuts22]

I believe that the core is plywood, yes. Which means that depending on how long water has been getting in there, you could have a fair amount of rot going on. That would not be good.

How much does the floor of the cockpit give/flex when you step on that area? If it doesn't move much at all, then you might be able to get away with a quick repair. If it moves a lot, then you're looking at some significant damage that may mean that you would have to tear down to the core and replace it, along with the removed fiberglass.

If it doesn't move much, you can probably grind the crack further open and fill it with epoxy. I would then recommend that you brace the repair from underneath, so that the cockpit floor doesn't carry all of the weight on its own. When the cockpit in my 2-22 starting to flex more than my dad liked (many years ago), he chopped up the foam flotation and stacked it under the cockpit so that the flotation fit snugly between the cockpit floor and the hull. The flotation is all still there and will still do its job, but now helps support weight from the cockpit. No cracks in mine, though.

[gedaggett]

Thanks for the info. It has been in there for a bit. I think What I am going to do though is just support it from underneath grind it our a bit fill it and let it ride. the boat is a 1 or 2 season boat for me till I move up so I just need to keep the water from going through into the cabin. The floor does have a fair amount of flex so I think it is pretty wet in there and I would rather not go through the full tear out option. I have some foam at work I can use to build it up.

Thanks again.