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I have noticed that the cockpit sole is making those familar fiberglass cracking sounds. Any suggestions on how to rectify this problem???

Russell, I have a 96X and I do not have any crackling, creaking...I am very concerned you do......where is it exactly located? I am anxious to hear if anyone else has this problem.......I weigh 250lbs....Gawd, I do not want this to happen.............Hate to have my boat make me go on a diet, bad enough the admiral nags me...........

The 96 has a wood core. Your wood has got wet and has turned to oatmeal. Soon you will crash through the cockpit into the after berth. Borrow your kid's football equipment for this anticipated plunge.

The 96 has a wood core

Thats news to me. I have a 97, I thought that the manual states "No wood core in the construction of the 26x.

Someone correct me if Im wrong.

If what John B said is true, I wonder if epoxy Dry-rot Cure would work. It's made for window sills, and pretty much turns them into plastic. Anything sounds better than allowing it to deteriorate? Good Luck.

I don't think there is any wood under the cockpit floor. I know that the upper deck has balsa core and is very solid. This seems like there is no core and not thick material.....Wondering if some expanding foam added above the aft berth would help...

just for the record. . . my 05M has a plywood core.

M

Russell - I thought the 96 was the first year for the all glass hull construction?? Looking at your boat it has identical lines to my 2002 as far as I can tell ...hard to imagine they would have designed out balsa without making the lines distinctive..

There is balsa in the hatch of my 2002X..havent found it elsewhere.

Russell, I was told the 96 had a wood core cockpit sole by my dealer. I've never seen a 96. I was also told the 2002 was definitely not a wood cored hatch.

However, I haven't sawed it open yet and Im not making any bets.

I guess they could have shipped my 2002X with an early hatch, but it has balsa in it. More likely your source is in denial, Sloop...

Catigale

Foredeck hatch and anchor locker hatch are definitely balsa-cored.
John, were you thinkin' sliding hatch? That is just fiberglass, all years I guess.
Cockpit sole - no clue, but would not surprise me to find plywood in there.

Dealer showed me a 'cut away' version of the companionway hatch. The piece you slide in vertically to keep the raindrops out. It was hollow, 'ribbed' (like a cardboard liquor carton with the cardboard slots) with fiberglass and had little pink sponge like pieces in the cavities. This 'demo' piece was to represent the new construction that replaced balsa core.

At the time I had no idea what he was talking about, until I started reading about it in Nigel's book.

I have an old '76 Randall Craft 14' 'river boat'. Sole got real soft. Little air pocket underneath, that usually filled up with river water. Fiberglass coated plywood. $800 to cut out and replace.

I just cut a 3 and three quarter inch hole in my sliding hatch, it has a solid piece of wood [ about one quarter inch thick] with fiberglass on both sides. 99 26x. The directions said to cut that big hole to install the 1000 mini solar vent. I looked at the vent, about twenty times, and could not understand why the hloe had to be that big. Well, I did what they said, and the hole turned out way too big, About 3 inches would have been just right. I did'nt trust myself, but I wish I had it to do over.

Hmmm. I stand corrected. I just thought from the way it looks and bends that the slider had no wood embedded. Too bad about that hole. How about exchanging that vent fan for the larger size?

Jim - the hole needs to be bigger to take the inside plate on the Nicros - the outside part of the vent will look small in the hole, agreed.

Of course, you could just 5200 the hole back in the hatch or put a passive vent in it.

On edit - I thought originally you had done this on the companionway hatch, but now I realise its up on top. Ouch. Kevins porthole idea is probably the best way to go from here.

This is (still) called a project plan modification, not a mistake.