beeswax/ rosin filler

[Ben Fuller]

Not my experience. George Kirby (where I got my pitch) said to add bees wax to make it less brittle.

That may well be the case; there is some brit stuff that is made for deck seams that could well have some wax in it. Last pitch i used was in a bilge and it got pretty hard. The beeswax /rosin mixture can be planed and will show the mark of a pressed finger nail.

[MN Dave]

The distinction between rosin, pitch and resin was bothering me as I read through this and some other references. The process for making rosin was distilling off the turpentine from pitch, and the information on pitch seemed to involve cooking resins to produce a hard brittle gum or pitch. So what is the difference?

According to wikidiff.com, "The difference between rosin and resin is that rosin is (organic chemistry) a solid form of resin, obtained from liquid resin by vaporizing its volatile components while resin is a viscous hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees."

In a birch bark canoe building demo I watched several years ago, the builder was applying pitch softened with bear grease to the seams. Too little bear grease is brittle and too much will melt in the sun. From several birch bark canoe sites, I gather that tallow and other greases have been used and they also add charcoal, making it black and stiffer(?).
http://www.barkcanoe.com/techtips25B.htm
http://www.northwestjournal.ca/VIII4.htm
https://beaverbarkcanoes.wordpress.c...ki-bark-canoe/ For warm weather soften with tallow and in cold weather beaver oil.

[Pitsligo]

Not my experience. George Kirby (where I got my pitch) said to add bees wax to make it less brittle.

Amen. I used a lot of beeswax in the pitch I used behind Bucephalus's garboards, replacing the original stuff that had dried out, broken loose, and made mischief. The wax made all the difference --even though I eventually abandoned the entire practice.

Alex

[earling2]

re-resurrecting an ancient post...

I finally got around to trying the rosin/beeswax brew between my floor cracks. I melted the beeswax and rosin in a pot, about 50/50 for a nice tone that was pretty close to the original heart pine, taped off the cracks and tilted some of the stuff in. Over and over again, while I watched the level drop to the bottom of the crack. Problem is, though the mix seems like the perfect stuff when it sets--pliable but relatively hard--it seeps right through the bottom of the cracks and I end up with a nearly empty crack. I'm trying to think of something that could seal the crack ahead of time that isn't quite so watery. Maybe melted roofing tar or driveway sealer? Of course either of those would be horribly messy and would require some seriously meticulous application. I don't want to use thickened epoxy because, one, even that flows like crazy (at least WEST) does and two, that would be the wrong thing to do with planks that no doubt expand and contract. Maybe put a tube of Alex caulk in a pot of nearly boiling water, see if it sort of flows when it comes out, barely cut the tip so I get it only in the bottom of the crack...l

[Canoeyawl]

How about rolling in a strand of cotton? Dark colored cotton maybe.

[earling2]

I've decided to give up on the rosin/beeswax idea and just a brown Sikaflex of some sort--there seem to be several Sikas (i used to use it all the time in the 80s but there was only one type then, I think) so now it's just a matter of figuring out which one

[Msg43]

Just wanted to put a note here to say that I am rebuilding a wooden boat and was scouring this forum in 2022 looking for anyone who had filled the bilge with wax or beeswax or rosin or something other than pitch. I had a few very nice people respond to private messages but on the whole there wasn't a lot of experience with it. I went ahead and filled the bilge with wax and the process was a lot smoother and less dangerous than pitch. Also obviously a lot less smelly. We are getting ready to launch the boat so I will be able to report back on the outcome of the experiment at that time. I just wanted to let anyone else who is thinking this through know that I did it in case they want more details or advice or want to know how it worked once the ship is at sea. The wax I used was BW-916 from Blended Waxes, Inc. I picked that blend based on a conversation with the salesperson from the company. You can buy it directly from them or on Amazon. I used about 100 lbs. of it in a 42' displacement cruiser.

[carioca1232001]

Just wanted to put a note here to say that I am rebuilding a wooden boat and was scouring this forum in 2022 looking for anyone who had filled the bilge with wax or beeswax or rosin or something other than pitch. I had a few very nice people respond to private messages but on the whole there wasn't a lot of experience with it. I went ahead and filled the bilge with wax and the process was a lot smoother and less dangerous than pitch. Also obviously a lot less smelly. We are getting ready to launch the boat so I will be able to report back on the outcome of the experiment at that time. I just wanted to let anyone else who is thinking this through know that I did it in case they want more details or advice or want to know how it worked once the ship is at sea. The wax I used was BW-916 from Blended Waxes, Inc. I picked that blend based on a conversation with the salesperson from the company. You can buy it directly from them or on Amazon. I used about 100 lbs. of it in a 42' displacement cruiser.

Having dealt with the mess (and smell) while removing tar poured by the keel in the forepeak and ancher locker I have been on the look-out for an alternative.

In fact I searched for the wax + rosin alternative last month both on WBF and the world-wide web, but to no avail !

My boat is a 30ft. twin-engined wooden cruiser built in 1962 and as you are probably aware, wooden boats keep you 'on the go' for as long as you own them.

Would be most obliged should you kindly share your experience and know-how, thanks.

[wizbang 13]

One hundred POUNDS of wax????
a 42 footer?

[carioca1232001]

Possibly 100 lbs of a 50-50 mix of bees wax and rosin, poured in over the keel from 'head to toe' ??

As both have a specific gravity around 1, that would mean roughly 50 lbs (23kgs/litres) of each component of the mix ??

I was amazed at the quantity of tar that exited - with some gentle persuasion from a blow-torch - from just the bow region once both garboards and the inner planking were taken off on mine.

[carioca1232001]

The following study relates to bees wax / rosin mixes in regard to their usage as an adhesive in the (not-so-recent !) past.

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ound_Adhesives

any comments ?

Adhesion of the waterproofing agent (whahtever) to the substrate is a valid consideration, and in a similar vein, the resistance to cracking (and letting water in ?).

[Bruce Brown]

When pitching your bilge, I guess you use whatever recipe floats your boat. I mixed bee's wax with pine tar an
d it poured and filled nicely.

[carioca1232001]

When pitching your bilge, I guess you use whatever recipe floats your boat. I mixed bee's wax with pine tar an
d it poured and filled nicely.

Thanks for the feedback.

It stayed put in the summer months ? No tendency to flow out ?

[Bruce Brown]

won't flow out because of the melting temp of beeswax at normal ambient temperatures of boating and human survival