regalvanising

[cpthook]

Against all advice I am thinking of buying another wooden boat. I just read that if the fastenings are not "regalvanized" every so often then the wood rots. How often does this process have to be done and how much would it cost roughly for a 34 footer? I suspect it hasn't been done recently.

The boat is described as "iroko planking on oak framing, copper fastened with bolted steel and oak floors".

Dude

 

[Peterduck]

As it is copper fastened you will not have to worry about galvanising the plank fastenings. Have a good look at the "steel and oak floors". These, as you may be aware, are transverse structural members holding the two sides of the boat together and fastening them to the keel. Oak and steel are not compatible, to the detriment of both. If you are in any doubt at all, get a good wooden boat builder to check them for you.
Peter.

 

[Tranona]

Likely that the steel floors are straps across the oak floors. They are probably galvanised, but if they have been fitted recently they may be epoxy or powder coated. They may well also be bedded on a gasket to keep them away from the oak. As Peterduck says, oak and steel are not happy together and you can get rot, particularly around the bolt holes. Good wooden boat surveyor or experienced wooden boatbuilder required for advice.

 

[Gordonmc]

I regalvanised most of the steel fittings on my 30 footer in its first refit after purchase. It was prompted by the state of the chainplates but once I started I included the gammon irons, rudder straps & pintles etc.
The sackful of bits cost around £70 ex-VAT to be sandblasted and galvanised which I thought very reasonable. My one concern was that some bits might have been lost in the process as the galvaniser is more used to handling big items, like farm gates, but I needn't have worried.

 

[flyingjunior]

A tip to bear in mind if you regalv your floors is to take them to your local blacksmith or get a group to gether with stuff which needs regalved to get over the min order charge which can be anywhere up to £80 (many blacksmiths would be more than happy to do this if you dont mind waiting for other orders to come in to make up the min order)also take photos of stuff before it get dipped and attach to your order form along with a copy for self as the galvernisers can lose stuff or in the case of hwmbo sent a manhole cover he had made on the wrong lorry and lost him both a customer and a £150 order.