Ray,

I too considered laminating my own beam and honestly if I were to go that route I would think twice about glassing it in. Not only does the inside glass layer serve to trap moisture which then has no way out, a well varnished laminated beam could be a nice touch inside the cabin. I once looked inside hull #1, which was for sale at the time, and it's beam was varnished/unglassed--I am not sure how many boats were made that way. It had sagged noticably but so have most of the old glassed-in beams that I have seen. Anyway, thats my two cents worth. Good Luck,

Steve

:: Steve,
::
:: Thanks for the feed back. I have the same issues as
:: well. Having the wood shop I have opted to laminate my
:: own beam (we'll see how that works out).
::
:: :: Ray,
:: ::
:: :: Wow, you've got your work cut out for you. It looks like
:: :: you have a good start on it, however. And it looks like
:: :: you have a good place to work on it.
::
:: :: Having just about finished my own restoration project
:: :: (hull #365--1968) I would have to say that the two major
:: :: issues my boat had where soft decks, and a rotten mast
:: :: support beam. I would recommend doing a thorough survey
:: :: of the deck--tapping with the butt of a screwdriver will
:: :: tell you where the worst areas are but to really find
:: :: out the extent of the damage you have to drill lots of
:: :: shallow holes.
::
:: :: I ended up replacing the balsa core on nearly half of
:: :: the fore-deck and another large area above the cabin.
::
:: :: As for the mast support beam, there are lots of past
:: :: posts addressing that, but in short I opted for the new
:: :: beam that the Schock Company makes and I am very happy
:: :: with it.
::
:: :: It will be fun to see how your project progresses. If
:: :: you have any questions feel free to contact me either
:: :: here or through my e-mail.
::
:: :: Good Luck,
:: ::
:: ::
:: :: Steve
:: ::
:: :: :: I have just started restoration of Hull 535, soon to be
:: :: :: called “Rejuvenated”. I have yet to come across another
:: :: :: Santana 22 in the Tampa Bay area, so it should be
:: :: :: unique. I have posted pictures of the beginning of the
:: :: :: process in the “Restoration” folder in the photo’s area.
:: :: :: All comments, suggestion and even some encouragement are
:: :: :: always welcome.
:: :: ::
:: :: :: Thanks,
:: ::
:: :: :: Ray