First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

[DWdeGanne]

I’m sure this is pretty basic, but I’ve never worked with epoxy or marine plywood or with anything with important non-leaking characteristics for that matter, so any advice would be appreciated.

I’ve never had this Skerry on the water, and when I bought it, there was visible separation of the seam between the breasthooks and the gunwales (both sides, both ends.)

On further inspection this spring, I noticed what appears to be separation of the seam between two strakes, only visible from the outside.

Reading up a bit, I come across many versions of “No big deal. Just sand it down to wood, hit it with a few layers of epoxy, and repaint it.”

Given my lack of experience, though, it is a pretty significant deal. I have many questions.

1. Is there a particular type of epoxy I should be using? Does it matter?
2. How is the epoxy applied? With a brush? Daubing with a rag? Filling an enormous tub and floating the boat in it?
3. What would be the best way to apply pressure on the gunwales so they remain pressed against the breasthooks while the epoxy cures?

Again, assuming my complete ignorance is completely justified, and any help offered will be appreciated.

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[johngsandusky]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

That looks to me like it may have been previously repaired, and it doesn't look very bad.
Marine epoxy, WEST, TotalBoat, there are others. The simplest thing would be to mix some epoxy with filler to about the thickness of peanut butter and press it in there with a plastic putty knife. I'm sure there will be other suggestions. Good luck, keep us posted.

[Peerie Maa]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

It would be good to clean out loose glue and crud before trying to re glue it.
For the breasthook, make a pad saw out of a hacksaw blade and slide it into the gap. For the gappy seam, sacrifice a cheap screwdriver by grinding the blade to make a thing scraper with a sharp end and taper. You may have to heat and bend the blade so that your knuckles are clear of the plank. Then scrape out to clean wood before pushing in the thickened epoxy. Use masking tape to make clean-up easier.

[DWdeGanne]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

Much thanks for the counsel. I should have specified, perhaps, that it was a first-time repair for *me.* The boat itself may have had repairs made, although I got it from the builder and he didn’t say.

I appreciate it especially as I know there’s nothing quite as exciting as responding to a “well, hold the handlebars and swing your right leg over the bar in front of the seat” level of moronic and helpless neophyte.

It’s good to know (particularly on the side seam) that I can go directly at the gap, rather than sand the whole area around it. I’ll get to work on the ‘thing scraper,’ although I think I have a very thin knife-blade thick file that might do the trick.

On the breasthooks though, the gunwales are noticeably flexy, and the top layer of the breasthook itself is delaminating, so I pictured either having to sand down both breasthook and gunwale to the first solid layer or having to remove and refabricate new breasthooks altogether. In either case, I think I’m going to have to rig something up to put inward pressure on the gunwales against the breasthook while it’s curing.

Thanks again for the advice. Part of the problem (probably most of the problem, honestly) is that I’m in a bit of a brain fog after a winter of health issues, and not quite myself. But the seasons won’t hold off on my account, and I’d really like to get her onto some water.

Thanks again, all.

[jpatrick]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

If it were me, I would first, and foremost, remove the paint/varnish from those problem areas so that you can actually tell what's happening. Then figure out what to do. Because while I can see from the images that there is a problem, I cannot tell what really has gone wrong.

You'll have to get rid of the finishes anyway, in order for the epoxy to stick, so you might as well do it now.

Jeff

[Hugh MacD]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

I'm with Jeff on the paint removal. Get the working area as clean as you can. Find the extent of the damage and remove any rotted material. You can use a heat gun judiciously, but acknowledge the fact that it's stitch and glue and the stitches have been removed already If it was build from a kit (the breasthook doesn't look like it) it's Oukume and the top ply is only about a millimeter thick (you can see the thickness where it's revealed at the breasthook). If it's built from plans it could still well be Oukume...looks kinda like it in the first photo. When you do the repairs, brush in a little unthickened epoxy first but don't let it fully kick. Then use the thickened epoxy. On the repair at the top strake where the fillet is lumpy I'd use a scrap of ply or some stiff MDPE (like a yogurt lid) and make a fliietting tool with about the same radius as the rest. I have a set of the plans so if you want, PM me and I'll scan some of the pertinent details for you.

[Peerie Maa]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

It’s good to know (particularly on the side seam) that I can go directly at the gap, rather than sand the whole area around it. I’ll get to work on the ‘thing scraper,’ although I think I have a very thin knife-blade thick file that might do the trick.

I suggested grinding and bending a screwdriver because I don't know whether the gap in the land is "V" shaped, needing a tapering scraper, or goes right through.

On the breasthooks though, the gunwales are noticeably flexy, and the top layer of the breasthook itself is delaminating, so I pictured either having to sand down both breasthook and gunwale to the first solid layer or having to remove and refabricate new breasthooks altogether. In either case, I think I’m going to have to rig something up to put inward pressure on the gunwales against the breasthook while it’s curing.

Replacing the breasthook with a piece of good hard wood may be a better solution. As it is being fitted into a triangular opening, a cramp from the front of the stem to the middle of the back will pull it tight into the tapering space. You may need to clamp a caul to the gunwales across the new breasthook to stop it popping out upwards as it is snuggled into place. Do a test fit with all of your clamps as a dry run to sort out all potential issues before you lubricate the joint with the epoxy. You will also have the benifit of an uncontaminated thin glue line with confidence that the glue is without any dry gaps.

[DWdeGanne]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

Nick, the gap between the strakes doesn't go right through, and I took your point (no pun intended) about the shape of the scraper: the file I have in mind is about 2mm at the thickest and comes to a sharp flat point.

As for the breasthooks, the design doesn’t include a stem per se, which is why I’m thinking I’ll need to apply inward pressure on the gunwales. I’m thinking maybe the answer is to clamp together a couple of thin flexible planks to make a wishbone shape, and then clamp each to the gunwales, if that makes sense. I’m loathe to fully remove the breasthooks completely, partly because I’m not terribly confident in my ability to make new ones to fit and partly because they’re structurally key. I agree that it would be the thing to do in the long term, but for now I think I’ll sand off that top layer that looks like it’s separating, and see how deep the crack between the breasthook and the gunwale goes, for now.

Hugh, I’m afraid I don’t follow you re: the fliietting tool. I’ve taken a close look at that spot between the strakes, and I *think* it’s mostly the paint that’s cracked along the seam, possibly because I stored it for the winter tarped upside-down on a dolly I’d made for the purpose. Since it’s the same on both sides, I’m thinking that the combination of the minute flexing of the strakes combined with the ungodly cold temperatures we had this winter in Massachusetts might have been too much for the paint. I’ll sand gently along those seams and see if the epoxy underneath is affected.

[Hugh MacD]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

If that's just loose paint, cool From your first post I thought that was an area of old repair that was in need of a fix. If the existing fillets are sound great!

[Peerie Maa]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

As for the breasthooks, the design doesn’t include a stem per se, which is why I’m thinking I’ll need to apply inward pressure on the gunwales. I’m thinking maybe the answer is to clamp together a couple of thin flexible planks to make a wishbone shape, and then clamp each to the gunwales, if that makes sense. I’m loathe to fully remove the breasthooks completely, partly because I’m not terribly confident in my ability to make new ones to fit and partly because they’re structurally key. I agree that it would be the thing to do in the long term, but for now I think I’ll sand off that top layer that looks like it’s separating, and see how deep the crack between the breasthook and the gunwale goes, for now.

The planks will be joined by a thick fillet of structural epoxy creating an apron, so the lack of a stem nosing is not an issue. The outer gunwales will also do more for you than any temporary doubler. My advice about clamping front to back with a caul to maintain alignment still stands. If you can get away without taking the breasthook out make a caul that hooks around the gunwale profiles, so that a cramp or two will pull it aft and thereby squeeze the gunwales and shear strake inwards.
Do as Jeff advises and sand off the old finish, especially on the top of the bow, as you may find the shear planks are delaminating and punky.

[DWdeGanne]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

Well, I starting in on the breasthooks today.

At first, I thought I’d gotten off lightly. The stern breasthook yielded two delaminated layers before I reached solid wood. “Great,” I naively thought to myself, “I can just sand the whole breast hook down those two layers, epoxy the joints and give it a sealing layer, and that’ll be that. True, it’ll be a couple of millimeters lower than the gunwales, but it’ll be fine.”

A bit later, as the sanding proceeded, I ran into the faint edges of a screw. “Oh well,” I thought in my innocence. “I can still proceed accordingly to plan, but I’ll just have to paint over the breasthooks. A pity, but them’s the breaks. At least I won’t need to carve a new breasthook from scratch.”

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Then I moved on to the bow. It did not go quite as smoothly.

You might notice some subtle differences.

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So it looks like I’ll be figuring out how to construct at least one breasthook, and along the way I’ll need to dig out all of these screws. I’m fairly sure that I’ve reached the bottom of the delamination of the top port strake (seen along the upper left seam) but I suppose I’ll know better when I’ve removed what’s left of the breasthook.

And that pretty much brings things up to date. Any suggestions on the wood I’ll be whittling into the new breasthook?

[Dusty Yevsky]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

”Any suggestions on the wood I’ll be whittling into the new breasthook?

The gunwales look like mahogany so a match would look good. I think sapele would work there also. Ply could be used if sealed properly. If using solid wood make the breasthook out of two pieces so that you have long grain running parallel to the gunwale on both sides of the breasthook.

Just a guess here but I wonder if the boat was stored upside down outside with out a cover. The damage looks like water pooled in the end of the breasthook.

[DWdeGanne]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

Per the build manual, some of these screws are for securing the top strakes to the breasthooks (and are then covered by the gunwales/rails) and some are (or were) securing the gunwales/rails to the breasthook. The latter I can get to easily, but it looks like I’ll have to remove the gunwales/rails to get to the former. I’m hoping that once I get the gunwale screws out, they’ll separate from the top strakes and the breasthook with some heat, if the gods and the landvættir cooperate.

I’m pretty sure it’s unavoidable for the bow, but for the stern, since it’s mostly intact and solid, I think I’m going to leave well enough alone, and fit a thin top layer to what’s left of the stern breasthook, effectively replacing the two layers of laminate that had separated.

Dusty, I’m not sure how it happened or how it was stored. Having gone through the build manual, I can see some spots where the builder went his own way. For one, the two end compartments on this boat aren’t watertight: the builder put in open vents instead. He also bored a hole through the bow centerline for a tow-rope, and at first I thought that might be how water had reached the bottom of the breasthooks, but on examination the interior looks dry and solid. (I don’t like the idea of it though, and will probably seal it up.)

So I’m not sure how the breasthooks got so crumbly, but I will say that for both bow and stern the separation seems to have happened from the top down: in both cases, both the seal to the strakes and the integrity of the breasthook itself got more solid as I sanded down.

So that’s the plan going forward. I got the epoxy and paint today, but the next step will be making new breasthooks.

[Peerie Maa]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

Per the build manual, some of these screws are for securing the top strakes to the breasthooks (and are then covered by the gunwales/rails) and some are (or were) securing the gunwales/rails to the breasthook. The latter I can get to easily, but it looks like I’ll have to remove the gunwales/rails to get to the former. I’m hoping that once I get the gunwale screws out, they’ll separate from the top strakes and the breasthook with some heat, if the gods and the landvættir cooperate.

Back out the screws securing the gunwales. You will not get the others out without freeing off several feet of gunwale, which may be glued on. So just cut them off with a grinder and rely on epoxy to secure the new breasthook, using cramps and a caul or two to hold it in place until the poxy sets up.

[sp_clark]

Re: First time repairs to a CLC Skerry

Back out the screws securing the gunwales. You will not get the others out without freeing off several feet of gunwale, which may be glued on. So just cut them off with a grinder and rely on epoxy to secure the new breasthook, using cramps and a caul or two to hold it in place until the poxy sets up.

^^^^ This!! ^^^^