egg harbor hull

[goose]

I have 2 Egg Harbors a 36' 1960 and a 37' 1967 both have been out of the water for up to 7 years. Have traded one to a fellow for help with the other. One of the boats has at least a 1/2 dozen splintered ribs at the turn of the bildge from over fastening and also several planks below the water line that have opened up to about 3/16" between planks. I'd like some suggestions on reribbing and thoughts on the likelyhood of the mahogany planks swelling enough to close the 3/16" gap. Goose

[Hugh Paterson]

No doubt someone else will chip in with their two dollars worth (the decision is yours), but it might be an idea to think of laminated ribs for the replacements. Much stronger than bent or sawn ones, at least in my humble opinion tongue.gif Timber thats been out of the water a long time can do weird things when it gets wet again, seen some sackcloth hung over timbers with a constant trickle of water to help close up planking prior to the initial re-launch do good work though, just a suggestion. Another thing to watch especially on lightly planked vessels is not to overcaulk a dry boat in an attempt to reduce the amount of leaks, it can cause problems, especially with some types of nails, when the wood has no room left to expand as the loisture content grows when u chuck it in the water again. :eek:
Shug.

[Hugh Paterson]

Originally posted by Hugh Paterson:
No doubt someone else will chip in with their two dollars worth (the decision is yours), but it might be an idea to think of laminated ribs for the replacements. Much stronger than bent or sawn ones, at least in my humble opinion tongue.gif Timber thats been out of the water a long time can do weird things when it gets wet again, seen some sackcloth hung over timbers with a constant trickle of water to help close up planking prior to the initial re-launch do good work though, just a suggestion. Another thing to watch especially on lightly planked vessels is not to overcaulk a dry boat in an attempt to reduce the amount of leaks, it can cause problems, especially with some types of nails, when the wood has no room left to expand as the moisture content grows when u chuck it in the water again. :eek:
Shug.

[Hugh Paterson]

OOPs damn finger pressed the wrong key :mad:

[imported_Conrad]

Hi- I have a 1967 37' Egg. I'd suggest you remove a couple of planks at the turn of the bilge to check your frames- after looking at four different boats, every one that at first looked like it had "a dozen or so" broken frames turned out to have just about all the frames in the aft 2/3 of the hull be bad. The ones behind the tanks and head/galley tend to be the worst, as well as the least accessable. Those in the aft cockpit area (where you can see them) are supported by curved mahogany backers and tend to hold up a bit better. It wasn't until I'd removed the planking that the true extent of the damage was visible. About fifty frames are typically involved counting both sides.

After considerable research into scantling rules, and talking to a couple of surveyors and Egg owners and repairers, the conclusion is that the boats were underbuilt and not that well designed. The frames are too small, the bend too tight, and no additional support comes from ring frames or bulkheads- essentially the entire weight of the upper hull rests on the bent part of the frames, with little additional support.

As a fix, steaming in new frames will only lead to the same fate, if one can find and afford the first quality wood needed to make the tight bend without breaking. Laminated frames are an acceptable solution, probably oversize and not from oak in order to avoid the problems of questionable bonds between oak and epoxy (the debate continues without consistent answers).

My boat is being repaired as follows. From the outside with several planks removed, laminate in some heavier sisters placed on 24" centers, from fir. Then we'll build in 1" ply bulkheads at the forward ends of the cockpit, engine compartment, head/galley, and forward hanging lockers. These, unlike the original construction, will be tied to the hull, floors, and sole with heavy cleats and laminated frames.

As for the open seams, if your fastenings and floors are in decent shape I'd caulk it very lightly and let it sit in the slings on launch day to swell up. Much of the aft portion of my boat has been trashed by electrolic damage from the bonding, so having already refastened, it looks like we'll be splining the seams with red cedar and then sheathing with wood to the top of the boot stripe. This last part is contoversial and subject to a lot of discussion. In our case, given that it's my family going from Seattle to Alaska, I'm not taking chances. We love the boat, but it's not a rare classic, and I'd rather get 10-20 good years than saw it up, which is the only realistic alternative. Good luck!

[ 08-25-2002, 07:41 PM: Message edited by: conrads ]