Apologies in advance if this topic has been covered before; I'm not a
regular on the list.

I have a small carvel wooden sailing boat (20 footer designed by American
Edward R. Weber in 1955 for the Midget Ocean Racing Club rule but built in
Williamstown Australia as a pocket cruiser). She was Dynel sheathed either
from new (in 1963) or soon thereafter. When I first bought her in 1984 I
very successfully re-sheathed some areas around the garboards where water
had got between the wood and the Dynel/epoxy. I simply ground it back until
I found a good bond, let the wood dry out, then put on new cloth and epoxy.
It has never leaked again.

She is out of the water now and I have had a similar problem with loss of
adhesion along the sheer strake. I've ground it back to sound stuff again
and the wood is drying nicely. I've ordered some Dynel and epoxy.

Trouble is, last time I had some good advice about applying the stuff, but I
don't recall the details (it was nearly twenty years ago) and I don't recall
where the advice came from. Specifically, I seem to remember the advice had
something to do with not allowing the cloth to "float" on top of the epoxy
but making it sit right up against the wood. I also can't remember if I
started with a pre-soaking coat into the wood and then followed up with the
cloth or whether I started with the cloth hung dry and then all the epoxy
worked through it.

I know this must sound crazy, but it was a long time ago, and whatever I did
then WAS a good job. Anyone out there with more live brain cells than me?