repair on 38ft pacemaker

[john]

I have a pacemaker that has been out of the water for 2 years I'm restore/repairing it now. It has some bonddo in it that I am removeing. In some places the gaps between the boards can get upto 1/4 inch and where some of the roten wood is it can get to 1 inch or more. do I replace the wood their and what do I put in the gaps between the wood before painting. Also what about the wood expanding after it is wet what will it do to the caulked gaps and the paint job?

[Ric@Noah's]

John

You should replace the planks where there is a large gap. Planks should be a snug but not tight fit. If you fill large gaps with Bondo or Epoxy putty, you will get cupping when the wood swells. Small gaps can be filled with a polyurethane such as 3M 5200.

You probably will get some cracking in the paint at the seams, when the wood swells.