Tree attacks dinghy

[Grehan]

The big willow next door suffered badly in the recent strong winds.

Good News : our cars weren't parked underneath like they normally are.
Bad News : our ply Mirror dinghy was. Branch plummeted earthwards, through the vinyl rain cover, through the ply hull 'bout half way between mast and shrouds, and hit the dirt.

Result : a three inch diameter hole.
Their property insurers say they aren't covered, and so does ours.
So I've got to get it mended well, but cheaply (can't / don't want to do it myself).

Any suggestions?
[Oxford area or within striking distance of]

Many thanks

I'm in the phonebooth. It's the one across the Hall

 

[BrendanS]

Re: Your neighbours are liable

"if the fence or hedge falls over and causes damage to a neighbour's property your neighbour will be liable to pay for any damage"
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/guides_to/gardeninglaw/+neighbour+damage+tree+uk+law&hl=en&ie=UTF-8>http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/guides_to/gardeninglaw/+neighbour+damage+tree+uk+law&hl=en&ie=UTF-8</A>

 

[Mirelle]

Invisible mend?

You need a patch scarphed into the panel. Not hard to do - cut back from the edges of the hole so that it it is tidy and square shaped. Then mark a square round the hole such that the distance from outside edge of square to hole itself is at least 8 times the thickness of the plywood.

With a very sharp, wide, chisel, cut back from the outer to the inner square at an 8:1 gradient. This is easier than it sounds because the laminates in the ply help you by showing you the "contours".

With an equally sharp plane, on a bench, bevel the edges of a square of ply which is very slightly larger than the square recess in the boat's panel. Do a few trial fits.

Mix up some epoxy and unite the two, using weights on the patch with the boat inverted to ensure contact - or use a strongback and a thin bolt through a hole which you subsequently fill with epoxy.

If you dont fancy doing this yourself, Bossoms would seem to be the people in Oxford...