First proper boat having been a dinghy sailer. Introductions and a question.

[HandmadeMatt]

Thanks for all the positive interest and comments everyone. I'm having so much fun with this project and it's so valuable to me to be able to share the progress with this knowledgeable lot.

Hopefully the wood was completely dry? I'd have been tempted to overlap the mat onto the wood on the inside if possible. What did you use for filler?

After cutting back the soft wood I left the hole open in this heat for three weeks. (Covering at night and during any rain.) It was BONE dry. The fibreglass mat does overlap the wood on both sides, but much more on the inside (it's inside a locker.) I used car body filler for everything above the waterline, it's much cheaper than the marine one I used to fill some rough spots on the bottom of the hull. I figured that the boat is made of wood anyway (which is more vulnerable to water than car body filler) and that the primer and paint will protect it well enough.

Are you mad? Only joking! Obviously an eccentric with too much money .

Ha You'd be surprised how cheap all these projects are. Most turn a good profit when I sell them as well. www.HandmadeMatt.com

I would also engage with a surveyor fairly soon.

I hadn't even considered having a surveyor involved, she's solid enough What do others think?
The boat, trailer and all sundries and materials will only have cost me £875 total so a surveyor will be a massive cost proportionally.

The patch you have made looks a bit small. It doesn't look like you cut back much further than in the pic of the hole. I would have preferred to cut back to sound wood. The boat doesn't look too bad though, if it's just a few odd patches it should be a great project. It's already very smart.

The picture of the hole is after I cut back. The original damage wasn't even really visible, the paint only had a hairline crack in it under the deck drain hole where rain water had been getting in. When I pushed on the hull under the hole there was a soft spot about the size of the rim of a pint glass. When I gouged this out I found I ended up cutting back to the size you see in the pictures to get good wood. It was then left until it was bone dry.
This is the only serious repair that she requires, and it's above the waterline so it's a perfect start for me. There were various other areas that needed a bit of filler, but not structural like this, just aesthetic for the paint finish to be smooth.

 

[Lakesailor]

Yes. I was going to say that being above the waterline it's probably OK.
The wood in your picture did look a bit flaky. The photo isn't clear enough to see properly, though.
Otherwise it does look in pretty good nick. How is the cockpit area? I know people with GRP boats who have had to rebuild wooden cockpits. It's that pesky fresh water rain stuff that does it.

 

[HandmadeMatt]

The wood in your picture did look a bit flaky. The photo isn't clear enough to see properly, though.

I did cut back a bit more after the photo, not much but a bit. It was 100% solid as a rock before I pressed on with the repair.

How is the cockpit area? I know people with GRP boats who have had to rebuild wooden cockpits. It's that pesky fresh water rain stuff that does it.

The cockpit is fine. Rain water is the enemy though. Salt water actually helps preserve wood. Like dried meats.

 

[DownWest]

Lovely boat, the designers son, Tony Tucker, is still active, so can be contacted.
Just a comment, you did use epoxy resin for the repair? Car body filler is porous and a bit of a no-no. Polyester resin is also not recommended for glassing (I know Mirror dinghys used it...but it doesn't stick well to wood in the long run and traps moisture)
DW

I can see the logic of sealing the filler, but for the cost of a few micro-balloons and the resin I would go with epoxy. It may be above the waterline, but it's the rain wot rots things.

 

[HandmadeMatt]

Just a comment, you did use epoxy resin for the repair? Car body filler is porous and a bit of a no-no. Polyester resin is also not recommended for glassing (I know Mirror dinghys used it...but it doesn't stick well to wood in the long run and traps moisture)
DW

Understood.
It's all polyester products, maybe epoxy was the way to go but I had all the supplies in the workshop anyway. I tend to work with what I've got in general. It does sometimes mean that things are not optimum I guess but I always get good functional results.
As I said, wood's porous anyway and that's what the whole boat's made of. The investment on my part is top of the line marine paints and primers (I used waterproof "below the waterline" primer to seal the repair work.)
I think as long as one keeps paint and varnish work in good condition on wooden boats then you're on to a winner.