More Teak Questions....

[pauls_SPT]

Hiya,

I thought I'd start a new thread, although I'm following on from my previous thread about turps and linseed - thanks to everybody who replied to that /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Just to recap - I have a 1935(ish) Double Diagonal Teak Construction Seaplane Tender that I'm all but rebuilding...

The planks of my boat are in pretty good condition - no rot or cracks etc. However, as the boat has been in the water (salt water) for the last (at least) fifty years without a break, she was quite wet when she was lifted out two years ago.

Even being teak, the outer planking has shrunk slightly and opened up by about 10mm (below the waterline) to 2mm (above the waterline). She's still waterproof (the bilges have about six inches of rainwater in them after a recent storm and it appears to be going nowhere) but what can I do about these gaps?

As I understand it, double diagonal construction uses no caulking between the planks; it relies on a calico and linseed layer between the layers of planks instead. One of the local trawler skippers told me something about putting pine resin and wax between the planks that have seperated and then, when the planks expand back in the water, it would just be forced out again.

Is this something anybody else has ever heard of?

If anybody knows the right way of addressing this problem, I'd be very appreciative of their help...

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Peterduck]

I would be tempted to use the occasion to refresh the doping of the calico by brushing stockholm tar in the cracks before applying your mixture of pine resin and beeswax. You'd have to melt both of those components to be able to mix them, by the way. Stockhom tar is another alternative to the pine resin [and would, I suspect, be compatible with it]. I think that the resin would end up with a firmer mixture than the tar.
Peter.

 

[pauls_SPT]

Thanks for your advice.

Just to get this straight in my head, then - I would paint Stockholm Tar into the gaps that have opened up and then fill the gaps with a mix of Stockholm Tar and Beeswax. When the boat goes back into the water, the planks are going to expand again - will the tar/wax mixture end up being forced out again? If so, will I then need to lift the boat out again and smooth it down?

Thanks for your help,

Paul

 

[Mirelle]

More or less - yes.

Another material that may be ideal for this application is Jeffrey's Seamflex. However, I think that Jeffreys have recently closed down, so you would perhaps have difficulty finding enough of it.

 

[trouville]

I wouldent use the pine resin and wax! just makes every thing sticky and never never use tar unless you want to go permantly that way as nothing sticks to the tar not paint nor glue, only nails!

You could copper bottem her? Then you use tar paper which you can get off if you dont want copper later??

In any case you would be best advised to leave her in slings for a few days or as long at you can the run a powerful pump untill she takes up the after a few weeks in come out and copper the bottem, or just go on without.

If you cant stay in slings the wet her down every day put news paper inside and keep that wet as well the go in with a large pump and back up, all the gunge applied at first is useless and messy once she takes up anyway unless you want to go in asp and pump as little as possable but --

any way good luck with here sounds very nice indeed-oh and once shes taken up try not to let her dry out again