Do I re hydrate hull before new caulking and paint?

Hi my wooden boat has been out in the Australian weather for a couple of months and the most recent warm spell has caused her timbers to shrink. I have sanded her back and repaired any damaged sections so am up to recaulking and painting stage. My question is do I need to re swell the timbers first or afterwards? And if I rehydrate them first won’t the timber be too wet for painting? I am planning on using sprinkling system and burlap to reswell the timbers but open to better suggestions except for floating her in a sling as we don’t have those facilities.

 

By caulking do you mean driving cotton with an iron and mallet, or some kind of putty only?

 

Cotton or oakum driven with iron and mallet and then sikaflex over the top

 

"Acorn to Arabella" steamed the hull prior to painting, but still found all the paint split as the planks swelled after some time in the water

 

That’s a shame! I’m not sure I’d be able set something like that up where I am as it’s out of doors.

 

Which product from Sikaflex are you using? The planks will swell and shrink with changes of moisture. Depending on the species the percentage of change will be different. For example, cedar will change dimensions a lot more than mahogany. It is the nature of planked hulls. Traditional paints had less gloss but were more flexible. What are you planning on painting with?

 

Followed his whole building process.
The oak planking he used is/was quite prone to dimensional change from wet/dry cycles.

 

I’m not sure as to the exact sikaflex product yet, can you recommend one over the other? The hull is mahogany and the paint I have for the topside is international brand but can’t remember what kind I purchased as it was a while ago. I’ll have a look when I get home and update this.

 

Are you talking about acorn to Arabela?

 

Sure you can. He was only in an open shed. Its just a bunch of plastic with a steam box.

 

I prefer polysulfides to polyurethanes. They are soft and can be sanded.

 

Yes, quite a project, not for the faint of heart.

 

I think the wind factor would probably cause a bit of strife, also we’re coming into fire a season here so not sure I could generate enough steam electrically but it’s definitely worth considering and trying to problem solve.