wooden clinker dinghy sealed with Sikaflex

[plimb]

I am hoping to buy a 12ft. sailing dinghy built with mahogany planks on steamed oak frames and fastened with rows of copper rivets. I am told she is 'dry sailed' as her seams have been payed with high modulus Sikaflex to keep her watertight. I am not familiar with this treatment but I hope it will contribute to the longevity of the boat which is already 58 years old. I just don't know if the sikaflex and natural 'taking up' of the planks could react against each other putting strain on the boats overall construction. I hope I'm concerned about nothing. Could anyone bear some light on this treatment for me? I shall be sailing the boat in seawater and storing it on land when not in use.

 

[jakeroyd]

I had a National 12 dinghy many years ago.
Clinker built with copper nails and roves like yours.
It was dry stored.

When we went sailing I would slip it off it's trailer and let it sink in say 2ft or so of water and leave it there overnight.

In the morning we would bail it out and sail it.

It would be reasonably watertight but would still open up when sailed hard and the hull twisted.

The moral of the story is that clinker built boats IMHO should be stored wet.

I feel applying sikaflex is at best a stopgap solution.
Really the problem is the nails need tightening up and the hull needs to swell up.

 

[Even Chance]

Sounds perfect. I did it to dry sail my old 12foot clinker dinghy years ago. Works a treat. It was a new thing from america for dry sailing older boats so thought why not. Looking for a new dinghy just now, and will do exactly the same again to its replacement.