Wooden boat repair

[EASLOOP]

I am in the midst of renovating my wooden sloop and have come across a problem that I need help with. No stories about wooden boats please!

Problem:
Where the frames dovetail in to the rebate in the wooden part of the keel (keelson?) just forward of the bilge, pockets formed between consecutive frames are left where any incoming water from above cannot drain away. These pockets originally were filled with wooden divits which at some time have been overlaid with a brittle tar type material. The idea of this was to fill the pockets so any incoming water would not get trapped and could flow down and into the bilges. This brittle tar type material has not adhered to the wood and breaks out quite easily.
Does anyone have a suggestion for a type of material that can be poured into these pockets (with the boat level) so as to prevent the collection of water and that sets/cures hard enough to provide added stability to the garboard planks. I have thought of using ordinary industrial epoxy resin material to fill the pockets (the cheaper stuff - not West Systems) but I am not sure this is a good idea.

Thoughts and ideas gratefully received

best wishes,
John

 

[firstspirit]

Might sound daft John,

But what about raking out as muck of the old stuff as you can and then start again, on well dried - using the same stuff! Someone must be resufacing roads around by you at some time, and if applied as hot as possible, it would surely drizzle into every nook and cranny.? A small forming box could be tacked at site if theere is a challenge to get your levels right.

It must be the cheapest option I would have thought and as for extra strength, I am no expert but I would have said that this must come from the vessel construction. I have seen many people get carried away with 'stonger than wood' glue and epoxy stuff but if it 'aint built well in the first place...? But I can see how it may give you peace of mind though, wooden boats A, hole in your pocket, pain in the ark!.

Best of luck with the repair anyway.

Regards,

Firstspirit.

 

[spark]

The best option is to clear out all the old tar/wood and bore limber-holes to let any water flow into the bilge.

If boring limber-holes is not possible then clear out the old stuff and let the frames/planking dry out COMPLETELY, cut some bits of DRY wood to more or less fit the holes and then bed them in melted tar, finishing off by pouring tar all around until the holes are full to the brim. The tar that is used for felt roofs works fine.

If it isn't possibe to get the wood completely dry your best bet will be a polyurethane bedding compound (e.g. 3M4200FC) that can cure happily in damp conditions. However, because it's not runny you have to be careful to get it into all the nooks and crannies and there is a chance you will leave pockets of air where rot might get a hold.

Hope that helps.