A new (old) boat owner seeking advice

[Georgio]

Very excited to say that I have just completed on the purchase of a very pretty Finesse 24. She is in generally good order but having been ashore for some time the plank lands have opened up a bit, but not alarmingly to my eye. I’m told by the owner that she was previously a dry boat but having been out for so long will take a while to fully take up, how dry she ends up remains to be seen. She was launched for a short while as-is just a few weeks ago but the ingress of water was too much for the pumps so she was lifted ashore again before the engine/electrics were flooded.

Having done a lot of research online and had a quick chat with a boat builder I have a plan of action as follows and invite comments

1, carefully scrape off all the old antifouling. There is quite a build-up and some of it is flaking off anyway, I have a decent Bahco carbide scraper ready to go.

2, carefully clean out any dirt that is trapped on the plank lands with a thin tool of some sort (broken and blunted hacksaw blade may work)

3, wash-down and dry (not sure if this is strictly necessary?)

3, apply a bead of non-setting butyl mastic (Arbomast BR) to the planking and push up into the lands. As it is non-setting this should be forced out without straining anything when the boat is launched and takes up.

4, apply a thinned then 2 full coat of primer to the hull (Primocon or similar)

5, apply new Antifouling

6, launch and monitor for water ingress, big pumps on standby.

7, enjoy owning and bringing a lovely old boat back up to scratch.


This is not my first boat, I’m quite used to maintaining current and past GRP cruisers, however I have not owned a wooden boat before so happy to take the experience of some old salts* here.

Q1 – anything horrible with the above

Q2 – with the hull stripped bare is there any preservative (Cuprinol?) I should apply prior to priming or is getting her back in salt water the best preservative anyway

Q3 – What sort of filler would you recommend for any minor damage to the planning either above or below the waterline (this is just for aesthetics).

Q – is buying a wooden boat going to cure the itch I have had for some time about having one?


*being old or salty is not a prerequisite for response…

All the best

 

[mcalan]

Hi I'm no expert but do On my way! a 110 year old wooden river launch and have carried out my own maintenance
but always took advice from a professional boat builder re caulking and sealing.

His recommendations were to use putty as this was the traditional method.
On launching she always leaks for a while but soon closes up. Can you not ask the boatyard to hold her in the slings for a few days and if nesssersary hire an industrial pump ?

I always wet mine down from inside on the trailer with a hose and run the pumps I do this for several days before launching

Good luck !

 

[Poignard]

If you want advice on wooden boats why not try the Wooden Boat magazine forum?

http://forum.woodenboat.com/

There's lots more wooden boats in the USA than here and lots more people skilled in caring for them.

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

I certainly second Parsifal's comments.

A few comments at random --

Catch all your antifoul scrapings and dispose of them 'thoughtfully'. Do the removal on a windless day, and wear a mask and protective gear.

I'd leave out the saw-blades-between-the-strakes. If you can see they've opened right up and there's sand trapped in there, get it out with a knife blade -- you don't want to remove any timber.

I wouldn't use either putty or a butyl mastic between strakes -- use Davis' Slick Seam (http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=00730. It's made in the US. I'm afraid I don't know who your UK supplier is, but I'm sure there's one somewhere.)

If there are dings that you'd like to fill, I'd use thickened epoxy, faired after setting. But note that this is a surface treatment only -- be careful not to get it in any way between any timbers anywhere. (But why not just leave them painted over?)

Wetting down the hull prior to launching is a good idea, but you'd only want to do this with an open boat (or a stripped-out hull. And if wetting from the inside use just enough water to cover the kelson and garboard strakes, no more.) In your case, a sprinkler playing on the outside of the hull for a few days would probably help.

If you can launch her by hanging her in slings as Macalan suggested, then that's the way to go. Or else try to put her in water only a couple of feet deep, so she dries out between tides until she takes up. (That's what bilge keels are for, after all...)

The painting regime looks okay to me.

Mike

 

[Georgio]

Hi and thanks for the suggestions and comments so far.

First of all, yes I have been collecting all the scrapings, It’s amazing how heavy all the scrapings are, must be all the copper content in the layers of AF.

Scraping off is blimmin’ hard work, I was considering using a heat gun but I don’t want to damage the planks or dry them out any further.

Slickseam looks interesting, my only concern is that is sets or cures and while it remains flexible I don’t know by how much. Equally I don’t know how much the planking is going to swell and take up so I really don’t want to put anything in there that will not compress or squeeze out as it will put strain on the fastenings.

Re launching, I will be able to put her on a tidal mud berth for a bit so I’m not too worried about that, by the time it gets to the third or fourth high-tide she (hopefully) should be reasonably watertight. I will certainly wet the hull down for a few days before launching.

 

[Pump-Out]

Hmm,

"Ask an American......."

Thanks for supporting British craftsmen.

Georgio - might I suggest that you ask a member of The Wooden Boatbuilders Trade? - Google for WBTA
FWIW I have only ever seen traditional caulking used in these circumstances.

PO

 

[FinesseChris]

Hi, as my forum name implies I have a Finesse 24. She spends each winter out of the water, and on relaunch leaks briskly, so much so that other club members get quite alarmed on my behalf! However with the engine running and the bilge pump on she copes, and takes up over a couple of tides. It helps that I am on a drying mooring.
As suggested above, perhaps arrange to dry out alongside for a day or three, and pump her dry on every tide.
I must say I have not noticed much difference between the years when I have scraped her back to the wood, primed and antifouled and those when I have just slapped another coat on.
By the way there us a finesse owners group online that is a good source of advice.
By the way agin, what's yours called and where is she?
Good luck,
C

 

[Keith 66]

You can use a non setting butyl sealant but it is messy stuff & gets everywhere, For a wooden boat you can do no better than Evomastic, its oil based & does not set. It cleans up far easier than butyl rubber. Its also cheap as chips.
Clinker boats rely on the fit of the planks to keep the water out & will generally swell up given a chance, they are not caulked & shouldnt be unless you want to ruin them, also avoid anything that will set hard & strain the planking.

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

Slickseam looks interesting, my only concern is that is sets or cures and while it remains flexible I don’t know by how much. Equally I don’t know how much the planking is going to swell and take up so I really don’t want to put anything in there that will not compress or squeeze out as it will put strain on the fastenings.

Slick Seam skins over, that's all. But you won't want to paint it anyway, as once the wood's taken up properly all the Slick Seam will have been squeezed out. (It's only, and designed, purpose is to keep water out of the open laps until the wood swells enough to become watertight again.) With a well-constructed hull the wood will take up sufficiently that no sealing of any kind will be necessary after it has.

Note that the purpose of the rivets is to have strain put on them so that the strakes are thereby forced hard against each other as they swell, thus making the laps watertight. Any material between the laps that cannot be readily extruded will cause damage to the wood as it swells. This applies not only to sand or pebbles but also to caulking cotton or putty, which should be reserved for use in carvel hulls.

Slick Seam is quite soft, and designed to stay that way. Use a putty knife to work it into the laps from the outside, and only do those laps that will be under water (plus perhaps one more strake. The warmth from sunlight will probably be sufficient to cause it to run out of laps that aren't subject to temperature stabilisation by being kept wet, which just means extra unnecessary clean-up.)

Mike

 

[jamie N]

I'm a fan of frequent hosings of the interior whilst one works on the exterior. With my wooden Folkboat I became a supporter of putting lots of soft sealant on the planking and loads of antifoul to hide it. She did take a bit of time to take up, and now takes in a wine glass a day of water, (far less than the owner in fact), possibly through the prop gland though!
Good luck!

 

[jakeroyd]

I had a National 12 dinghy years ago.
An old one built I think in the 1950's , cliker built with copper rivets.

Used to sail it in lake Bala.
We used to launch it off the trolley on Friday evening , it would immeadiately sink.

Bail it out the following morning and it was fine (until it twisted when you were sailing it , but that's another story)

 

[Seanick]

In reply to the original OP question, I agree with the use of Arbo BR, or slick seam. Apply a bead to the corner of the lands, go over it with a finger, prime and a/foul over.
Resist the temptation to stick any tool between the lands. Used a vacuum with a crevice tool.
Borrow/ hire and electric pump, get the boat in and get it over with. Only play 'hunt the leek after a week.

 

[wrr]

Make sure that you don't push too much Arbo BR into the lands! Although it is relatively soft, you need to allow the strakes to swell without wringing the fasteners. Slick Seam is a more gentle product. Ideally, if you negotiate with the yard, they should lift her in the late afternoon, let her remain in the slings in the water overnight in the launching dock and then allow you to pump her out and check her before finally letting her loose in the morning. Good luck!