Comments on a hull of epoxy soaked marine ply ?

whipper_snapper

whipper_snapper

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A friend of mine is looking at a 5 year old 36' Wharram with a hull of 'Marine Ply - glued, screwed and epoxy saturated'.

I have images of the awful old boats from my youth with delaminating ply and rot. But I have been assured that this is a very strong and acceptable material these days - in fact as good as GRP. I would appreciate comments from anyone on the likely longevity and strength of such a hull. Anything to watch out for when looking it over ?

Thanks
 
A well built and epoxy coated ply hull should last forever so long at the epoxy is not breached and it is well maintained.

Check for signs of leaks from decks and cabins tops - these are the death of plywood and wooden boats.

Also check that the ply was epoxy coated INSIDE as well as out, and that the bilge is dry. Walk away if it wasnt, as it will be rotting from the inside out! If there is water in the bilge, where is it comming from?

My own boat is ply on the hull sides, and some of this is 40 years old. Lack of maintenance from a previous owner meant some areas have delaminated, but its easy to repair - just fit a new sheet in place of the old one!
 
Epoxied from new will be fine, provided care was taken to seal any fastening penetrating the epoxy.

The big problem is if water gets past the epoxy, it can not get out again, and ideal rot conditions occur.

But at 5 years old, if it has been properly maintained there should be no real problems anyway. Only if hull maintenance has been neglected.
 
The bad places for rot on wharrams are the beam troughs and the end grain of the stem and stern posts.
As it is 35' and only 5 years old I presume that it is a Tangaroa design, these are very simple, strong and good sea boats. I know cos I used to have one
Tap the hull to look for dull spots, at only 5 years old there shoulnot be any.
The killer of these boats is fresh water inside as they tend to rot from the inside out, so check for dry bilges and the ends.
I don't know where you are , but the PCA (polynesian cruising association) is a good place to talk to other owners, and of course Wharram . com, JWD's own site.
 
Brilliant. Thanks all for the very useful comments.

Yes it is a "Tangaroa Mk IV".

Since I am likely to be called upon to help sail it from Durban, I am pleased to hear that they have a good reputation as sea boats!
 
I would be wary of reading anything more into the term "soaked" than is inherent in "coated". Some epoxy resins are very good at "wetting" and bonding to wood. Whoever coined the term soaked presumably meant applying the epoxy in a way to maximise penetration, but short of using a generous first coat on clean, grease-free timber, what more can be done?

Having said that, I am a great fan of epoxy timber construction, provided you are mindful of the weaknesses. The first is that the wood must be totally enclosed by its epoxy coat, and people tend to forget about the odd dent, and innumerable holes drilled in it to fasten bilge pumps, etc. The second is that it is very susceptible to UV degradation, and must be protected from sunlight.

Mark
 
I expect that the seller has pictures of the boat during construction and epoxying?
You (or an experienced woodworker)can learn an awful lot from those pictures.
 
if build well they last no prob

i have seen a 20 yr old ply epoxy which looked mostly like new
go and see an old ply epoxy boat to convice yourself

you can always scarf in a new bit

just be carefull of owners who have done "improvements"

my boat is ply epoxy, i would definately buy one again, no osmosis either :-)

p.s. my depth sounder works siliconed to the inside of the hull, try that first before you drill a hole
 
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