which sika (or something else entirely!)

M

monkey_trousers

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bf494.co.uk
finally got the fifie brought down here from up there... first time she'd be to sea proper for a few years, instead of her sedate life on the canal, and a few of the planks above the water line have dried out a bit and she took a real battering going around Rattray Head (not nice at all) she took it in her stride though, although, there's a few seams that got blown out on the way and she took a bit(!) of water on board. I'm not planning to drag her out for a proper tart up till the winter so was hoping to patch up where needed, thought about hammering some fresh caulk (cotton as temporary measure?) in the offending bits and resealing.

is sika the best thing?? if so which one 291 292 etc or should I look at something else entirely
 
I am pretty sure that the 291 is just a sealant while the more expensive 292 is also an adhesive. In your case however I would be pretty careful, You don't want to just bung in a load of cotton and then sika over it, caulking is a pretty complex job and if the seems are very dry and open then if you shove in a load of cotton you might do more damage than good. The trad stuff (from what I hear here) to use is white lead putty above the water line and red lead below, sika would be easier to get hold of though and perhaps easier to use. We have filled in some small gaps in our caulking before with sikaflex both the 291 and 292( there was a patch of rot that had to be dug out between two strakes that evolved removing some timber and repair) but read up a bit on caulking and the like before you attempt anything big.
 
Cotton and linseed oil putty for above the waterline, but as has been mentioned don't hammer it in too hard if she has a lot to take up. I also use either red lead from Traditional boat supplies, or in emergency linseed oil putty mixed with antifoul for below the water. It seems to be equally effective, and with the AF in it, the bugs don't like it at all.
 
I'm aware of the perils of over caulking, just want a solution that will allow me to patch up and go till we get her out at the end of the year. Hadn't thought about puttying it, it'll be a damn site easier to rake out when we want to redo it proper I'd imagine, so would a wee bit of cotton pushed in and straight putty above the water line be good enough for a few months?? there's whats left of the oakum in a few places, and what I think is white lead, its certainly not anything polymer based, in there already.
 
I'd recommend that you work a bit more linseed oil into your putty. It makes it wonderfully easy to work with, and when you have enough oil in it, it becomes really sticky, and hangs onto everything, including you.
Peter.
 
thanks peter,

had a little play today on a small section, pressed some fresh cotton in on top of what was left of the oakum and squished some putty in on top, looks like it will be a good solution to keep us going till winter haul out, be a doddle to over paint too

thanks!
 
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