Lightning 7922

[Dan Newton]

I'm now the prowd owner of Lightning 7922, (ca. 1962?), with what looks like all the original equipment. The mast and boom need some minor repair, and the topsides are 'glassed. This is extensively crazed, and too thick for my taste.

The mast has open joints in the wood on both sides, starting above the main spreaders and continuing about 18". The T-section boom has a crack on one side of the top piece which has been repaired with screws.

My intension is to strip the old varnish and reglue the mast. What's the best glue for this? The boom could be repaired with a spline and some pins. Is it correct to assume that a wooden boat in good condition does not necessarily benefit from an exterior coating of fibreglass, especially considering the sa/d on the order of 36.

Photos soon,
DAN

[gonzo]

Epoxy glue is good for filling gaps. Gorilla glue fills gaps too. The most important thing is to clean the gap well. I have used a saw to cut open the seam and then glue a thin piece of wood as a filler. A wooden boat in good condition gets no benefit from fiberglass.

[tunnels]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Epoxy glue is good for filling gaps. Gorilla glue fills gaps too. The most important thing is to clean the gap well. I have used a saw to cut open the seam and then glue a thin piece of wood as a filler. A wooden boat in good condition gets no benefit from fiberglass.

Gorilla glue for a wooden boat !! you gotta be kidding me . If its not epoxy dont use it !!!PLAIN AND SIMPLE !!!
GORILLA GLUE IS ABOUT AS USEFUL AS TITS ON A BULL !and inless you have a structual problem with you boat fibreglass is not a good idea . when you are building a new boat yes but otherwise no .

[gonzo]

Epoxy is a newcomer in the world. There are many glues that have been used with success.
tunnels: why do you think a polyurethane glue is bad?

[tunnels]

I have been using Gorilla glues for a long time in a part of the work i have been doing and it is to unpredictable as any kind of a marine glue . A boat company also tried to used it during the assembly of the internal furnature and they to found the same , it was unprodictable and was not compatable with all kinds of woods they were using .
I was using it for glueing Bamboo and it was ok and any one else doing the same job would have problems ,there was a long learning period to understand what it would do , for pine timbers it would stick in patchs and not all the way along a join . Plus the foaming action there was more work involved with clean up and sanding . Clean up the surface and wait and then have to clean up and scrap a second and sometimes even a third time It was found also weather affected it greatly during damp and hi humidity to would go hard very quickly as it needed a element of moisture for its cure ing action , when it was dry it was slow to go hard reguardless of the temprature .
My friend a long time boat builder and i both found the same things in completely unrelated types of jobs using completely differnt types of woods .
Sorry as a marine glue it is away down the list !! any type of epoxy is better than the best gorilla glue ,around the home and in the home workshop ok
but not in a boat . The formulation may be differant from country to country so my findings could be differant to what you find where you are .
For my Bamboo work i was using a lot of it not just a dab here and there .

[gonzo]

Epoxy will fail with oak. For example, I have laminated a bow stem seven years ago that is doing fine. I am not sure why you would use it on interiors for a long time if the results were bad. The foam is not a problem in structural applications where you can use a chisel and 80 grit to take it off.