Taking up after launching. (Cathartic essay).

jamie N

jamie N

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After having her out for nearly 2 years, I put the boat back in the water in June. I'd tried the soaking the insides method of getting her to swell a bit for a while before she launched, and convinced myself that because nothing significantly had changed in the time on a trailer, she'd leak, but would take up OK. Why wouldn't she, nothing had changed.
In the slings, she leaked like a sieve, both pumps flat out, before calming down a bit, and getting to a steady and regular pump activation, which was similar to how it was when I'd taken her out in 2019.
Since then, and apart from a traumatic pump failure, the pumps now no longer activate more than twice/thrice a week, and spit out a pint or two a time, which is as good as it gets for me, except that I'm greedy and now want her to be totally dry which is a case of hunting down these dribbles, and trying to caulk or seal from the inside, before (finally) finishing it off, and painting it with red lead paint. I know it'll be garage floor paint, but bear with me!
There's not a point for this thread, except that after 2 years out, 16 weeks has seen the final bit of the take up, which wasn't linear but a logarithmic decline up to an unachievable finish of a totally sealed hull. I've no intention of EVER taking her out of the water again, as I should be able to antifoul and change the prop anode on a tide 'up against the wall', so hope that the fear of relaunching a wooden boat is in the past for me.
I look forward to sailing her, and seeing how the natural motion of the boat then will affect this, and sweat the joints once more.
 
jamie N said:
After having her out for nearly 2 years, I put the boat back in the water in June. I'd tried the soaking the insides method of getting her to swell a bit for a while before she launched, and convinced myself that because nothing significantly had changed in the time on a trailer, she'd leak, but would take up OK. Why wouldn't she, nothing had changed.
In the slings, she leaked like a sieve, both pumps flat out, before calming down a bit, and getting to a steady and regular pump activation, which was similar to how it was when I'd taken her out in 2019.
Since then, and apart from a traumatic pump failure, the pumps now no longer activate more than twice/thrice a week, and spit out a pint or two a time, which is as good as it gets for me, except that I'm greedy and now want her to be totally dry which is a case of hunting down these dribbles, and trying to caulk or seal from the inside, before (finally) finishing it off, and painting it with red lead paint. I know it'll be garage floor paint, but bear with me!
There's not a point for this thread, except that after 2 years out, 16 weeks has seen the final bit of the take up, which wasn't linear but a logarithmic decline up to an unachievable finish of a totally sealed hull. I've no intention of EVER taking her out of the water again, as I should be able to antifoul and change the prop anode on a tide 'up against the wall', so hope that the fear of relaunching a wooden boat is in the past for me.
I look forward to sailing her, and seeing how the natural motion of the boat then will affect this, and sweat the joints once more.
Click to expand...
You after a winter mooring ;-)
 
I relaunched my Yachting world dayboat on thursday, she had sat on the roof of Mikes boatyard shed behind the Timber wharf at Old Leigh for at least 20 years before I bought her 4 years ago & did a lot of work to her, 4 planks, new stem new transom, new deck. She took on about a gallon in half an hour mainly round the centreboard case, most of the hull was tight. Not too bad for a 57 year old clinker dinghy!
 
I've misstated it perhaps? "Caulking" should be taken to mean using sealant on the inside where leaks have been seen. My 'logic' for this was that it stops water entering the hull of course, as when a boat takes up, it is the expansion of the wood through being wet. Putting sealant on it to stop the through flow of water (from sea to air) isn't making the wood any wetter or more prevalent to rot.
When you tried it, did you use the traditional materials? I've done that on the exterior, and wasn't sure (to this day) whether I'd done it well, or that the boat had simply 'taken up'; that was 6-7 years ago.
As an aside, AWB owners must be jealous of us with wooden boats having SO much more involvement with our craft......;)
 
Garage floor paint sounds like something thats for a hard surface with little or no expansion/contraction and dry ?
I see traditionalboatsupplies.com sell red lead but at £144inc for 2.5 litres :eek:
I was buying it for around £80 per 5 litres with 98% lead content 4 years ago but that company does not sell it anymore :(
I have read thats is superb stuff for wooden boat bilges, keeping them very clean.
I tried a foot square patch of red lead under the waterline to see what would happen.. On the next drying out/ scrubbing off it had about the same amount of snot on it as the antifouling..
 
When I was a youth, we used to call the process of taking up "plimbing" [no idea how it is spelled]. Perhaps it was just a local expression.
Dad's friend complained about his dinghy leaking and Dad said "it just needs plimbing"
A while later he came back and asked where he could get some, "I've tried all the chandlers and boatyards, nobody has any"
 
Slight update on my dribbling. Because the boat's leaking so slightly, I became interested in how frequently the bilge pump runs, and did a search for a bilge pump counter, which would count the number of times it ran whilst I wasn't there.
£72.00!!! FFS, I know I'm a yottie, but don't take the p1ss.
Obviously no sane person would ever pay that, so I carried out a 5 minute search in the usual way and found a "12V DC 6 Digit Impulse Arcade Coin Counter Mechanical Wire Leads Base VDC", for £2.87, which is an event counter in exactly the same way as a bilge pump counter is.
Item fitted without difficulty or excitement, and hopefully not counting anything as I type this.
 
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jamie N said:
Slight update on my dribbling. Because the boat's leaking so slightly, I became interested in how frequently the bilge pump runs, and did a search for a bilge pump counter, which would count the number of times it ran whilst I wasn't there.
£72.00!!! FFS, I know I'm a yottie, but don't take the p1ss.
Obviously no sane person would ever pay that, so I carried out a 5 minute search in the usual way and found a "12V DC 6 Digit Impulse Arcade Coin Counter Mechanical Wire Leads Base VDC", for £2.87, which is an event counter in exactly the same way as a bilge pump counter is.Exploring the intricacies of Diablosport PCM and its potential resale is a fascinating journey for any Jeep enthusiast. The prospect of VIN change without global shipping adds an extra layer of convenience. It's refreshing to encounter discussions that delve into practical concerns of the community. This topic not only showcases technical knowledge but also a thoughtful consideration for fellow enthusiasts. If you're navigating through these questions, this thread provides valuable insights. For those curious about plagiarism in their writing endeavors, I recommend checking out this reliable plagiarism checker at Free plagiarism checker for students who want to be confident in their work for a seamless and trustworthy experience. Happy exploring and writing!
Item fitted without difficulty or excitement, and hopefully not counting anything as I type this.
Click to expand...
It's cool when a person can do something, not only to save money, but also to learn something new
 
Rappey said:
Garage floor paint sounds like something thats for a hard surface with little or no expansion/contraction and dry ?
I see traditionalboatsupplies.com sell red lead but at £144inc for 2.5 litres :eek:
I was buying it for around £80 per 5 litres with 98% lead content 4 years ago but that company does not sell it anymore :(
I have read thats is superb stuff for wooden boat bilges, keeping them very clean.
I tried a foot square patch of red lead under the waterline to see what would happen.. On the next drying out/ scrubbing off it had about the same amount of snot on it as the antifouling..
Click to expand...
Danboline
 
Rappey said:
Garage floor paint sounds like something thats for a hard surface with little or no expansion/contraction and dry ?
I see traditionalboatsupplies.com sell red lead but at £144inc for 2.5 litres :eek:
I was buying it for around £80 per 5 litres with 98% lead content 4 years ago but that company does not sell it anymore :(
I have read thats is superb stuff for wooden boat bilges, keeping them very clean.
I tried a foot square patch of red lead under the waterline to see what would happen.. On the next drying out/ scrubbing off it had about the same amount of snot on it as the antifouling..
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information!
 
The worst case of failure to take up that I ever saw was Mike Burn's much loved Albert Strange yawl "Sheila".

He told me that she really was planked with pitch pine (very many boats are said to be, but its almost always larch or Douglas fir).

Anyway, he had had her in Eversons' shed in Woodbridge whilst he gilded the lily for two years, she being already in excellent order, after which she simply wouldn't!

This went on for about a month, as she soaked all Mike's cabin furnishings, was taken ashore and had a hose left in her, was hung in slings from the crane at the top of the hard, etc.
 
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Pitch pine is lovely to look at but huge killer splinters are possible. We used an old Victorian hospital floor to fit out a lifeboat conversion. Even after 70 years (at least) it was still very resinous and I wonder if that might prevent 'plyming'.

There is an argument that suggests that modern wood treatments that soak into the wood (like Owatrol) can prevent the wood from taking up when wet....discuss.
 
We were building a new gig, when Covid hit. As a “bright” idea, to stop the planking moving whilst we paused the build for 6 months, someone suggested coating it in G4. Leaked when we launched here and never took up properly. As they say, you learn from mistakes!
 
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