pugwash
Well-Known Member
How long does a wooden boat have to be on shore before the drying out and shrinkage of her hull timbers becomes a problem? Is three or four months pretty safe?
Wooden boat wintered ashore
- Thread starter pugwash
- Start date
tillergirl
Well-Known Member
I regret to say that I think the answer is that 'it depends'.
On what:
Time of year: My experience is that November to March is fine but you can get some drying winds and sun in April and May that can have an effect.
Position in the yard: One year I was on the concrete bit and the stern faced the south, exposed to easterlies. Result - longer to take up than in previous years where I had been hidden away between other boats over 'rough' ground.
Construction: My current carvel boat seems to be less prone that my previous clinker one. On occasions, it was a race to get from craneage point to mooring before the bailing became critical.
Timber: The clinker one was mahogany, the carvel is iroko. Is it the timber that's more stable? I don't know. But the iroko is definitely more stable but then its one inch thick as against some thinner mahagony.
Age and condition: I guess the older the boat, the more I would think about the problem (please note I don't use the term 'worry')
Some realities. When I bought TG, I had her ashore from January to end of July sorting some bits. In June, some of the topside seams opened (sometimes with a fearful 'crack'). But when she went back in she took up in no time. But it was clear that having paint on her made a material difference to retaining moisture. She was 39 years old then. Since then I keep her afloat during most winters and have her ashore for a winter roughly every four years. I do this to avoid the annual expansion and contraction which on my previous clinker boat did seem to be significant. But then there's plenty of wooden boats here at Mersea that winter ashore every year (albeit quite a few are kept in the shed). Also when I renewed the deck, I had her out over the winter until July and that didn't cause any problems.
I would say that generally 3 or 4 months is safe during the winter months. But that doesn't mean that it would be unsafe during the rest of the year cos it depends. Not that helpful was it?
On what:
Time of year: My experience is that November to March is fine but you can get some drying winds and sun in April and May that can have an effect.
Position in the yard: One year I was on the concrete bit and the stern faced the south, exposed to easterlies. Result - longer to take up than in previous years where I had been hidden away between other boats over 'rough' ground.
Construction: My current carvel boat seems to be less prone that my previous clinker one. On occasions, it was a race to get from craneage point to mooring before the bailing became critical.
Timber: The clinker one was mahogany, the carvel is iroko. Is it the timber that's more stable? I don't know. But the iroko is definitely more stable but then its one inch thick as against some thinner mahagony.
Age and condition: I guess the older the boat, the more I would think about the problem (please note I don't use the term 'worry')
Some realities. When I bought TG, I had her ashore from January to end of July sorting some bits. In June, some of the topside seams opened (sometimes with a fearful 'crack'). But when she went back in she took up in no time. But it was clear that having paint on her made a material difference to retaining moisture. She was 39 years old then. Since then I keep her afloat during most winters and have her ashore for a winter roughly every four years. I do this to avoid the annual expansion and contraction which on my previous clinker boat did seem to be significant. But then there's plenty of wooden boats here at Mersea that winter ashore every year (albeit quite a few are kept in the shed). Also when I renewed the deck, I had her out over the winter until July and that didn't cause any problems.
I would say that generally 3 or 4 months is safe during the winter months. But that doesn't mean that it would be unsafe during the rest of the year cos it depends. Not that helpful was it?
Mirelle
N/A
More unhelpfulness:
My boat is carvel, planked with teak. I have kept her ashore for 18 months, including a hot summer, with no effect at all! She might as well be made of the other stuff.
On the other hand a larch planked launch that I had needed a lot of "taking up" each spring and I know of a pitch pine carvel planked boat that was "determined to sink" for about a fortnight after staying out till June!
I would recommend pale coloured paint and perhaps a coat of white emulsion on the antifouling*, if you are keeping the boat out for a long time, and aligning the boat with the bow, or stern, to the South in any case (proper yards routinely do this, but marina type people might not know). It is also a good plan to have the winter cover extend down to the waterline.
* Our great-grandparents routinely white washed any vessel laid up over the summer.
My boat is carvel, planked with teak. I have kept her ashore for 18 months, including a hot summer, with no effect at all! She might as well be made of the other stuff.
On the other hand a larch planked launch that I had needed a lot of "taking up" each spring and I know of a pitch pine carvel planked boat that was "determined to sink" for about a fortnight after staying out till June!
I would recommend pale coloured paint and perhaps a coat of white emulsion on the antifouling*, if you are keeping the boat out for a long time, and aligning the boat with the bow, or stern, to the South in any case (proper yards routinely do this, but marina type people might not know). It is also a good plan to have the winter cover extend down to the waterline.
* Our great-grandparents routinely white washed any vessel laid up over the summer.
jenku
Well-Known Member
Up here in Sweden we keep all wooden boats out of the water for at least 6 months traditionally. The right way, as they say, is to lift them out before the freezing temperatures set in to dry up a bit (otherwise ice will crack the planks). They are to be stored in a custom built boathouse of wooden frame and tarp roof and sides that keeps them dry and well ventlilated yet out of the snow and wind.
They are then to go in essentially as soon as the ice is gone, but in fact normally in late april (as there is too much to do on them and owners can't be bothered before Easter because of the cold)...
They are then to go in essentially as soon as the ice is gone, but in fact normally in late april (as there is too much to do on them and owners can't be bothered before Easter because of the cold)...
EASLOOP
Well-Known Member
I agree with all of the above. My boat is mahogany on oak. She has a laid teak deck laid directly onto the deck beams (no ply used anywhere on the hull). Last year I left her uncovered and suffered no problems at all (barring seagulls droppings). She faced into the prevailing north easterlies. When she went back in last April she took up in one tide.
The only problem is the cracking of paint along the seams!!@@**
The only problem is the cracking of paint along the seams!!@@**
steve_l
Well-Known Member
Totally agree. My ex-girlfriend has a cold-moulded mahogany ply 20ft'er and I race in my friend's 9m pine on pine carvel "Hai" (Finnish for "shark") boat which was built in 1945. So some experience of this...
Out in October, back in early May when the water is liquid again.
Covered to keep out the wind, rain, sleet, snow and sh*t. The winter air is very dry here (not much moisture in freezing air!) and big gaps can appear!
Come spring time, use plenty of wet newspaper inside the hull and keep it wet for a couple of weeks if you have the time between finishing painting and relaunching. This reduces the take-up time to a couple of days.
Masking tape over the gaps just before launching helps too, as can a thin layer of mastic on the gaps on the outside of the hull (NOT between the seams!) which can be easily removed later if it doesn't fall off by itself. Again, it only needs to be there for a couple of days while the seams take up.
Hope this helps. Never had a boat sink here in the 8 years I've been doing this...
BTW... keep a pump handy and remember, nothing shifts water quicker than a frightened man with a bucket... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)
Out in October, back in early May when the water is liquid again.
Covered to keep out the wind, rain, sleet, snow and sh*t. The winter air is very dry here (not much moisture in freezing air!) and big gaps can appear!
Come spring time, use plenty of wet newspaper inside the hull and keep it wet for a couple of weeks if you have the time between finishing painting and relaunching. This reduces the take-up time to a couple of days.
Masking tape over the gaps just before launching helps too, as can a thin layer of mastic on the gaps on the outside of the hull (NOT between the seams!) which can be easily removed later if it doesn't fall off by itself. Again, it only needs to be there for a couple of days while the seams take up.
Hope this helps. Never had a boat sink here in the 8 years I've been doing this...
BTW... keep a pump handy and remember, nothing shifts water quicker than a frightened man with a bucket... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)
thalassa
Well-Known Member
Until a few years ago, I looked after a friends' ancient wooden Dutch boeier (90% oak) when it was stalled on shore. Local lore has it that it is the wind which dries out the timber, not the sun. The main drawback when she had been on land for about five months, you had to pump regularly for up to five days. The timbers would have shrunk noticably, opening the seams. The last few years, we had counteracted this successfully by laying insulation sheets in the bilges. It's the mineral wool type ("Rockwool") on a flexible backing. After the boat is on shore, you wet it thoroughly, and schake the excess of. It keeps the timbers wet, but does not mould, or freezes, in winter.
Cheers, Will
Cheers, Will
FinesseChris
Well-Known Member
Hi
Serinette has been ashore Oct-April for the past 4 winters. The only time I had asignificant leak was when I forgot to tighten up the jubilee clips on the new heads intake hose...
She is iroko clinker.
I always use a pretty butch cover, which comes well down, and she's aligned N-S in a crowded compound next to the sailing club.
hth
Chris
Serinette has been ashore Oct-April for the past 4 winters. The only time I had asignificant leak was when I forgot to tighten up the jubilee clips on the new heads intake hose...
She is iroko clinker.
I always use a pretty butch cover, which comes well down, and she's aligned N-S in a crowded compound next to the sailing club.
hth
Chris
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