hello all,
i am currently trying to finish up my first wooden boat (or wooden anything for that matter!) project. it is about a 15' redwood strip wherry that i started about 3 years ago as a weekend project. i unfortunately had to relocated it before i had a chance to fiberglass it and am currently paying the price. so my biggest problems right now are:
1) the glue between two of the strips along the side (multiple instances, but same problem) has failed and the split goes from the transom about half way along the side. This has obviously made the boat very fragile and is difficult to move or work with without further damage.
2) the glue along the line of strips coming together along the bottom centerline has failed as well. essentially separating the two sides at the rear from the transom to about 1/4 of the way up the boat
3) on one side of the boat, at where the strips come together at the bough, the glue holding the strips to the bough (there are some strips here as well that are perpendicular to the body making up a "nose piece" <- not sure what the nautical term for this would be?) has failed and these strips are "flapping in the wind"
there are no longer any forms inside the boat as they fell out during the relocation. it seems like if i could somehow get some forms back inside, repair might be possible. the only problem is that the body of the boat didn't follow the forms exactly and i am not sure if cutting new ones to the original design would have enough contact area to support the boat while i repair and finish it. this however is my current plan of attack short of making it into a bonfire. has anyone had any experience similar to mine? can anyone out there help? i can try to get some photos over the next few days to help clarify things...
thanks and i look forwarding to learning a thing or two and hopefully how to save my boat!
mike
Say, Kennedy, Those pics might help... Difficult to draw those planks in with clamps and keep the boat square... We do have a few strippers in this group... -kruez-
ReplyDeleteThis message has been deleted by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike, I agree with kruez and would find pictures very helpful. You could post them on this forum and get the opinion of many of us "Stripper's". Will
ReplyDeleteKennedy9460: Hi, I am new also. I have built a 16 foot stripper canoe and am in the process of building a 16 ft daysailer. I haven't personally run into this problem but I do have a suggestion. Without pictures I can't say for sure but referencing the "problem" of the centerline (I assume along the keel line) but here goes (I may be way off base here). Use bungy straps all the way around the girth of your weery. Connect 2 plus together if they are short. This should help maintain the integrity of the construction. I would then use a fine-tooth pull saw (available at any tool vender for around $10) to cut out the offending strip or strips. Fit in new wood, scribing lines with a straight edge and pencil. Glue these in. Once dry, the hull should be sound enough to continue with work. The fiberglassing process will strengthen the hull to an unbelievable degree. Hope this helps - perhaps it may give you clues to solving the other damage. Andy
ReplyDeleteHey Mike, What did you decide to do about your wherry project? Were you able to solve your problem?
ReplyDeleteHi again,
ReplyDeleteI guess I kind of left the group hanging with what happened, so here it
goes. The boat was getting rained on a bit (my makeshift shelter didn't
work to hot) so I just split the hull between the strips from the transom
through to the bough. the boat is essentially in 4 rather large lenghtwise
pieces now. I had to get it inside to save what I could in hopes of fixing
it when the weather clears. It is in cabin in a pretty rural area outside
of the SF Bay Area. I intend to build a new strongback with new forms when
the weather gets better and sand and fit these pieces back together. I have
some concerns about how difficult this may be. I think I did get some
photos of the boat before I split it and moved it, I will dig them up and
send to the group in the next few days. I have a feeling I will be in need
of lots of advice when i finally get back to it.
Thanks for the email
Mike
>From: "Wooden Boat Builder"
>Reply-To: "Wooden Boat Builder"
>To: "Wooden Boat Builder"
>Subject: Re: Help save my boat! Please!
>Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 08:51:45 -0800
>
Here's some ideas from a dyed-in-the-wool stripper. Before you remount, go along all the exposed edges of your pieces with an extremely sharp plane, to get them more-or-less flat (90 degrees) to the hull surface. When you get your new strongback and forms in place, it's doubtful you'll get an exact fit with the pieces you now have. That's OK, so long as you can get them mounted onto the strongback so that there's at least 1/4-1/2" (or more) between each piece and its mate (even if you have to "fudge" a little to make sure you have the space wide enough to work in). Once the existing pieces are in place (you could use 3/4" drywall screws in drilled holes so you could easily remove them later), you can now carefully fill in the gaps with strips and gussets to fill the empty spaces. Don't worry too much about the fit--small cracks will be filled in later. Your job at this point is to get the wood glue (I've graduated to Titebond III--great stuff) to hold all the pieces together in one mass. When you finally get the hull upside down on the forms and all in one piece, do the following in one, clear, dry weekend: (a) sand the surface to as smooth as you can get it with 80 grit, followed by 100 grit sandpaper. (b) using body-putty squeegees, seal the surface with a slightly-thickened mixture of epoxy. It will take at least a quart of epoxy plus oxidizer to do the job right; I thicken my mixtures of 1/2-cup at a time with either microballoons (commercial sawdust flour) or sawdust from the boat. The purpose of the epoxy-impregnated sawdust is to get squeegeed down into those cracks that your original and followup glue joints didn't fill (and weren't expected to). As you squeegee, you will gradually fill the grain and scrape any errant sawdust grains into the crack. Work swiftly, over small areas at a time, as the epoxy sets up quickly. As if by magic, the epoxy and filler will clamp onto and stiffen up your hull overnight. Before the epoxy sets up entirely, take out those drywall screws, or reconcile yourself to paddling around with them poking your behind. (c) Sand the whole hull one more time with 100-grit paper (no finer). It will look awful--all scratched up. That's OK, make sure the scratchy texture is even over the entire hull surface. (d) Apply your first layer of cloth, usually centered over the center of the hull from bow to stern. To do this, stretch the cloth carefully over the sanded hull, then start at the middle by pouring a tablespoon or so of mixed clear epoxy into a puddle and gently (I SAID GENTLY!) spread it out with either a squeegee, a disposable brush (not recommended) or a disposable sponge roller. The Sandpaper scratches will immediately disappear, and the cloth will go transparent, too, so it'll look like you're painting on the wood grain, just like you hoped from the beginning. Once you get the whole thing covered with epoxy, consider adding the second and third strips to the sides down to the edges while the first epoxy fabric is still slightly "sticky". Wait an hour or so, then take a razor knife or disposable scissors to trim of f any semi-cured extra fiberglass and drips (doing it now will save grief later) (e) Let the whole thing set overnight. You now have the hull you should have had last fall when you left your wood-glue masterpiece sit out in the rain. With luck, it should come off the molds now, and you can do the same thing to the inside (a much more difficult process, but hey--you're now an expert.) Hope this helps, best regards, JR Sloan, Spokane
ReplyDeleteGreat! Thanks for the info! The boat has been unfortunately put on the back burner until around June, hopefully sooner, but this is exactly the kind of help I was looking for as a starting point to finish up. Thanks again, I will let you all know how it goes when I finally get started again, I assume I am going to need lot's more of this kind of help! Thanks again! Mike
ReplyDelete