clinker built hull re-furbishing.

[Rex Fearnehough]

Hi, I am new to this forum. I have recently been given a hull, a 16ft double ender, clinker built. It was originally built for sail, but a well has been added. It has been left in a field for 8 yrs. I have burned off all paint & am down to bare wood, the wood is absolutely sound but for two split planks. Problem 1 is, my boating knowledge is from a half century ago, so no knowledge of modern materials. Problem 2 during paint strip I removed all sealing from from stem, stern & keel. I am down to lovely shiny rivets. The internal seal was putty from keelson to plank to keel. The stem & stern was a brown unknown mastic. So what now. :confused:

[Rex Fearnehough]

Hello again, I'm not yet up to speed on computers & I posted without finishing what I really came on for. Question 3 next year I would like to re-convert to sail, because of the waters up here it makes good sense to keep the outboard well, plus, I will make oars. The only reference I can find to it sailing is a sail which is going to be refound in a farmers shed. This is going to be the main problem. Where can I get information on how to do this? I've read 30% of the pages on this link & I am sure that there is more knowledge here than any books that I can buy. I have to get it weather & water tight in the next 2 weeks because I have to store it under a tarp for this winter & winter is well on its way. I intend to prime with pink primer & seal with brown underwater seal before painting.In Shetland putty is king for sealing but arguments rage as in these listings. I would be very grateful if anyone could help & I will keep anyone interested up to date with this project.
Thanks Rex. :D

[Mr. Know It All]

corra58.......This was a recent discussion on treating a bare wood hull involving the use of CPES and epoxy. though you might find it interesting. click here------->
http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=004948

Your project sounds interesting to me. I am restoring a 1961 clinker built 16 foot outboard runabout. How old is your boat and what kind of wood? Have you tightened the rivets and reefed (scraped &cleaned) the seams between the laps? What are you using to seal the seams and what are you using to fill the rivet holes and places that need faired (smoothed out)?
Peace---> Kevin in Ohio

[Mac_Muz]

I would like to see pics of this boat!!!

Yes, What wood is it made of?

I do not understand about finding sails in a shed... Do you mean the sails still exist in a shed and you have to get them? What type rig was (is) the boat... I wonder if it was a sprit rig?

Is the motor well off set to one side of the keel?

I have a dorry, and used a calking called "Life Caulk" This works on oily wood, and I was going to use a oil finish found on early working boats, and did. This caulk hardens with water! And remains flexible and soft. So when the boat dries the material becomes thin looking, and when the boat swells the material squishes out some.

Life Caulk comes in several colors as well. It is not cheap however.... I keep some on the boat in case I spring a leak. All that needs be done is get the area out of water for a bit,to squish some caulking in, and wet it down... It will air dry in time as well...

When I applied this material I had soaked the boat 2 days and then let it air for 1 day.

My dorry is cedar planked, and these move about alot. There was large 1/4" (6mm) wide cracks in some planks. You could see right thru these cracks.
Like your boat, I found mine in a gravel pit, and it was full of water to the over flowing point. Ice was floating in it, and there was 10" (250 cm) of mud and leaves in the bottom, indicating some years of sitting this way. I found the owner and traded for the boat.

You did not say how big this boat of yours is, but it might help if it can be turned upside down to store it for winter. Depending on what you will paint it with, might lend some way of coating it now with a sealing coat, and then covering the boat with a breathable canvass. Stick other woods, or lath type woods between the canvass and the boat so AIR can circulate.

If you use a plastic cover be 110% sure it can breath... A little water won't hurt inside if the boat must be up right, as much as plastic against it will damage the wood.

Wind moves the plastic and then the plastic will buff the wood.. If the plastic holds moisture on the boat itself in one place for too long then rot begins from the sweating.

My boat is too heavy for me alone to turn over, so I do keep it up right, and make a wooden frame from the cheapest wood I can come by. This is covered with a plastic, but there is a minimum of 3" (75 cm) air gap at all places, and only the cover is bound to the roof like frame which over hangs the boat. If I need to cover this boat in summer I move the cover up a bit higher so heat won't collect in the boat. Be sure if the boat is up right to leave out the drain plug, and also be sire no water can build up to frezze the drain closed.

The guy I traded from had left the drain plug IN PLACE!!!!!!

The epoxie finsh was 50% gone, and even the cedar had begun to rot. I had to cut out some cedar which would never have rotted had the boat just been drained. It took years to get that epoxie off, and repair the boat....

Once again I would like to see pics!!! Mac

[Rex Fearnehough]

kevin & Mac, thanks for showing an interest. I will now tell you all I have managed to learn about this boat. I found out today that It is not an old boat, maybe 18yrs old & has been in the field for approx 8yrs. These could be country years
It is a Shetland model,(purists would say it is too small for a Shetland), but the shape is the same. Dimensions are L16', Beam 5'3", from keel to gunnel 2'6". The lines are beautiful. I will get some pictures done as soon as possible. The well is offset to starboard. It was, as I thought, built for sail but the people who knew about this have either died or moved. So no help there. The farmer thinks that there is a sail that belonged to it, in one of his old barns, this I will check tomorrow. The boat is amazingly tight all rivets/nails taken up. I have it down to bare wood. What the wood is, is under debate at the moment, but it is pinkish, more on that later. It is absolutely sound but for two splits, Just above the waterline, I suspect someone may have jumped into the boat at sometime & split them. It has a false keel, probably added later, that is only 3/4" thick. This may have to be removed or modified or it will rip off on beaching & handling ashore. Boats up here are hard workers not usually pleasure craft, but now it's my friend. Tomorrow I'm going to pink prime it inside & roll it to finish the bottom scraping & check the keel. Not much more I can say about it at the moment except that I am happy with it & it has come home. Thanks, Rex. :D