MarshallE wrote:

I understand normal ol rotten wood. I had not seen wood that
appeared to be in excellent condition but very dry to the scraping.
The wood had not been varnished.

It is pretty normal to be able to scrape off a bit of wood wood with a
knife or chisel. A better check is to try to poke a screwdriver tip
into it...does it penetrate? Easily? Is the wood soft and punky? If
yes, it is dry rot.

Another consideration is "wet" or black rot. Is your boat iron
fastened? If yes, the fastenings have most likely deteriorated and in
doing so have damaged the adjacent wood...it will be soft, black and
damp.

I also wonder about the plywood and glass over the planks. Not a normal
procedure (and not one I would ever do under any circumstances). I
suspect it was done to give some strength to underlying bad wood.
____________________

Are there techniques to restore this wood?

One can repair dry rotted wood with thin, penetrating epoxies (Gluvit is
one brand name). However, they are *very* expensive. While I have used
them in smallish, nonstructural areas I wouldn't suggest them for a
general repair. The true cure is wood replacement.


--
dadiOH
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dadiOH wrote:

You can get a pretty good general idea of wood (and fastening) condition
by tapping with a hammer. Good wood well fastened will have a solid
sound; poor wood a flat, "thunk" sound.

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico