wood rot...

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yourmomm

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my newly-acquired wooden (iroko on oak) boat's beautiful paint-and-varnish coating is unfortunately peeling away by the day-there is one particular section on top of a gunnel where the wood underneath is completely exposed and looking a bit dark....(but still sounding ok with the hammer test). im obviously not going to strip down and repaint/varnish until spring-should i just leave it until then on a boat that goes out every weekend i can, or is there some way the knowledgeable forumites know of that i can temporarily "stop the rot" until her haul-out in spring.....? many thanks in advance for all contributions....
 
I was advised by TRADBOATS who supply paints and varnishes for traditional wooden boats that you can use Danish oil as an holding operation. The beauty of Danish Oil is that you can paint or varnish over it.
 
Danish oil will not stop rot it will simply maybe stop more water penetration . Once the rot is there its there and leaving it will let it spread . If its dry rot you have getting a chemical to kill the rot or poisen the food source (wood) will stop it spreading . Wet rot as all rot needs to be cut out but leaving it in the timber will only make things worse .
Maybe drill a few holes and pour some cuprinol 5 star treatment in them until spring .
Dont forget to plug the holes so you dont let more water in !
 
Are you sure you have a problem (beyond peeling paint)? You dont say which wood or whether it is dry. Iroko can look quite dark when wet and oak and Iroko both darken due to oxidisation if exposed. Gently sand a bit back and if you get fresh coloured sound wood just use the iol untill you paint. There is also a black fungus that grows under varnish which has lost its hold and allowed damp in, could it be this? is there other varnish near that looks a bit dodgy with dark motteling?
 
Suggest you try this on the Classic Boat section. But its far more likely the coating has been knocked, water has got in and is lifting the coating. Also not impossble that however good it looks the first coats were not applied properly or in damp conditions, and are failing to stick to the timber.

Water will cause discoloration and darkening of the timber, wthout actually damaging it. Rot comes later. The important thing is to clean off back to sound paint and get it covered up to prevent the damage spreading. Minor discoloration can nearly always be sanded out, and there are compunds intended for more severe cases - varying degrees of effectiveness!
 
I am fascinated by that - is ordinary anti-freeze is effective against wood rot, why isn't more widely known? Does it really work - sounds like a very cheap solution.
 
Known of this one for quite a long time, and talking to wooden boat builders (who are a pretty conservative lot!) the feeling is that it is not quite the 'miracle cure' that it is supposed to be, and no more effective than varous other 'anti - rot' agents available. Just cheaper. Also being water soluble it washes off rather quickly exposing the timber to rot attack - just when you thought you were safe!

Rot will develop in wet timber, so an anti rot agent that washes off as soon as water touches it is a bit 'irish' IMHO /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
As Cuchillo said,on a dry day paint any bare areas with Cuprinol 5 star-You might even want to chuck the rest of the 5litre can into the (dry) bilges and let it soak in through the winter and then rinse out the bilge with bleach in the spring to remove any trace of noxious odours....H+Safety would no no this of course!! (Not joking)
 
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