Fiberglass Sheathing a 1962 Carvel Hull

[gypsie]

It's a beautiful nane, but it cannot be easily read from a bouncing boat with binocs from a distance
practicality strikes again

Practicality went out the window with the word 'yacht'.......

[Besserwisser]

...Based on that experience, I'd give some thought to splining and epoxy sealing but not sheathing.

I once had a 1950s-built strip plank with the hull sheathed in the 60s. By the time it came into my hands, the leaking (unsheathed) deck had caused significant rot areas in the bilge.

But it was still floating just fine because of the sheathing. The rot I was able to remove on the mooring, spooning it out in places, right through to the sheathing. I then epoxied in some good wood, completing the job without having to slip her.

I'm no craftsman but I've seen her out there still, so the repair worked. Or more to the point, the sheathing worked, cos without it that lovely boat would, alas, be no more.



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[Ian McColgin]

Dad sheathed two of our old boats in the early '60s and they were sailing at least into the '80s. Many sheathing jobs are so heavy that they amount to a glass hull over mold with some rot.

It will work if that's what you want.

[RFNK]

That's nonsense Ian. Most successful sheathing jobs are single skin of glass, including mine, which is one layer of woven glass. A heavier sheathing is a good idea if the boat is older as it adds to structural integrity.

[Besserwisser]

The boat I referred to had just the one layer of glass, at least according to the owner who did the job.

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[Ian McColgin]

I should have been clear: Our two glassed boats were sailboats in the 20' range. One layer, like many successful glass sheathings in that size range. Much larger and the stresses of sailing or motoring tend to encourage the glass to separate from the hull.

If you can get hold of the '80s book "Covering Wooden Boats with Fiberglass" by Alan Vaitsas you will be well set.

[wizbang 13]

we are at the end of 29 pages of a boat that was sheathed awhile ago, and still at this point?
the sheathing did not fail, a small piece of tin caused this

[RFNK]

I should have been clear: Our two glassed boats were sailboats in the 20' range. One layer, like many successful glass sheathings in that size range. Much larger and the stresses of sailing or motoring tend to encourage the glass to separate from the hull.

If you can get hold of the '80s book "Covering Wooden Boats with Fiberglass" by Alan Vaitsas you will be well set.

No, Vaitses' approach is not really sheathing at all. If a boat of any length has structural integrity, without the glass, then sheathing is a suitable and sensible approach. My boat is 38', strip planked. Gypsie's boat is 36' and was rendered suitable for sheathing by splining to achieve structural integrity. Vaitses' takes old hulls that don't have structural integrity any more, and builds a grp hull around the old hull, so that the whole structure then has structural integrity.

Sheathing a boat that has rot or loose planking, a 'flexible' hull, was always a bad idea. Structural integrity is essential. Given that, sheathing is about the best thing you can do to a wooden hull. It protects planking, seams and fastenings. It saves cost and environmental costs as antifouling can be spaced out further. Shipworms don't penetrate sheathing either.

[Besserwisser]

The boat I referred to was a 32 footer.

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[gypsie]

I made my case for it early in the thread, I stand by it.

back in the water on the 8th. There's a high tide at 10am the following morning to get me over the bar out of the creek. Summer of sailing ahead!

[Stiletto]

There's a high tide at 10am the following morning to get me over the bar out of the creek. Summer of sailing ahead!

She looks great! Best wishes for happy sailing ahead.

[RFNK]

Excellent! How have you repaired the rudder?

[gypsie]

I got the local shipwright to fabricate a new one.
Four layers of 18mm marine ply epoxied, using the original as a template. New post. I hadn't discussed ow the post attaches to the rudder, my opinion would have been to reuse the monel bolts that held the old rudder staves together, and that used to penetrate the rudder post. Shaped with a rough pad on a grinder and wrapped in glass.

[RFNK]

Sounds good. New post is SS I guess?

By the way, I enjoyed the doco about the museum and your shark display - nice project!! We have a whale shark painted on our house in Newcastle.

[gypsie]

Sounds good. New post is SS I guess?

By the way, I enjoyed the doco about the museum and your shark display - nice project!! We have a whale shark painted on our house in Newcastle.

Yes, SS.
It meets the bronze gudgeon metal to metal. I'll tap in an M6 and connect a wire from that to the zinc i think.

Glad you enjoyed the doco

[gypsie]

Shipwright sent me a link.....

https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/04/...-wooden-boats/

Intersting site.
https://waitematawoodys.com/

[RFNK]

It is. Alan H (Snow) regularly sends us links to the Antipodean site. They have a regatta every year with a terrific collection of boats.