Shiny Bottom

Lakesailor

Lakesailor

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I've just bought a clinker sailing dinghy and the previous owner had stripped the bottom of antifoul and prepared it for varnishing. He never got around to it and it has lain in a garage for 2 years. In that time it's picked up a bit of word-worm in it's planked transom.

a) How do I deal with woodworm?
I'm thinking, kill the blighters, if they are not already dead, and either fill the holes with epoxy or rebate the damage out (it's on the edges of the planks) and scarf in a new bit of wood. It doesn't warrant replacing the transom.

b) What's the best varnish for the bottom? I am not bothered about a good gloss below the waterline, but want it a robust coating to put on now so that during the winter I may add more protection when I do a few more jobs (Like the woodworm

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I suspect that a raid on your local DIY centre will turn up some wood preservative with anti-woodworm properties. I assume there aren't enough holes to weaken the transome significantly.

As for the bottom, make sure you use something compatible with whatever you plan to do the rest with. You don't want to spend the winter rubbing it all off again! Use a decent "yacht" varnish, but this time NOT from the DIY centre, as it's not the same stuff - get it from a proper chandlers.

Good luck, and a very nice boat you've found there!
 
The transom is oak. The woodworm have attacked the strip of sapwood that should not have been there in the first place - sign of a slightly tight boat builder! The three pieces will probably have been joined with a loose tongue. The best way to repair is to rout out the affected part (screw on some temporary battens to guide the router) to the depth of the tongue and glue in a new oak strip with epoxy. You might have to do a little careful hand chiselling at the ends to avoid messing up the plank lands. (Is there worm on the inside too? Might have to repeat on the inside. Also are those steel gutter bolts holding the outboard pad on? Change them for some silicon bronze if so, as the steel will ruin the oak in time).
I don't know about which varnish is best, but I would go for a traditional type on a clinker boat, not a fancy 2-pack or polywhatisname - Le Tonkinois or whatever its called. It's bound to get scratched and you need to allow the planks to get wet anyway.
Nice little dinghy - looks very original and not buggered about with.
 
Ah. Good info there. Yes there is worm on the inside. I'll treat that worm-effected part as well.
The only other worm is in the mast step thwart, which I can just replace with a new piece of wood.
The outboard pad is going to come off anyway. I may fill the holes with some oak dowel and leave it blank or bond a new oak pad on. I can't see why it needs bolting as the only time it's under stress is when there's an outboard clamping it in place anyway.
I'v had a browse around the various sites regarding varnish and oil finishes.
Le Tonkinois varnish looks really impressive, and not too expensive.
 
It used to be possible to buy woodworm killer in a small aerosol with a nozzle which you can poke in the holes. You squirt it in and watch it shoot out somewhere else. Gives you lots of confidence that you have sorted the blighters out.

I would think any good waterproof wood filler in the holes would be ok.
 
I wish to thank You and LakeSailor for the info and link to
the Le Tonkinois varnish site Very impressive and I will be following that one up.
All the best Phil with getting rid of the woodworm terrible little blighter's they are,
I feel that a good idea would be whatever killer you decide on use it liberally and with a big overlap,
But then I am sure you will investigate the problem throughly and find someone with a good knowledge of the way to totally get rid of them.
A very nice looking little boat I look forward to pics of her afloat.
Cheers and good luck David.
 
I think if it was me I would find it quicker to remove all fittings on the transom(rudder,motorpad and bung holes) before starting,sand it all back to bare wood and treat the lot with cuprinol 5 star.
Then you can tap it and determine how deep and wide to go with the routing.
 
Lakey

I use Le Tonks and it is a very good product........... but..... and there is always a but, it isnt very hard and will get easily damaged on the bottom. Check an area first to make sure that you are happy with it before completing the rest of the boat.

Tom

PS I was looking at this one in Dublin a couple of weeks ago. It has some history with it regarding being in a class that was raced a few years ago. For the life of me thats all I can remember. It looks very "similar" to yours but I think it was 12' /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

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I was very impressed with the overall finish although it doesn't show in the photo.

Enjoy the boat

Tom /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Ref outboard pad. Grain direction of pad and transom are at right angles so with any seasonal movement the pad will stay virtually the same but transom might shrink/expand. Integrity of any adhesive bond could be affected so if twere me would put in a couple of fixings just to stop it falling off.
 
Yes, I was a bit concerned as it's a tung oil base. I used Schooner on the decks on the Heron and whilst beautiful it was a little soft. Perhaps a polyurathane varnish may be a safer bet.

That boat looks like a lugsail, something I may consider converting to in the fullness of time.
 
Transom is quarter cut oak. Getting English oak to stay varnished is usually a problem. Cuprinol 5 star will sort your woodworm - but better to remove fillet and replace with oak. Delighted to learn ob bracket is coming off. Nice little boat. OF
 
The downside of a hard poly, I'm told, is that it goes on very thin and will take many coats to build up a resistant finish. I've used Ronseal varnish recently and been quite impressed - its not going to give you the fine finish of a la tonk but I bet it's pretty hard wearing.
 
Whatever you put on it is almost certainly going to get scratched, either getting it on/off the trailer, or when beaching it. Water will then get behind it - not in itself a bad thing as it will keep the planks tight, but a touch of frost will start to lift it. A hard varnish will then be difficult to repair. That's why I think something soft, with plenty of oil (tung, linseed etc) will be better, as it's easier to maintain. On a clinker boat, there's no such thing as a varnish that will remain undamaged and water tight. The best thing ever invented for a clinker boat is a delta sander with al-oxide sanding triangles.
As for the worm, it will only attack sapwood in English oak, not the heartwood. It's probably dead anyway, and there'll be little or no strength left in the wood. Get rid of the sapwood and you've got rid of the worm problem - for good.
 
You're right. Polyurethane varnish will still scratch off, and part of the reason for having such a boat is to beach it for picnics. I think I may still go for Le Tonikois and bugger the scratches. At least it won't come off in sheets like Poly varnish. I may add some bilge stringers to limit damage.
I shall work into the worm problem. If routing (or chiselling) out the sapwood does the trick that'll be fine. If I need to replace the transom, that's what I'll do. I'll take it a stage at a time.
Unusually, I intend to keep this boat for some time.
 
In my experience of woodworm in furniture it's always worse than it appears from the outside. Sorry!

If you want a quick repair before the weather turns can you not soak some epoxy into it? Not a trad. repair but I suspect you'll be replacing the affected area anyway.
 
Following on from my original post I have just applied the first coat of a clear wood primer (International UCP) to the stripped bottom of the dinghy.
Not bad at all and very easy to put on. It's should have a gloss finish, but I've put a thin coat on to be followed by more rather than one thick coat as the tin warns of "crinkling" if it's put on too thick. This will be followed by some coats of International Original varnish. The topsides are crazed any way so in the winter there may be a more extensive rubbing down and full varnish. I just want to get it on the water and taking up a bit first as it's been out of the water for some time.

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