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$.02
By:LeeG
Date: 8/20/2008, 1:29 am
In Response To: Re: S&G: Mold appearing on my deck (Jim Hoagland)

I'd suggest living with it and being diligent airing out the compartments whenever the kayak is off the water and in the sun. The Okoume is held together with waterproof glues so it's not going to become a structural issue. I don't think you're going to be able to really change it on the surface since the moisture came through the other side. I'd defer to other folks experience attempting to eliminate the black ick after it's appeared.

I refinished two original CLC demo boats with deck glass that had little spots of black ick on the surface, the kayaks were stored inside and aired out so black ick wasn't as common as boats used by paddlers where they are stored with closed hatches and transported in the sun. I sanded down through all that varnish and epoxy, sure it looked better but what dark streaks and cracks were evident before were pretty much still there, it was simply shinier like a refinished piece of furniture, it's not made new but it is obviously refinished.

For all the effort of refinishing the top,,you still have the same vulnerability from the underside allowing moisture through. On my first s&g a Patuxent built as instructed with one sealing coat underneath I added a layer of glass under the deck behind the cockpit for about 16". There wasn't any hatches, just float bags. In a years time the aft deck had an obvious color difference between the glassed portion and the unglassed portion. On another s&g, Osprey13, built without bulkheads I put on three sealing coats, it looked brand new for three years until I moved to hot and steamy Chesapeake and left the dry bags in throughout the summer,,then moisture steamed through between the bags and deck clouding the deck and coloring the wood with mold.

If you make another s&g kayak consider a construction sequence that involves multiple thin sealing coats, either starting with the unassembled panels or with the assembled hull. Your experience is very common, folks think less epoxy on the inside or where glass isn't used makes sense compared to outside where there'e impact and wear. The thing is that heated moisture will find a route through epoxy more readily than water. And standing water in an upturned kayak on some constructions will show up in a season. On a couple Chesapeaks I made water staining showed up near the deck and sheer thorugh standing water because the sheer clamps provided another route for water intrusion if they weren't sealed VERY well.

Messages In This Thread

S&G: Mold appearing on my deck
Jim Hoagland -- 8/14/2008, 1:17 pm
Mold appearing on my deck
Jay Babina -- 8/15/2008, 1:44 am
Re: S&G: Mold appearing on my deck
Ted Henry -- 8/14/2008, 3:22 pm
Re: S&G: Mold appearing on my deck
Jim Hoagland -- 8/14/2008, 4:30 pm
$.02
LeeG -- 8/20/2008, 1:29 am
Re: S&G: Mold appearing on my deck
Charlie -- 8/14/2008, 1:44 pm