On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 10:18:28 +0200, John Seager wrote:

"Steve" wrote in message
...
It is common for production boats to have the butt joint of deck ply on
the
deck beams. However, that doesn't mean it is correct. This is because the
grain of the deck beam provides very little strength across the grain. On
a
deck of single ply, a scarf or ply butt block between deck beams would be
the correct method.

Thanks, that makes good sense. I'm pretty sure that my boat has a single
thickness of ply (around half inch). There seem to be quite a few of these
cracks - small, but enough to create leaks - so I guess I should cut out and
replace the offending pieces. Although I like the elegance of a scarf joint
I don't think my woodworking skills are sufficient to be sure of a good
joint so butt joints seem the obvious way to go but with a butt block, as
you suggest. However, I'm also tempted to think that careful application of
epoxy in the cracks, might be a possible compromise. Sorry if such a
suggestion is heresy to those who believe that wooden boats should be made
of wood!
John.

I don't have too much experience with wood boats, but I know that even
epoxy won't hold together two pieces of wood that are trying to shrink
apart.

Also, it seems to me that if the deck was watertight for 25 years and now
has leaks in several places, there might be something (bad) happening to
it. Maybe moisture has started to get in, so the wood is shrinking due to
wet dry cycles, or maybe it is sagging slightly in between the
deck beams, causing these on-beam butt joints to pull apart?

--Mac