I've done both and getting the deck off without tearing or breaking it is very hard (Apparently too hard for me) if you are going to try and get the deck off you need to use a heat gun and a putty knife ,but not get the glass too hot. The side is easier, will finish better (especially if you do the pumpkin cut) and is less apt to be under as high stress loads as the deck will be. Just make sure you have open access before you cut i.e. not cutting into a bulkhead.
Aaaa! good point...avoid bulkheads. Cutting into one of those for your access hole has a suck factor of
12
.
I agree with cutting into the sides vs. removing a deck. I need to cut into the sied of my N20 this winter and have been studying Jakes repair photos for ideas. Not to hi jack but has anyone ever noticed a thin, soft line in the side just below the no-skid where your heel rides when trapping out?
I've never noticed that on any of the 20's I've owned/worked on. Is it horizontal? There shouldn't be any structural feature to cause that (unless you have a Hobie Tiger-like sub deck for some reason).
It is horizontal and about 16" long. I'm thinking there may be a seam in the foam core here. I'll be cutting in a hole on the inside and likely laying up some carbon in there.
Mine had a 6
fracture when I bought it,. I chased it , glassed it and gelcoated it, seems to be solid so far. It was right behind the rear beam, 6
down.. It was easy to sand and add a layer of glass on the inside through the access port. I got lucky. There was no structural member there.
My 5.0 had a 6" fracture in front of the main beam. right at the top of the long. struct member. same fix. single layer glass hulls so I just fixed from the outside.