Sheathing wooden hull in GRP

[Metabarca]

I have seen a pretty boat for sale dating from the 1950s whose wooden hull was recently sheathed in GRP. What are the pros and cons of doing this (assuming it was done well)?

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[Mirelle]

There is one Celebrated Exception to what I am about to say; the exception is Eric Tabarly's Pen Duick, a Fife boat which he sheathed with a very thick layer of fibreglass as an impecunious young Naval officer - but the fibreglass was so thick that in effect her turned her into a GRP boat. He later said that he regretted it.

Now then...assuming we are speaking of a conventional wooden hull here....

No "pros" at all.

A recipe for self destruction due to rot.

No means of getting at the fastenings for repair of the wooden structure.

Would only have been done if there were serious problems with the wooden structure, eg working, leaks, etc which are now incurable.

Run, don't walk, in the opposite direction.

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[Jacket]

Did he keep the original wooden hull in the boat? I'd always thought he'd just used the wooden hull as a plug for the fibreglass, then thrown out the hull after removing the rig and interior.

The boat must weigh a huge amount, if its carrying two hulls around. Given its present speed, it must have been increadibly fast in its original state.

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[Metabarca]

I rather suspected as much! Shame: said vessel is a pretty 1950s Camper & Nicholson boat and all the uppers are in good nick: teak deck new 1995, new shrouds, new bowsprit, new instruments etc. Seems odd that the owner would do all this with the boat sinking under him...

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[Gordonmc]

Why people continue to sheath old hulls in glass escapes me when consistently the advice is not to do it.
I am aware of a Dragon which is waiting for the treatment, despite the advice of the yard which has been asked to do it. Sheathing provides ideal conditions for wet rot to take hold with a vengance and planks move... fibreglass doesn't, which makes for a Burton-Taylor relationship!
I was reading on another forum about the woes of an owner who has the choice of stripping the glass off his hull or torching it. He can't sell for love nor money because of what someone in the past thought was a quick fix.


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[Mirelle]

I think you are right

and he stripped out the "plug" having, in effect, used it as a male mould.

This was pre-1973 oil price rise, so the resin was cheap, of course.

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[MeritaII]

An old chap once told me that, Sheathing a good hull is pointless, sheathing a rotten one is useless and anything in between is just plain selfish"! .
(Because no one in the future is going to be able to reverse what you've done)

Sheathing is a quick fix for a rotting boat that you only want to keep going for a year or so (or sell in a hurry)

Like most people seem to be saying, all you end up doing is covering up the problems which will surely re-appear after a couple of seasons or less . Any problem you cover over becomes even more difficult to repair in the future, if not impossible. Problems that are hidden don't go away , they just get worse ( try hiding the gas bill and see what happens!) .

Ask Yourself , What was wrong with the boat , and why someone thought it needed sheathing in the first palce ?
Pretty or not , deep down there are almost sure to be problems


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[BartSimpson]

Why not use veneers? See Tim & Pauline Carr book "Antartic Oasis". They used Kauri Pine veneers over there old woodie.

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