Question about wooden boats please!

My concern is hit something with the keel and some plank loosed and the other thing how i can filled the spacious from palnk to plank a some black glue was throw from the inside and appear in the outside in some places that scare me and my wife toll me the same way the water can came to the inside, how I can solve that I check the boat the other day and no sign of rot wood but that gages between some planks scare me a lot. Hansp no feelings!

 

The black stuff is most likely what is called marine pitch or barge pitch. However it could be something else since we don't know who has tried what during the boats career.
If it is pitch, it would slowly flow out through a wide seam because it softens and flows in hot weather. It is normally used inside wood boats in spots where there is no way to have a limber hole to drain water to a lower spot where the bilge pump can take care of it. It fills up the low spot and any water that gets in goes to the next lower frame space or whatever.
To clean it out of the seam you may have to resort to actually removing the pitch in the area from which it is coming inside the boat. Then you could carefully remove it from the seam itself and then go about dealing with the large open seams. The pitch could be put back in when you had it to the point where it wouldn't start oozing back out. It could even be done in the water after the seams have tightened up.
Seams on very dry wood hulls should not be caulked too tightly because the planks will swell considerably when they soak up.
You really need to find someone locally who can teach you how to take care of a wooden boat. And also to look it over closely to make sure you aren't missing something significant about its condition.
Ask around and scour the woods and find this person. You will be glad you did. Even if you decide not to get the boat.

 

Hi and thanks, I past this weekend trying to found out a knowledge person but no one appears. Question, I saw three wooden boats and know the owners than they covers their boats with fiber years ago. One of them maked with the boat just one week after be out of the water and apparently the wood still wet and now have problem with fiber losing from the hull. The other ones sand until the wood lokks like new and then cover with fiber ten years agon with out any problem, they glued the hull in the inside to protect the wood from humidity and in the outside 6 layers of barrier kote with primer and anti. they toll me is the same of fiber boats, the wood don;t spand between the sandwich why this gone to happen with a solid wooden boat. I don't have the answer to that so I just change the theme. Sounds with rasonability it will be very stiff maybe 1/4 of fiber completly protected and cover in the inside with some kind of glue sounds like a very strong boat to me. Please more details, or comments I really like this boat. Thanks again Mario.

 

Hi Mario,
I'm glad to see you are still interested in this boat. It sounds like it must be a nice one.
I also want to emphasize that no one has established that there is anything wrong with this boat except that it has become very dried out. If there is nothing wrong with it structurally it would be a waste of time and money to do something so drastic as fiberglassing it or glueing layers of veneer over it just so you wouldn't have to recaulk it.
If it is necessary to do one of the things that have been discussed here you should research the potential solutions very thoroughly to ensure that the remedy will be a success. As the prior posts have demonstrated there is a real potential for the "cure" to be a failure.
One possible solution that hasn't been mentioned is to caulk the seams with soft wedge shaped battens by glueing them in place. Some soft rot resistant wood such as red cedar is used. The hull is planed off smooth and then finished in some conventional way.
I know your object here is to have a formula for success before putting money into this project, so stick with the research, etc. til you have a solution which has a very high success rate.

 

Mario,
If this boat was built with timber planking, inspect the planking, estimate how much to repair it if rotten, inspect the frame and other parts ..if too much rotten wood it might cost you a lot of money to repair it..if not so much ..go a head.Typical for Asian boat to have 1.5 inch to 2.0 inch thickness for planking.I don't know about other type of construction. Wooden boats in my place are not covered with fibreglass or cold moulding..too expensive..they still last very long..longer than the owner..if real good care taken..no care..boat rot..finished..! boat deck are washed and scrub with salt water every now and then..wooden boat is good..but owner must have very good boat maintenance knowledge..if not..it rot in..finished..!

 

Hello again Mario,
I am not sure if there is a little confusion going on here, or whether it is just me.

Is this the same boat from your first posts? (the bare wooden one)

Or are you talking about another boat that is already covered in fiberglass?

As you can probably tell,
most people here are recomending NOT to cover an old wooden boat in fiberglass, (as it is likely to cause problems and when it does it will be harder to repair)

however,
obviously a lot of other people 'out there' have done this, and continue to do this,
so if you really really want to cover the boat in fiberglass, and if this is what is going to make you and you wife feel safe then it is up to you,
then do it if you want.

You will have to make sure that the wood you are covering with fiberglass has absolutely no rot.
If anything is suspicious, replace it now before you glass, rather than worry about it forever later.
You also may want to consider treating the wood with a fungcidal wood treatment (to kill any rot spores and inhibit any future growth of rot) before you glass it.

If you have Epoxy resin available, then this would be better to use than Polyester.

------------

If however this is ANOTHER boat that you are talking about,
ie, one that has already been covered in fiberglass 10 years ago,

even though this boat may appear to be ok, it may not be.
This is the problem with covering a wooden boat in fiberglass.
It can be very hard to tell if everything is ok underneath the glass.
If this is the case, and you are interested in buying this boat (a wooden boat covered in fiberglass ten years ago)
THEN GET A PROFFESSIONAL SURVEY DONE ON IT.

I hope this helps, and hasn't confused things further.

Good luck,
and keep trying,
you'll figure it all out soon.

Hans.

 

Hi, no the one from ten years ago is one I saw and the owner toll me that, yes is the same boat its driven me crazy, I hammered with a rubber one in all the hull and nothing sounds funny or broke, the only thing concerns me is the planks in some of them is a space maybe 1/4 of inch and the other thing is hit some thing and some of the planks loosed or broke, fiber boats resist scrathes reef and other kind of things, I think if I covered I can make a strong boat, buttttt the other day in a yard I saw a nice sailboat out of the water, and notice was a wood one covered with fiber. My father say waoo what a strange keel because looks fat, when I kick the keel the fiber glass explote and a lot of maroon water start comimg out. Yes was completly rotten like most people say here, that scare a lot. I don't no if continue with this. Thanks again.

 

Wow, you kicked some guys keel and it exploded!
he musta been happy


Well you've seen what can happen under the illusion of a strongly fiberglassed wooden hull. It seems to put a 'shelf life' on boats. As in, you can expect it to be safe and sound for maybe at least a few years, but then after a certain time you might never know how safe or dangerous it is untill something happens (like your keel exploding )

I really wouldn't be too worried about strength if you don't fiberglass.
If its a properply designed and built wooden boat, then it will most probably be strong enough (if you prepare it the way it needs to be prepared).
I mean you don't wanto go ramming reefs, but you don't want to do this in just about any boat.

your options are,
fiberglass the thing as well as you can. Keep if for a while- maybe five years, and sell the thing on to someone who thinks fiberglassed wooden boats are a good thing. (probably with the risk that you will loose money on the boat).

Or, fix up the wooden construction as is. Caulk the gaps with caulking and or wood, as recomended by a real pro who has seen it up close.
Keep it for as long as you like, because if you like it, you can keep on top of its maintenence and it should last a long time. (keeping it traditional should keep most of its resale value).
save your money from the fiberglassing, and buy a good little liferaft for peace of mind (and to keep your wife feeling safe).


Hey mario, could you post any photo's of this boat that is tempting you so much? After all this time we don't even know what it looks like.

Good luck
Hans.

 

why not pound cotton in between the planks?

 

Hi: Hansp, no no the boat was confiscated and waiting for be destroyed, no mast any kind of equipment just the rotten hull. And about the sailboat I don't have pictures but looks very similar to the Pearson Pilothouse 36, is a sloop but in the stern have a pole when the back stay is connected, big windows in the pilot house area, the bow is tall and with a closely 90 degrees angle to the top, no bow pulpit, aluminium mast maybe added after, I will try to found something similar on the web, i don't know the brand this boat was delivered from St John USVI and selled to one person than later selled to another this one keep the boat for 10 years and now selled to a local guy that don't have money to restore the boat. The boat was taken out of the water because his start taking to much water, its sitting in stands for close two years. I know I'am not suppose to hit anything but you know that could happen, my wife complain is Mario remember "El coquito" thats the Herreshoff we loose, imagine that maybe the lead keel of this boat want to go to the bottom or maybe a plank broke after jump a big wave in a stormy day, I say to her don't worry "mi amor" my love fiberglass can fix all that!!!!!. Hansp It is posible just fiberglass from the water line to the bottom?? and leave the sides virgin only cover with paint. I friend of my toll me this boat is easy to reach all the ribs could I get glue that with that strange black thing and protected for humidity?? If this thing of the hull happen that rot under the fiber glass maybe the solution is make a stiff hull putting more fiberglass like a old fiberglass boat wright, finally can be a fiber glass boat reinforced in the interior with more ribs. I always put in my boat 8 layers of epoxy barrier kote, 6 layers of epoxy primer from Hempel and 8 layers Of Hempel antofouling paint last for 3 or for years without blister, could I do the same with this one. Sorry again for make a circle on this. I will try to go to that island and take pictures of my nightmare dream. Thanks again Mario.

 

Its amazing I found a similar one on the web, Sea Sailor, Pilot House Motor Sailor, made entirely of teak, and other exotic woods. 1 of 4 built world wide with bright topsides. Built in Hong Kong in 1973 and fully reconditioned in 2003 - 2004. Custom made bronze 30 feet long, 10 feet beam, 4 feet draft and 13,000 lbs displacement its a lot for a 30 feet boat!!. I email the owner for asking him about the hull and how she performance to windward etc. I save pics in my computer. The other thing I spend all the morning in different sites like yachtworld, usedboats, ablboats and found a lot of wooden boats covered with fiber to avoid worms and others with cold molded that I still lost how is that!, the thing catch my attention was the a lot of them covered the deck with epoxy. Thanks again

 

Thanks everyone again for the reply's and info. I just found another same boat that the one I interested. I don't know how put pictures but the web is www.boats.com then in search sea sailor pilothouse 29, if not try in advance wood, 29 to 30 from 18,000 to 25,000 1969 to 1971 and then appear. Please if someone with knowledge can take a look and tell me his opinion. The ad say teak 1" but says too a strange wood name and don't specify if the hull is teak the "planks". Thanks again, I;am in the process of search some wood survey here.

 

Is this it?

http://www.boats.com/listing/boat_d...ck_search.jsp&n=97%3A1%3A75015%3A76155%3A3204

 

Yes thats the one, looks classic to me I liked but I still have problems trying to change my wife opinion about them. She don't like the idea of buy a boat that needs a lots of works on it. What do you think about the boat ??

 

It looks very nice to me,
but I am a amatuer at this,
and I love old wooden boats...

Hopefully someone with more experience than me can give you some advice.

How similar is it to the one you are interested in?
That is, what is different on yours?
I see a self furling jib on the one pictured,
but I can't seem to see a boom on this one??

Also, what is happening under the waterline?
What sort of keel and rudder etc..

Good luck convincing your wife.
Hans.