www.iFourWinns.com

ok so I drilled into my deck in the engine compartment to put in some rubber bumpers to keep the motorbox hood from movind and low and behold what do I get out of the hole..... Wood. It this just a area where they backed something or used wood to connect the deck to the hull? I understood there was not wood in the floor of this boat. Now I am a bit concerned. Anyone elses thoughts?

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Four winns 180 horizon

It wouldno't surprise me to see a bit of wood here and there in areas where fasteners reside or possibly some structural in high stress areas. From what I understand many boat companies still rely on wood.

My advice, dont worry about it! Just make sure you seal your new fasteners, and all should be good. You have chosen a great boat from a very reputible manufacturer, so I am sure the wood that is in there is for a good reason, and it will be many many years or decades before it gives you any trouble.

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

very true plus I think it is warrantied for life anyways LOL It probably is just where they fasten it to the hull/stringer or something, I was just surprised.

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Four winns 180 horizon

until you drill a hole in it.

hahaha I know huh LOL. but I had to so did the dealer LOL

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Four winns 180 horizon

Most boats will have marine plywood sandwiched in places like decks or engine hatches. It's just a matter of being the best material for the weight/strength/price ratios. When you drill into this type of cored material you do want to make sure you effectively seal against water intrusion. A safe way to do it is drill the hole oversize, fill it entirely with epoxy and then redrill through the epoxy at the desired size. This assumes a bolt-through type of fastener, not a screw. You could just as easily do something similar for a screw. The idea here is to have the epoxy provide a seal from the surface gelcoat and fiberglas against the wood.

Water intrusion is bad for two reasons, one being the normal swelling caused by moisture. But the other being the fact that water expands when it freezes. Any water that got in there would expand over the winter and probably crack, or at least blister, the material laid over it. So sealing it is REALLY important.

Do a good job and there's not likely to be a warranty issue with it.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

When I crawled around aur enw baot i was surprised how much plywood is in our 2007 190.....

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

Four Winns uses balsa coring above the water line as do most builders. The key is that there is no wood below the water line. As wkearney said, penetrations on the deck and ares where coring does exist needs to be properly sealed to prevent intrusion into the core.

Regarding the wood that is used in various spots around the boat, I've seen FW boats that are 20 yrs old and the wood is still in great shape.

Then you hear the advertising that we have "no wood", the builder is usually refering to the use of plywood decks that were generally coveren in maring carpet. They, over time were problematic. You would have to check for "soft" decks. Wood, or coring which is fiberglass encaplutaled seems to fall under the "woodless" construction definition...arguable for sure.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Yep, and dont' forget the coring below the waterline. It's tough to beat balsa for it's strength to weight ratio. Using it in a sandwich between fiberglass provides for great strength that's still got some decent flexibility without weighing a ton. Solid fiberglass would be a heckuva lot heavier, more expensive and not as flexible. That is until recent developments in vinylester resins and such. These are a lot more expensive. But the largest downside to balsa coring it how readily it sucks up moisture. Get a crack or a leak in a through hull fitting and balsa swells, leading to cracks, blisters or other problems with the fiberglass sandwich around it.

Marine plywood, on the other hand, is considerably denser than balsa and treated to be a lot more resistant to swelling due to moisture. It's heavier, of course but still has the flexibility needed while also having considerable strength. So for things like stringers or bulkheads it's an excellent solution, properly installed of course.

So any time you've got a fastener that pokes through the fiberglass make sure it stays properly sealed. This includes making sure the 5200 or other caulk around it stays in good shape over the years. Sunlight is brutal on things like caulk and sealers and they WILL need to be redone every so often. How often depends on the harshness of the environment and use.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

They still use wood in the Z06 Corvette...I wouldnt worry at all about its structural abilities. I would agree though that it should be sealed anytime you cut/drill into it.