Wooden Boat restoration

[FCPO]

Good afternoon,

Have just come into the possession of a modified Roue 20, which is 30 ft wooden sailboat, designed by the same individual that designed the Bluenose. It was built in 67 and although overall in good shape, there are some hull planks that require replacing. It is my intention to redo the whole hull, sanding, replace required planks, paint etc. At the same time I am going to completely redo the inside, redesigning it for short crusies ( up to three weeks) for two people.

My question concerns redoing the hull. I have read all the material I can lay my hands on ref redoing a wooden hull, and still can't seem to find a straight forwad answer. My questions are;

a) can I fiberglass the hull rather than rechaulk,

b) if I fiberglass do I need to rechaulk, and

c) if I do need to chaulk, is there some new material/glop available that can be used inplace of traditional chaulking?

If I can fiberglass the hull can someone roughly outline the steps/material?

Would appreciate any advice help.

Thanks

G

[geo]

Nothing good will come from fiberglassing over the hull. If you really don't want to do a traditional repair you might consider cold molding over the hull, this will however require a good deal of knowledge on the " how to do side."

[Noah's]

Afraid I have to disagree with Geo, something good can come from fiber glassing a traditional wood hull if it is done right, but first of all you need to decide if you really want a ?wooden boat?.

If you want to keep your wooden boat reasonably dry but avoid fiberglass try Sikaflex or 3M 5200 polyurethane calking. Rake out all the old calking and scrape the plank edges so they are down to clean dry wood. This is important because the polyurethane will not stick to an oily surface. Pound cotton into the back of the seam leaving 3/8? to ?? in the front to be filled with the polyurethane. The 5200 will flex when the planks swell so you will not get cupping. If the planking is less than ?? skip the cotton and just use the 5200.

If you want to fiberglass the hull you need to remove all paint and clean the seams as above. The easiest way to do this is sandblasting. You should at this point refasten the hull and replace any bad planks. You can pull the plugs, tighten the existing screws and add new fasteners where needed. Next fill seams and screw heads with an epoxy and microbaloons mixture. Sand the hull fair with 40 grit and fiberglass. Always use epoxy as polyester resin will eventually come away from the wood. You need to use heavy glass, we find that 1810 stitch mat words well up to about 30? boats, add an extra layer for larger boats. This can be done right side up, but it is easier to drop the keel and turn the hull so you are working with gravity. You can also wrap the glass around the keel deadwood to prevent any water getting in that area. This should get you a dry boat so you will not have to worry about the planks swelling. Fair and paint and that?s all there is to it. Easy right.

[CDR]

In your reply to FCPO you suggest the use of 1810 Stitchmat for a covering on his wooden hull. You also suggest that he use epoxy to bond this to the hull, however, your website says that Stitchmat is to be used with polyester resin. I understand that some fiberglass products (particularly with mat) contain a chemical binder which is disolved in polyester, but not with epoxy. My question is, "Is Stitchmat compatible with epoxy resin?"

[Noah's]

The mat on ?stitchmat? does not need a binder as it is stitched to the roving, so will wet out with epoxy. When working with this material you should use a relit ivy low viscosity epoxy such as East or MAS. Stitchmat is hard to wet out just because of amount of fabric the resin has to penetrate, a couple of suggestions are put lots of mixed epoxy on the wood, then apply the glass and more resin. An easy way if you are working with relatively small pieces is wet out the mat side on the floor first, allow it to soak for two or three minutes then pick it up and put the mat side down on the hull. Because the material is stitched, it can be moved wet and not come apart.

[geo]

dear admin.
I have read your reply several times telling myself that everybody has an opinion, take it or leave it. But I just can not let it go without a rebutal. A Roue 20 glassed over because he has a problem with a couple of planks...please. Then 3M 5200.. hope he never has to remove another plank after that, and have you ever seen a thirty footer with 1/2" plank stock? Then there is the sand blasting, chances are the boat being east coast is planked in pine or cedar, the guy would need a 45 gal drum of fairing compound by the time he's through. All things aside I wonder what he did in the end, seeing as how the question was first posted several years ago.

[Noah's]

Please note that I qualified the reply with a question asking if he really wants a wooden boat. In other words the recommendations are alternatives to traditional repairs.
The method of sandblasting and fiber glassing has been used on pine and spruce boats successfully for several years by Covey Island Boats in Nova Scotia, as well as a number of other yards.
3M 5200 and various other Polyurethane calking compounds have are used extensively on wooden boats, under the assumption that yes they are harder to take apart, but will ultimately last longer.
As for planking thickness, I was trying to answer to a range of boat sizes, not the Roue specifically.