Caulking / Painting

ShipNDT

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Hello,

How long do you reckon it takes to completely re-caulk a 25m wooden boat. And how do people go about estimating material costs.

Same questions for repainting the hull too.

New to the game but eager and not work-shy!

Thanks
 

pyrojames

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Hello,

How long do you reckon it takes to completely re-caulk a 25m wooden boat. And how do people go about estimating material costs.

Same questions for repainting the hull too.

New to the game but eager and not work-shy!

Thanks
Recaulking is the easy part, raking out and making good the old seams is a whole new game. The same goes for paint, I can put a coat of topsides paint (or A/F) on a couple of hours, but there is 10s of hours preparing the surface (15 m boat), a 25m boat is a seriously big job.
 

debenriver

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It depends so much on why it needs re-caulking.

Usually there is an underlying reason for the caulking to need completely replacing – re-planking, fastenings in a bad state etc etc. Also depends on whether you are using oakum or cotton. And as mentioned already, the bigger job is raking out the existing stopping and caulking and preparing the seams for new caulking.

Assuming the fastenings are good or have been replaced, the planking is all good and the seams reasonably tight, and the old caulking and stopping is removed, and the seams tidied up and primed – then I would hazard a guess that it will take between 200 and 250 hours for a professional.

Material costs are pretty insignificant for the caulking – just cotton and/or oakum. If you calculate the total length of seam, you probably need 3 to 4 times that length in caulking. So you'll need to experiment a bit to see what length you get from a ball of cotton (depending somewhat on how many strands you need for the seam widths) or a bale of oakum once spun.

Cheers -- George
 

ShipNDT

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It depends so much on why it needs re-caulking.

Usually there is an underlying reason for the caulking to need completely replacing – re-planking, fastenings in a bad state etc etc. Also depends on whether you are using oakum or cotton. And as mentioned already, the bigger job is raking out the existing stopping and caulking and preparing the seams for new caulking.

Assuming the fastenings are good or have been replaced, the planking is all good and the seams reasonably tight, and the old caulking and stopping is removed, and the seams tidied up and primed – then I would hazard a guess that it will take between 200 and 250 hours for a professional.

Material costs are pretty insignificant for the caulking – just cotton and/or oakum. If you calculate the total length of seam, you probably need 3 to 4 times that length in caulking. So you'll need to experiment a bit to see what length you get from a ball of cotton (depending somewhat on how many strands you need for the seam widths) or a bale of oakum once spun.

Cheers -- George


Thank you for this. Nearly all the Re fastening was done 20 years ago, and during that time the caulking has been done bit by bit here and there. The broker that we are buying the boat through recommended recaulking the whole vessel as a clean slate.

thanks for your help
 

Keith 66

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I used to do a lot of caulking when i worked down Leigh Old town back in the early 80's, It was always an old tore out fishing boat & the owners would only pay to have the bit that was leaking caulked, all this does is shove the leaking further along the seam & results in a patchwork of leaks all over the place. It was a poxy job laying on the slipway on a sheet of plywood under the belly of an old wooden cockle dredger, bashing oakum or cotton into the seams over head while cockle juice ran out of the seams & down your arms into your clothes. No fancy caulking mallets there, you couldnt swing them as no room. We used a standard hammer or mallet. Half the time we just caulked them up & gunned a bead of cheap oil based mastic on top of the cotton. For some reason it always seemed to be needed in the winter with a howling cold easterly wind & the waves splashing your feet.
I did a few yachts the right way ie a complete reef out & recaulk & it took three times as long to reef it out as to caulk it.
 

Ink

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Thank you for this. Nearly all the Re fastening was done 20 years ago, and during that time the caulking has been done bit by bit here and there. The broker that we are buying the boat through recommended recaulking the whole vessel as a clean slate.

thanks for your help

I would ask a surveyor of the need for caulking. Unless I knew the broker's expertise very well I would treat what they were saying with extreme caution.

Ink
 

DoubleEnder

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haha.. sorry didn't mean to be elusive! We are looking at the Brixham Trawler Leader, 1892
OK.... I am guessing that you will have some experience with wooden boats/ large boats/ charter or commercial boats. I have a much smaller wooden boat and this is a long way out of my range of experience She does look like a fabulous vessel. All the very best!
 

Gary Fox

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Thank you for this. Nearly all the Re fastening was done 20 years ago, and during that time the caulking has been done bit by bit here and there. The broker that we are buying the boat through recommended recaulking the whole vessel as a clean slate.

thanks for your help
I would be very wary of taking that advice, I would get in touch with someone who used to look after her for Trinity. Are you still in Devon?

Nothing wrong with Wooden Ships brokerage as such, but how would they know to give such specific advice, about a particular boat, on such a specialist subject?

I suggest you also join the Old Gaffers Association..although she won't be the oldest :)
 
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debenriver

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Re-caulking a vessel of this size and age really is a major undertaking and is only necessary if there is a problem – if she leaks or works excessively under sail for example; or the seams are obviously in need of attention; and so on.

I would absolutely get a surveyor who is experienced in this type of craft to survey the hull before doing anything like this.

Cheers -- George
 

doris1914

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Was just browsing looking for caulking tips and ran across this thread. So did you buy the trawler, if so did you re caulk her, how long did it take youand re you enjoying her
Cheers,Aandrew
 
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