Planks and Transom business

[Barney]

Hello,I'm just about to start some work on my 1950 larch on oak broadscruiser.I need to replace some planks on the hull and have got some pitch pine to do this with which i've been told will be fine.Is this so !!??Also the transoms mahogany but about a third needs replacing.Can I cut away the damaged part and use planks and join them together or will it it have to be a solid piece of timber?Is marine ply ok for a complete replacement if need be? One last question,the hulls been tarred before and will need redoing,someone said tar,sawdust and horse manure mixed up and slapped on would do a good job!!!!Surely theres got to be something better and less mess/hassle!!!
Thankyou,Barney
P.s great site!!:)

[Graham Knight]

I'd be careful with the Pitch Pine, in theory it's a great timber for this purpose, but I have some at work which would be virtually useless.
It should be a moderately hard and dense (for a softwood), and resinous timber, but the stuff I have is very light and soft. Did yours come from a reputable source, is the person who recommended it likely to know if it's any good for boatbuilding or not?
If you want to see good Pitch Pine try your local church, pews were often made from Pitch Pine and so was the flooring. My neighbour has a stack of it rescued from an old church that was being converted to offices, he's going to use it to re-plank his boat.

[Barney]

Hi Graham,Its good quality and i've spent the last week bandsawing and planing it.One batch is completley knot free and not too resinious,while the other has a few knots and a fair bit of resin.It came from a woodrecycling yard I work at sometimes.

[John Meachen]

Building up the transom repair from a number of pieces will be fine,most large transoms have been made this way.You will need to make sure that the sections are soundly joined together.
Tar,sawdust and horse manure is a fairly horrible mixture,you are probably being led on.If the hull has been tarred,you will find it very difficult to coat with anything else as the tar will bleed through most paints.If,as was common,the boat was coated with tar varnish below the waterline just carry on using it.

[Barney]

Thanks John,yep i was obviously very suspect over that mixture!!But the hull's definatley tarred,with no paint on it,so the tar varnish makes perfect sense.:D