Rebuilding and old Frederick Geiger

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by ROUGE, Dec 7, 2007.

  1. ROUGE
    Joined: Dec 2007
    Posts: 6
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: maine

    ROUGE Junior Member

    Hello experts. I've been in the tall ship world for 6 years and helped out on some rebuilds, and now I've purchsed a headache of my very own. The steamed white oak frames on this 27' ketch have rotted away right at the turn of the bilge due to galvinized bolts being used and expanding with rust. I'm now faced with time and money constraints and have developed some sort of plan.
    Does this sound crazy?
    replace all the old galvy bolts, sister all the frames from the 5 oak stringers down into the keel, and splice the bottom halves of several completely gone frames (rather than replace them).

    Obviously the boat would be quite a bit heavier from all this extra oak, but what I'm really concerned with is weather splicing a steam-bent frame will be sturdy enough even with a sister overlapping it.

    Of course I realize that what I really need is 5 or 10 more years of experience, but maybe someone can lend that to me, yes?:p
     
  2. gonzo
    Joined: Aug 2002
    Posts: 16,790
    Likes: 1,714, Points: 123, Legacy Rep: 2031
    Location: Milwaukee, WI

    gonzo Senior Member

    You can replace the damaged frames and sister on the splice about two planks up and down.
     
  3. Scott Carter
    Joined: Oct 2006
    Posts: 130
    Likes: 11, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 143
    Location: Annapolis

    Scott Carter Senior Member

    Rouge,
    It's important to remove all of the rotten wood prior to sistering. Rot areas lend no structure and become a liability in holding moisture and microrganisms condusive to decay. Be aggressive in wood removal. You'd rather have it out than in if it's not contributing structurally.
    One further word of advice would be to be very selective in choosing the stock for your sawn frame splices. Even small grain irregularities will offer opportunities for split and then decay again. It sounds like the job won't entail a lot of timber, so you should take advantage of that and be picky. Clear is better.
    Finally, if nothing else is changed on the boat then you'll have to assume that the same problem would eventually crop up again in the future even given your renewal efforts. See if you can identify why this area stayed wet, or was privy to the conditions that led to the rot in the first place and do what you can to change that. Some grateful future owner will silently thank you for that.
    Scott
     

  4. Gilbert
    Joined: Aug 2004
    Posts: 525
    Likes: 5, Points: 28, Legacy Rep: 28
    Location: Cathlamet, WA

    Gilbert Senior Member

    Why are there bolts at the turn of the bilge in a 27' boat?
     
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