Glassing Lapstrake

I have a 1960 White. This is a lapstrake wooden boat.It leaks like a siv.I have tried cleaning out all the seams below water and filling them with 5200. That worked for a short time.I reliaze this boat is to have some water in it but it has gotten out of control.I want to west system the bottom.It is a twenty foot boat so turning it over is pretty much out of the question.I have seen a couple of boats simular to mine that have been west systemed and it seem to work well for them.I am lookin for suggestions ,opinions and first hand experience.I have used the west system and have full confidence in it.I have done small repairs on the boat with great results.But doing the bottom up to just past the waterline is another thing entirely.One of my greatest concerns is the flexing of the boat. And if if I get a great bond to the wood do you think the west system will flex with the boat and stay laminated or do you think it will just come undone the first time Im in rough seas .I look forward to your input.

Happy wooden boat owner. Jeff Goldberg

 

I'm currently restoring a 1958 White lap runabout (slightly smaller)

This is traditional construction and 'glassing the laps will not solve much and will likely cause a bunch of issues to rear up.

If she's leaking badly, she needs to be refastened (a lot easier then 'glassing in the lapped bottom) or she needs some, if not all of her bottom planks replaced.

These are very well built, wonderfully designed and high quality material constructed vessels. Goo in a can will be the death to her, trust me, I've seen many die this way. It's myth to think other wise.

First, 'glass doesn't stick to the hard edge of the laps very well, let alone trying to apply it without bubbles and air pockets.

Yes, you can roll this boat, it's actually quite light (one of the advantages of lap construction) but the engine and other heavy and loose items must come off the boat. I just rolled one a few weeks ago and it was all a few friends and I needed 5 minutes for. We snatched her off the trailer, placed it on the ground, put some sheets of ply on the trailer, then picked it up and rolled her onto the plywood clad trailer. It can be rolled with a chain fall(s) or come-a-long(s), circular skids, what ever makes it work. I like the free beer method. Invite some of your healthier buddies over for free beer and they'll flip the boat in a flash. On boats your size, I usually put them back on a slightly modified trailer so I can wheel it around easily, though a cradle on wheels is good too.

 

Glassing lapstrake.

Well I dont know how many guys you had but I think it would take allot of guys to turn over this boat.And to get it done without damaging the boat I just cant imagine.The wood in this boat is in very good condition so I don't beleive that any thing needs to be replaced.The refastening sounds like it may be the answer but that in itself seems like a huge job as the seats and the floor would have to be taken out.I don't have a clue on how to do the refastening.The strakes are held together by a small copper nail that is bent over on the inside.The ribs are attached to the strakes buy screws.Are you suggesting to refasten inbetween the ribs and what about the areas you cant reach due to the stringers.The more i think about this the more I like the idea of west system with glass matting.I really feel that if the boat is prepped right the matting will hold.I have heard your views on the horrors of glassing and having it be a nightmare.The reason I feel so stongly about the glassing is I have done repairs with the west system on this boat and it has held to this day.When I first bought this boat and put it in the water several of the seams where one strake ended and a new one began going from front to back the glue failed and these seams opened resulting in the water tearing several big holes in the bottom.Needless to say we almost sunk.I made repairs and as I said they have held to this day.Yes I am very concerned with the lamination on the hard edge of the strake.Well that was a mouth full.I look forward to your additional input.

 

Look Jeff, I do this stuff for a living and just turned over an 18'er with four guys. It took 5 minutes and 3 of those were tossing some sheets of ply onto the trailer to rest the boat on after the flip. These are very light boats (unless it's water soaked) and the two additional feet on your boat will amount to an extra couple hundred pounds at the most. You can build a circular sided cradle and do it that way, but it's a lot more work (materials, building it, etc.) you can also use a sling or two and walk it around, by lifting, tipping, resting it, adjusting the slings, then lifting and tipping her some more until she's at the balance point, where she'll flop over by herself (put down padding or prevent damage by a controlled flop)

Your boat will have small frames on closely spaced centers. They will have a screw at each lap and frame and 3 clench nails between the frames, below the water line and likely two above (depends on frame spacing)

Squirting goo into the laps doesn't work and defeats the natural ability of the construction method to seal itself when wet. Epoxy doesn't work either. You can make it work, but the planking must be removed, dressed down to good wood (unmolested by dirt, oils, grime, etc.) then reassembled with the goo of choice, but now you're fooling with the method and converting it to a glued seam boat, which relies on different principles to insure water tightness. These means you'll be re-engineering the construction method and you should be well understanding of the concepts, principles and engineering involved in such a process, or expect to meet with less than satisfying results.

If a plywood lapped hull is leaking you've got two choices (sorry) refasten or replank and refasten. Epoxy and mat don't mix, 'glass and lap construction don't mix. As I said, no goo in a can will provide a long term fix, just a plastic envelope for the soon to be rotting mess to settle into.

Refastening isn't hard, but you'll likely find other issues as you remove the few stringers and sole. Such as fastener holes that have egged out and/or have developed rot, cracked or broken frames (check under the stringers and at the screws for common places where this happens) These are easy boats to fix, very well designed and constructed. Check out the transom and it's attachment (plank ends, knees and through bolts) this is a high stress area and works loose, which lets in water.

You best bet is to take her to someone who specializes in lap construction restoration and pay them to give it a good once over to inform you of it's issues. This person needs to understand the method and the repair processes. In your neck of the woods they should be easy to find and possably get some tips from.

 

If we are voting I have to vote with Par. Long term you will just end up with water between the glass mat and planks rotting the wood until you have a mould of your previously wooden hull.