Patching Holes and Repairing Rot

I'm in the same boat as weissmarine, I've got an old boat (1969 Trojan Sea Raider) with some rotted wood and I need to get things ship-shape again. I didn't want to post in his thread though especially since our boats are a bit different. Having read through his thread already I'm going to go on the advice there and post up some photos of what I've got going on.

Cabin Top/Cabin Side



Detail


The area in the corner has rotted out and the wood around it is soft and soggy. I was checking for rot with a Fid and the wood about an inch away from the edge of the hole seems solid. I am worried that the rot has extended pretty far through the bulkhead right there the edge is kind of soft but I haven't checked the back side to see how soft it is.

Stern Quarter


This corner is completely gone and I'm wondering how far it may have spread. I plan on replacing the deck anyway but I'm not sure where else it would have spread from that point.

Stern Quarter 2


This spot is adjacent to the last spot. The wood doesn't seem too soft in most of the area but it looks like there's clearly some rot. I'm kind of worried about the transom at this point.

Atern Quarter 3

This spot is in the corner of the cockpit under the last spot. It looks like it was designed to let water through but this one has started to rot out for some reason. Again this just makes me worry about the transom.

Cockpit Helm

This spot didn't appear too soft but I'm wary about any spots where the paint is peeled away. The wood was kind of discolored but this doesn't seem like a spot that would stay wet for too long. I'm hoping it just needs some paint. Any tips on good paint for wood?

Cabin Sides


These shots are inside the cabin. There seems to be a lot of this which leads me to believe the sliding windows are leaking. Is this just a tear out and trace situation?

Any tips on what to do about this and how to check how far it's all gone? Since I know I'm going to have to redo the decks anyway, would it make it easier to tear them up now if I build a cover over the whole boat?

I also have two holes that were drilled in the transom under the waterline. I need to patch these and I have a general idea of how to do it but as the hull is wood sanwiched in a thin glass inside and out I wanted to know if there were any special considerations.

 

Jason, you're correct in your assumsions. Sliding windows are infamous for letting "sweet water" into the boat and that there's more rot then meets the eye.

The only way to find out how much is to start dissembling, so you can get at the "bones" or structural elements of the boat. Covering boards, cabinets, hardware and furniture facings, etc., can hide lots of damage.

For example, the aft starboard cleat area, shows a deck in sad shape, but it (rot) also likely is affecting, the transom, aft portions of the topsides, possibly some knees, probably a sheer clamp or shelf, etc.

The paint looks quite old and it will crack up like that, just from age. Strip the boat down to it's basic elements so you can better access the extent of the areas with rot.

 

I was afraid of that.

 

Yup what PAR said. I am removing rot from my boat .She weighed 9ton when I bought her she now weighs 7.5 ton. Not all rotten wood but problem causing damp as well. Use anti freez on the good wood to prevent rot. That tip was given to me by PAR.

Regards
Butch

 

How so?

 

The glyco(plus a long scientific name) is a fungeside and will kill the rot causing fungus

 

This is just one method of wood preservation, there are many others, some more and others less effective. I don't personally use the "anti-freeze" method, though it's difficult to argue with the chemistry and testing.

You should hire a boat carpenter to evaluate the areas of concern. Better yet, would be a full blown survey by a well respected person, versed in the build type. A good survey will suggest ways to attack problems, prioritize the issues and usually will include a basic plan to address the problems, not to mention find the "usual suspects" and others you didn't know existed.