Where's the balsa in modern Jeanneau decks?

[maby]

We're in the process of ordering a cockpit enclosure for our (soon to be delivered) 33i and while in conversation with the manufacturers (of the enclosure), I was concerned to learn that they would propose to simply screw the mountings onto the deck with simple self-tapping screws - none of this excavating the balsa core and backfilling with epoxy before drilling the holes for proper fixing bolts.

I asked around and this seems to be standard practice amongst all the cockpit enclosure manufacturers. I'm horrified by the prospect of them just drilling through into the balsa core and whacking a bit of Sikaflex over the hole.

It was suggested to me that the balsa coring will not extend close to the hull/deck joint and that the mounts for the enclosure will almost certainly be screwing down into solid GRP - which is obviously acceptable - does anyone here know the limits of the balsa around the cockpit area of a modern Sun Odyssey?

[Amun Ra]

Hello,

I don't know the answer to your question specifically, but I have just had a cockpit enclosure fitted to my 43DS, and took a close interest in how the manufacturer was screwing the fixing points into the cockpit area. I was happy that their fixings were only going into gelcoat/GRP and not into areas where there was any balsa core.

I would be interested, in any case, to the answer to your question about the limits of the balsa core. In my last boat, a Moody 346, it was easy to inspect the deck to identify areas with/without a balsa core.

Best wishes

Julian

[gre2]

For the bimini, we attached it to the stern pulpit and so didn't have to drill any holes in the deck. I am concerned with drilling unnecessary holes, as you are.