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Rufus Laggren
 
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Default Options for refastening a hull

Rebuilding a hull is a great humungous amount or work. Much of it
doesn't make sense unless you ensure that the stuff under _that_ is
sound and good. Thus a really good surveyor who loves wooden boats and
knows that particular type of boat is worth the investment.

Traditional methods can allow some things to be done piece meal, but I
don't think 5200 in the screw holes qualifies as traditional. Once those
screws are in there, that's it for that wood - the next time repairs are
needed, you'll have to start off with a sawzall and a crowbar because
those fasteners are NOT coming out. But maybe that's all to the good.

Most yards don't do traditional wooden boat work well - it's just not
economicly workable. And it may not be feasible for you. Boats have life
cycles, just like other things. A really good surveyor can explain what
you can expect from a wooden boat and locate yours on that cycle. Then
you have the info to figure out what strategy actually makes sense
between you and your boat. For example, it may be that shooting it full
of chemicals and figuring a good 5-7 years use is the best approach.
OTOH, if the interior is a museum piece of cherrywood and holly and teak
with amazing brass fixture and what-not, then maybe it makes sense to
build another hull under it (if it comes to that).

A friend of mine recently pretty much gave away a beautiful old woody
made largely from the decks of a WWII battleship and incorporating some
of the fittings from the warship. It was nail sick and the deck and
cabin leaked bad. He couldn't deal with it, but fortunately it went to
some boatbuilders in the northwest who saw in it something unique and
valuable enough to invest a few years into.

It's potentially a long term commitment in many different ways and how
it goes really depends on all the details of the boat - so it makes
sense to concentrate on getting the complete in depth picture and
verifying a strategy before trying to formulate tactics. The info and
help and interest is out there, but it will take time to pull it all
together.

Rufus