Have a look underneath the deck.  I have had problems with Heaven Sent over the years and during a structurally taxing championships the side decks pretty much fell off (nothing to do with James Warren bouncing around in the boat...).  The underside has definitely not been treated with epoxy and I doubt the foredeck has either.  It's about the most difficult area of the boat to get at but it may be worth getting it really dry and then sealing both sides of the ply.

Andrew 3511 (another JT boat)

Also worth mentioning that you should either keep the surface temp the same or start letting it drop a tiny bit after you start applying the epoxy or the wood can 'outgas' and leave you with lots of wee bubbles...! 

Good to meet you at the Boat Show Andy as well, I'm just finishing my write up. Andy (Caledonia Sailing and manic Merlin sailor/Scottish rep)

When I bought Terabyte the varnish on the decks was in a fairly bad state with dark patches where presumably moisture had got in.Having stripped the decks the dark patches were treated with oxalic, deck allowed to dry then epoxied and varnished.  All looked great for a few weeks but i went to the boat in her barn last Sunday, took the cover off and the dark patches had reappeared. Very disappointed and really can't face doing the whole thing again. Any suggestions?

Hi Andy, yes I remember our chat on the Dehler 38 (big Merlin with beds)Look forward to seeing the write-up and thanks for the tips everyone.

I GUESS IT WAS A COUPLE OF WEEKS IN A WARM SHED.













It was about a couple of weeks in a warm shed.  I also had a low Wattage heater under the foredeck.

Hi Andy

Try hanging an inspection lamp close over the affected area for a few days - you should find the heat from the lightbulb will dry the wood out without damaging the varnish.  

As Andrew comments, it's probable the moisture causing the dark patches is coming through from underneath the deck.  I owned 3501, a sister ship to Terrabyte, and had the same issue years ago.  I did try repainting the underside of the decks with epoxy and this did reduce the problem, but really the best answer is to store the boat in a dry garage at this time of year.

Regards

Dave Lee

I have given her a bit of sunlight this week Andy but it hasn't made much difference. Heat from a lamp might be a good idea.

andy...how long did you leave the stripped deck before you epoxied it???

Gents

Just a quick one, if you strip the decks and retrieve the colour, best to leave the boat heated for a while (days) to sweat out any moisture or the epoxy with turn cloudy and/or discolour the deck again. Also make sure the space is kept heated whilst applying the epoxy and during the drying process. If rubbing back the epoxy to get a finish to varnish, acetone a cloth and wipe over the area first to remove any greasing due to the rubbing down process.

Hope that helps

Barnsie