Sabre plywood dinghy deck repair.

I am just about to buy an older Sabre plywood sailing dinghy. It is a good little boat at a great price. It has a crack in the plywood deck that has also been painted in some sort of battleship grey non slip paint. Any tips about repairing a cracked deck and stripping off the paint. I would like to get back to a timber look deck. Is it easier to remove the deck and replace?

I’m handy but have never worked on a boat before...houses seem simpler!

Taking the deck off is the best and correct solution, however, with wooden boats, it usually means it’s also the longest and most expensive both in time and materials. You need to decide what you’re end objective is, and then work out if you’re up for the big job, or a quick patch up and some summer fun. The sabre are a great boat.

The deck is likely secured with glue / epoxy and might be quite difficult to remove. I would be inclined to remove the paint with stripper and gently sand to clean it up. The surface veneer is probably only about 1mm thick so go gently - it's not a good look if you sand through it.
The crack is probably repairable with epoxy but photos would help.
Cheers, Mark

It's possible that the deck was painted to cover extensive degradation of the surface. In this case replacement or repainting is called for. At least if you repaint then you can choose a better colour. It's also possible that the ply is degraded right through. There should be a port or 2 in the bulkhead that you can inspect the inside from.

For a clear finish I haven't use 2 pack urethane but I gather it's the longest lasting and more wear resistant. Single part marine grade urethane (eg Cabots, Feast Watson or Bondall Monocell) will last reasonably well though and is cheaper plus easier to apply.

Had a Sabre many years ago so I'd be interested to see what you do and how it turns out.

Thanks, the ply seems OK. It is a hairline crack up against the gun whale from a hard landing on the deck. It has been taped over to get the boat through the last couple of races.

I’ll know more when I get a chance to have a better look. WE have foul weather here with floods.

Sailneophyte

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Originally Posted by labr@

It's possible that the deck was painted to cover extensive degradation of the surface. In this case replacement or repainting is called for. At least if you repaint then you can choose a better colour. It's also possible that the ply is degraded right through. There should be a port or 2 in the bulkhead that you can inspect the inside from.

For a clear finish I haven't use 2 pack urethane but I gather it's the longest lasting and more wear resistant. Single part marine grade urethane (eg Cabots, Feast Watson or Bondall Monocell) will last reasonably well though and is cheaper plus easier to apply.

Had a Sabre many years ago so I'd be interested to see what you do and how it turns out.

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Thanks, the crack is a hairline crack up against the gun whale. Plywood looks sound enough. The previous owner says he fell heavily on the deck.
will find out more I guess as I start the repairs.

Cheers
Sailneophyte