Hull and deck restoration

[Sofus]

I have recently purchased a traditional 6m wooden sailing boat in Bretagne where I live. It was built in 1945 but has been restored twice since then. It is based on a coastal fishing boat design (Thonier or Misaine) and has had a wooden deck laid at a restoration in the 90s. It is in sailing order but need a lot of TLC.

The deck is made of oak planks with Sikaflex between the planks. The deck planks have shrunk and I will have to replace the Sikaflex to avoid leaks. The deck has been oiled with linseed oil. I suspect it will be difficult to have the deck looking good after I have replaced the joints so I consider painting it. What do you recommend? What products do you recommend?

Furthermore, the hull obviously need some attention. The boat is now in my garden and as the hull has dried the joints have opened here and there. I intend to scrape and repaint the hull, but what shall I do with the joints? Is there a product that will penetrate the joints and fill the cracks? The planks will obviously swell again when in water, but the topsides may not. I would therefore like to treat the hull to make it watertight from top to bottom on day one without sacrificing the wooden look.

 

[alb40]

I have a planked deck on my boat, and its been nothing but a pain in the backside. I can caulk it all I like, but it eventually starts to leak again. Ive now started coating it in epoxy, and very light cloth. The bits ive done have remained dry as a bone in wet weather. I prefer the look of the deck painted, instead of the bare teak.

Make your life easy, and consider coating in epoxy if your not bothered about having the 'look' of the wood on deck. I have varnished cabin sides anyway - their enough to maintain for me!

The traditionalists always comment on 'why did you do that' or 'you've f*cked it now', but id rather vastly reduce the maintence and bring the boat closer to being seaworthy again.

 

[ccscott49]

sheathed planked decks are a nightmare, the wood rots beneath the sheathing and also cracks the seams and cloth as it's too rigid, I would reccomend recaulking the decks and hull, but it's not really a job for the amatuer, but can be done, you will need a good book to explain it all.

 

[EASLOOP]

Same problem. The teak deck plank edges (lands?) had become friable letting the sika rip the edges off the planks and letting water in. I have coated my teak deck with Coelan. I am not overly keen on the plasticky film gloss finish but the water now stays outside where it belongs. I considered painting the deck over the Coelan but my son got apoplexy (sp?) so I am going to put another coat of Coelan over the entire deck and over the toe-rail and rubbing strake etc.
As regards the hull, if it is carvel built consider cleaning out all of the seams, caulk with cotton and back it up with red lead putty below and white lead putty above the waterline. I did it on my 28' sloop. It was hell of a job but worth every strike of the caulking mallet (a B&Q wooden mallet)
Loads a fun

 

[alb40]

Sheathed wood does not rot if its all done to good standards of workmanship. My roof had rotted under sheathing - but that was due to previous owners using polyester resin and badly sealed fittings.

A deck that has too much movement or is weak would do as you decribe, and crack up, so weak decks should be treated another way.

After all, painting or colean it is just another method of 'sheathing' a deck - it leaves a thin film that hopefully keeps the water out.

 

[Mirelle]

Oak (chene) is a terrible choice for deck planking!

There is a reason why wooden boatbuilders of the past never used oak for decks - it shrinks and swells so much!

The linseed oil will stop Sikaflex adhering.

I recommend painting the deck; the boat is fishing boat style so this will look suitable and in keeping.

IF you can get rid of the linseed oil then I would use Sikaflex again and use Coelan - this would be my first choice.

If not, I would re-caulk, perhaps using a traditional deck glue, and use ordinary paint. Painting the deck will help stabilise it anyway.

 

[Sofus]

Thanks a lot. I have heard a lot about Coelan lately and will dig a bit deeper into that.

Regards,

 

[Sofus]

Thank you all for your responses. Getting rid og the lineseed oil, repair the joints and cover with coloured Coelan would probably be my solution for the deck. Will the Coelan enable the unavoidable movement of the wood? The hull is not that bad and I will sand it, paint it and let the water do the watertighting.

 

[Mirelle]

I painted my teak decks with Coelan 12 years ago, after re-caulking them with Sikaflex, and they have not leaked since.

The wood will move a lot less when painted, and in my experience Coelan will accomodate the remaining movement well.

 

[keelbolts]

A buddy of mine has been fighting a weather deck for 15 years. He replaced the original deck with new edge-fastened douglas fir and has spent the last 5 years trying to get it waterproof. In the mean time, the interior of the boat has been ruined. If a guy built a house with a flat roof and failed to sheath it with something you'd think him an fool, but we try to do it all the time with wooden boats. My deck is 'glassed & I wouldn't have it any other way. Trying to keep a weather deck waterproof is an exercise in spitting into the wind.