Old, Dry Planks what to do

[steve pilot 35]

Help please, pilot 35, over the last 6 months we have done a lot of work to the pilots hull below the water line, replacing ribs and 4 planks, we are at the stage now where she is ready to paint, i was going to roll on raw linseed oil untill she will not take any more, then use boiled linseed oil to seal the raw in, as she has been out of the water and in the australian dry heat for 6 months, there has been a lot of shrinking in the planks below the water, will the linseed oil prevent her from swelling when she goes back in the water? the reason for linseed oil is the timber is so old and dry the goodness as all been washed out, i would like to put something back in the timber, has anyone tryed linseed oil, or is there another way to give the planks back some life

[Mrleft8]

Originally posted by steve pilot 35:
Help please, pilot 35, over the last 6 months we have done a lot of work to the pilots hull below the water line, replacing ribs and 4 planks, we are at the stage now where she is ready to paint, i was going to roll on raw linseed oil untill she will not take any more, then use boiled linseed oil to seal the raw in, as she has been out of the water and in the australian dry heat for 6 months, there has been a lot of shrinking in the planks below the water, will the linseed oil prevent her from swelling when she goes back in the water? the reason for linseed oil is the timber is so old and dry the goodness as all been washed out, i would like to put something back in the timber, has anyone tryed linseed oil, or is there another way to give the planks back some lifeThe planks didn't have oil in them to begin with. I'd prime the planking, use some sprinklers to swell the planking, let it dry out enough to paintthe topcoat, and then let her take up in a sling.

[Dan McCosh]

The basics of wood sitting in water are this: The cellulose fibers are held together by a natural resin called lignin. The resin does over years tend to dissolve, and the wood gets a bit softer. There is nothing that reverses the process. The older wood continues to swell with moisture, and most coatings don't alter this much--paint, oil, etc., Some epoxies will prevent much of the moisture from entering. Anyway, linseed oil will make the wood oily, but that is pretty much irrelevant to anything but making the wood oily.

[ 01-11-2006, 03:13 PM: Message edited by: Dan McCosh ]

[steve pilot 35]

Dan,
Ive put linseed oil on an old plank we had taken off, and it seemed to make the mahogany a lot harder, and gave it some life back, I dont want to stop it swelling when she goes back in the water, I have been told to paint linseed oil on and let it soak it up until she wont take anymore, i need to harden the whole plank up not just the outside

[Thorne]

I highly recommend searching this and the other WB forums for "linseed oil" -- there are many threads with a lot of expert opinions from experienced builders.

I seem to see an issue with "hardening up" and "restoring life" -- linseed oil is recommended for the latter but won't do the former. If you actually need to harden up the surface of the planks, you may want to skip the oil and go for CPES.

But from what I've read, using linseed oil (boiled) and then letting the boat take up in a sling is the recommended method.

[Dan McCosh]

My only point is that old wood, continuously soaked in water, undergoes a lengthy process of deterioration that is more or less irreversible. This takes a long time--I've seen estimates of 80-100 years, but soaking in oil, etc., has little effect on the inevitable.

[steve pilot 35]

Well what do you think, Ive just had a conversation with an old ship wright and he suggested that i mix 1/3 gum terpentine, 1/3 boild linseed oil, and 1/3 stockholm tar, the gum oil is a natural plant product that helps restore the structual parts of the timber, stockholm tar is insoluble, and the boiled linseed will set and hold everything in the planks, has anyone used this before???