Herreshoff 12.5 planking question

[esingleman]

I am finally going to be able to start my restoration this year, and am in the planning phase. One of the things I want to get first is the AWC for planking. Since I live in Albany, NY, this boat will mostly live on a trailer with the intent to have her in the water for no more than two weeks at a time.

According to a thread I started about three years ago, the concensus was that I could do this (have a trailer boat that is) as long as I used vertical grained planking wood, got the wood to the correct moisture content before caulking, did a good planking job, kept the boat outside on gravel and protected from wind and sun, and didn't recaulk the seams with anything that wouldn't squeeze out.

Now here is my question: It was stated that 4" VG planks could potentially move 3/16" which is about the limit of the cauling, but with a good paint job inside and out it would be much less. However on the H12.5, the planks below the waterline from the garboard up are 7", 5-3/4", 5-1/2", and 5-1/4". Would it be technically sound to replank this section of the boat with 4" wide planks? Or at least split the garboard into two planks?

[CundysHarbor]

The H-12's are notorious for leaking when first launched. It is enevitable given the plank width and construction scantlings. IHMO this is not a good candidate for "dry sailing". The originals were tight planked with a thread of cotton in the seams. Even with prelaunch soaking using burlap or newspapers, she will not be ready for sailing until she has soaked for a week. To stress this construction when she is not swelled-up is to invite problems.

[Roger Cumming]

Dry sailing this boat is not a good idea. The unavoidable shrinking and swelling of the planking will stress the plank fastenings. Think about how they will move back and forth as the planks shrink and then swell. Every time you launch the boat will be like spring commissioning. The boat will leak and every shrink/swell cycle will loosen the fastenings more. It's no help but a wood/epoxy boat or a fiberglass boat would be more appropriate for this kind of use. The boat was designed to go overboard once a year, not 10 times, and live on a mooring.