[MC1600]

Does anyone know if the foredeck on the 4000 Express (1999 if it matters) is cored or solid fiberglass? I’m talking about the area forward of the windshield, by the bow pad. When I had my headliner down last year I thought for sure I saw the underside of bare fiberglass but can’t remember for sure. Figured I’d ask here if anyone knows. 

Thanks!

[hiccup]

It is cored. It would be fiberglass on both sides of the coring--gel coat over glass on the outside and raw fiberglass on the inside, with balsa in the middle. Let me guess, the bow pad attachment points penetrated the coring and water got in?

[MC1600]

Windshield, though I guess it could be those connection points for the bow pad. Of course this reveals itself during a survey. Never showed any signs, not soft or anything for the four years I’ve owned it, but of course the surveyor is making it sound like the boat is basically trashed. Ugh…

[hiccup]

Can be very expensive to remediate, lots of pictures available online showing examples. That said, the only way to know 100% is to actually see the coring, either through core samples or removing the top layer of glass. What the surveyor comes back with is an educated guess. Is he basing his opinion on moisture meter, percussion sounding, thermal camera, all the above? Is he saying it is delaminating or just wet?

If they're looking for a reasonable allowance to address, it is probably best to just continue with the sale, perhaps see if they'll meet you halfway. If they're looking for a huge reduction, I'd let them walk and sell to someone else with a less-nervous surveyor.

Just my 2 cents.

[MC1600]

Very helpful — thank you. They’re claiming delamination. No idea on the tools used but I like those talking points and will ask.

The whole thing seems a bit squishy to me (pardon the pun). Surveyor says a 4x4 section delaminated, got wet repeatedly, and even likely froze several times. To your point, I can’t imagine that’s not hard to ascertain without better evidence. The real kicker is then a fiberglass guy got onboard to look at it and says it’s a 2x12 section. That’s like the entire foredeck!? There’s also quite a difference between 4x4 and 2x12.

Of course every repair option seems to be blowing up the top/front of the boat and rebuilding. No one even considered trying to do the work from underneath when I asked. Plus, I find it VERY hard to believe this is all going on yet I feel NO softness whatsoever walking around up there. Solid as a rock.

[Harloo]

Knowing this thread is a little old in terms of selling your boat, I still wanted to chime I with my experience for future readers of this thread.
My 97 4000 Express had core rot in the area between the aft end of the bow pulpit and the forward edge of the raised cabin top where it slopes upward from the deck onto the cabin top.
Many 4000 Express units were shipped without a windlass. Windlasses were often installed in the field after the boat left the factory.
Some of these field installations had bedding and sealants that failed due to application errors.
Mine was one.
However, the outer deck fiberglass is thick enough (about 3/8" if I remember correctly) that the rot is not noticeable on such a limited area.
I discovered mine while replacing the windlass in 2017.
Had to remove a trapezoid shape piece of deck from the outside, same area as described above.
Was able to salvage the outer piece and relay it onto the new repair panel, thus saving and reusing some of the nonskid area. 
This resulted in some seams of smooth area that look different from factory, but saved some dough.
No wood in the new core. Hard as rock but I still used a backing plate when installing the new windlass.
The rot extended aft down the side deck a little ways past the cut out section. We dug out a few inches of wood and backfilled that area.
Even with the money saving short cuts it was not inexpensive.
I recommend every owner remove the windlass footswitches and check for rot and address it sooner than later.
While you're at it, remove and re-bed/reseal the screws that mount the drink holders to the cabin top next to the sun pad area.
Had a leak there too!
Good cruising and good wrenching!