a bit of salt in your bilge!

[Jgillis]

cut and paste this-http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Shipbuilding/Lloyds(1891)_S37.html

[Lucky Luke]

Yes, salting is a very old and classic method to preserve wood against rot, mostly in the end grain of non ascessible timber.

Top of frames below the covering board, top of stanchions (if not part of the frames) under the capping rail, and also end-grain of deadwood used to be drilled along the grain (1/2" hole, 2" deep for 4 x 5" frame), and this hole filled with salt crystals, and plugged.

Since you are mentionning "salt in the bilge", it is a very good practice to put salt in the bilge -quite some of it- when the boat is not sailing.

[ 12-05-2005, 10:10 PM: Message edited by: Lucky Luke ]

[Baggywrinkle]

I was fascinated, reading my Dad's Rudder magazines 50 odd years ago, to see designs for Great Lakes boats, with several small salt filler caps dotted around covering board. These were small fuel fillers which allowed one to regularly pour a deposit of salt into the area of the beam ends and beam shelf, whence it found it's way down to the bilge.

With that in mind (although my boats have been on salt water), I have always put salt in the bilge to salinate any small fresh water leaks.