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Repairing a wooden T  Bottom

  • Hello,
    So, started to work on the wooden Tornado at last.
    Thought to do the damaged hull first, and here's what
    I found; the polyester/glass repair on the hull is soft,
    you can push it inwards 2/3 of an inch. Scraped away
    some of the polyester to find there's no wood behind it.
    Kept on sanding to see the lines of 2 bulkheads and a
    stringer appear. Taped them to make a clear picture.
    http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-EWIR7WVW.jpg

    The soft spot is below the stringer, between the 2 bulkheads.
    First idea is to carefully remove the whole hull-part marked with
    the tape. Then replace it with new ply and glass.
    http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-K4KSCYHJ.jpg

    My fear is the height of the repair, is it heigh enough to bend the
    ply into shape?
    So, the second idea is to take out the ply from the deckrail all the
    way down to the keel-beam (?) and bend a new section of ply over
    the bulkheads and stringer. and then glass it of course.

    What are you're thoughts? Has anyone done a repair like this?
    Any input is welcome.

    And NO, I'm not gonna let go that hull into the scrapyard, it
    is one of the last wooden T's in the region and the previous owner
    told me it was at the olympics in the 70's, so it has a history.

    Regards, André

    --
    Tornado (80's Reg White)
    Prindle 18-2 (sold)
    Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
    13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
    Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

    Amsterdam, the Netherlands
    --
  • catmoddingSo, the second idea is to take out the ply from the deckrail all the
    way down to the keel-beam (?) and bend a new section of ply over
    the bulkheads and stringer. and then glass it of course.

    This way you could tag the repair wood against the existing wood for a stronger repair.
    It will also let you see the interior structure in general.
    You gotta wonder how it was laid up without interior wood.
    Could it have been moulded and they used wood for strength is some places?

    --
    Sheet In!
    Bob
    _/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
    Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
    Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
    AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
    (Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
    Arizona, USA
    --
  • THere will be stringers when you cut out the bad piece of wood. We had a repair like this last Fall when coming into the harbor & hitting an under water 2" steel pipe. You'll want to epoxy (preferably West System) the inside of the replacement skin after cutting it to perfect shape. Use rachet straps & utility wood stringers to mold the ply skin against the boats stringers. Afterward epoxy the outside of repair area filling in seams with slightly thickened epoxy. Glass cloth afterward, but not necessary as the fibrous wood is as strong as fiberglas. Gougeon wood hulls, then later Houlden wood hulls were the way to go for Olimpics until Marstrom took over with pre-preg S glas hulls. Pete
  • Thanks for the input,
    Was not planning to saw the bad piece out, rather mill it out
    millimetre by mm by mm.. with a machine like this.
    http://www.toolmax.nl/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/500x500/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/P/O/POF1200_1.jpg
    Just to make sure the internal structure is not touched, and all the
    stringers and bulkheads stay intact.

    pbgle,

    West systems is not that available overhere, but there's a good
    supplier of epoxy/polyester/glass/carbon around the block .
    ( I'm in a boatbuilders country)
    Are you sure a epoxied replacement ply part is suficient?
    The hull has a very thin layer of glass over it, so my original plan
    was to sand it all away, stern to bow, repair it and put a new layer on it.

    Anyway, gonna sand all sides of the hulls first, before making
    this repair, don't know what's under these other layers of paint.

    Thanks, André



    Edited by catmodding on Jun 04, 2013 - 12:21 AM.

    --
    Tornado (80's Reg White)
    Prindle 18-2 (sold)
    Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
    13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
    Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

    Amsterdam, the Netherlands
    --
  • QuoteYou gotta wonder how it was laid up without interior wood.
    Could it have been moulded and they used wood for strength is some places?


    No, the wood has rotten away behind a bad repair,
    remember its a wooden Tornado.
    Thanks for the positive replies,though, my fellow
    P18-2 friend.

    André

    --
    Tornado (80's Reg White)
    Prindle 18-2 (sold)
    Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
    13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
    Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

    Amsterdam, the Netherlands
    --
  • Gougeon Bros. in Bay City, Mi pioneered wood/epoxy saturation method of boat building. When you coat wood on both sides to totally seal it, it will never rot. Polyester resin will allow water to pass thru, not epoxy. Dry fibrous wood is as strong as fiberglas, but lighter. That's why some of the old wood boats (not all) here are still good as new. I bought one a year ago from a renowned Calif. builder, but hulls were rotten & I sent to dump. Needed the tilt trailer & parts to the boat. He may not have been a believer in epoxy, but I was from Michigan where Gougeons made very fast DN iceboats. Your boat may have used a different resin system. It's very important that the inside be coated so that if any water gets in, it isn't absorbed & dry rot doesn't set in. Pete
  • pbegleGougeon Bros. in Bay City, Mi pioneered wood/epoxy saturation method of boat building. When you coat wood on both sides to totally seal it, it will never rot. Polyester resin will allow water to pass thru, not epoxy. Dry fibrous wood is as strong as fiberglas, but lighter. That's why some of the old wood boats (not all) here are still good as new. I bought one a year ago from a renowned Calif. builder, but hulls were rotten & I sent to dump. Needed the tilt trailer & parts to the boat. He may not have been a believer in epoxy, but I was from Michigan where Gougeons made very fast DN iceboats. Your boat may have used a different resin system. It's very important that the inside be coated so that if any water gets in, it isn't absorbed & dry rot doesn't set in. Pete


    Thanks,
    That's a lot of input and I'm gonna use it. For the repairs it will be epoxy-resin
    all the way, and as you described it.
    When I open the hulls, we'll know more about it. Daggerboards casings look rock-solid
    and woodish , so an epoxy boat it is..
    Starting sanding tomorrow.

    Thanks again,
    André

    --
    Tornado (80's Reg White)
    Prindle 18-2 (sold)
    Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
    13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
    Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

    Amsterdam, the Netherlands
    --

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