what to do with the deck.

Agree and already planning to.

 

Brendan, I just went and looked at that Gougeon article and could not believe what I was reading, what a bunch of hogwash. Epoxy is a good product but not that good. Wood boats move in a seaway and will crack any epoxy filled seam and unreinforced coating. While they do have a lot of good info in their book and articles you have to understand that every method they propose is not necessarily the best way, or even a viable way, but rather is the way that will consume the maximum amount of epoxy products. Unfortunatly while most pros, at least those who have been using epoxy before they started marketing their product, are able to recognize this but most boat owners take what they say as gospel, they have done a great marketing job, that is for sure.

Steve.

 

8mm sounds about right, it depends on the epoxy of course, a high elongation epoxy like G flex can absorb more movement than West 105 which is one of the worst but no commonly available epoxy can handle the movement in a planked boats seams as you pointed out.

Steve.

 

I just made a new discovery. The plank deck is an overlay. It is ply underneath and most of it looks to be in good condition. So now I can replace any rotten sections and epoxy sheath it. I will pull up some planks tomorrow and post the pics.

 

Deck pics

 

Looks like 3/8 ply overlaid with 30 mm thick planks. The more I look the more rot I find. (As usual ). Definitely be putting new ply on now.

 

You'd be wise to switch the scantlings for this deck, by using much thicker plywood and a 3/8" veneer decking, if the laid deck look is desired. The plywood is much more stable and will greatly help the stiffness of the deck, leaving the veneer as simply a decorative skin.

 

I will use thicker ply and epoxy sheath It and paint it. The laid deck looks nice but I would rather keep it simple. Had the original deck been in better condition it would have been nice to keep. Where I have to repair that burn't hole can I replace with planks staggered from 4 to 6 ft long instead of replacing the full length. I know some people say you should replace the whole plank but I don't want to go that far.

 

Brendan,

If your planking timber is one that glues well, I think you mentioned Oregon? It's quite possible & really not that hard to cut scarfs & glue so as to effectively short plank but keep the benefits of your existing butt/plank lay out.
Just est out a nice ratio, have a feather edge to the inside over a frame & use a small.. mabe 5-6mm nib on the scarf externally, you spile off to the nib at each end which give you a terrific reference points & similar to butts in planking.
If theres significant bend you can pre steam your spiled planking- but dont cut the scarf yet plus good to leave some "green" at one end at least & just clamp alongside/under/over the gap you'll be fitting to, if there's significant twist you can cut some wedges for the ends to exagerate & allow for some springback... similar can be done for the overall curve as well.

Jeff.

 

Yes it is oregon above the waterline jeff. Good to know I can scarf in some short sections. There is not to much bend in that area. I think oregon will pull in without steaming. It may be to big a job for me . I will decide once I get it prepared. There are a few shipwrights around here if I need a pro.

 

All the same, don't line the scarfs up, you still need to stagger out a bit for a nice job. First time I did that was to a 26' Bracken... with full length planking, a clown on a stand up jet ski buried it into the topsides till it jambed between sheerclamp & stringer... well pi$$ed, lucky he hit in line with the cockpit & took out the cockpit curtains..... otherwise prolly woulda died, he left in an ambo, also lucky the owner lived 5 minutes up the road & was down there patching with ply real quick-pretty close to waterline. Job came out strong & neat

Jeff.

 

That jeff. I have no worries about replacing the deck or repairing the sheerclamp . Its just the planking that looks a bit daunting. I can try one plank I guess and see how I go. At the moment I am concentrating on the deck and will fix that hole last. At least I know why I had a fire now. I must have set some rotten ply smoldering . Can I scarf the repairs with an oscillating mult tool or is it better to get a reciprocating saw.

 

I just had a look at some reciprocating saw blades 12 inchs long. Would I be able to do a 4 to 1 scarf on inch planks with them. Thats a 4 inch cut plus the distance from wood to tool with such a shallow angle. I think you Americans call these a sawzall.

 

Maybe a sawzall will work.
Also consider a grinder.

I have used circular saw holding the guard up and scraping across wood. But for that you should wear gloves, the chips hit hard on the hand. After rough shaping then maybe some coarse belt sanding.

I do what I do to make what I need to do when I need to do it.

 

Thanks. I thought the sawzall might be good if the blades were long enough. I could make up a jig for it so both scarfs are cut on the same angle.