I am a recent graduate of Chapman's School of Seamanship Marine
Surveyor course. One of the things I was looking forward to learning
about was the treatment of rot in wooden hulls. The school didn't
spend much time on it because (and it's true) the majority of the
hulls I survey are FRP. But! I own two beautiful 35 foot wooden motor
yachts that I am restoring. I didn't want to do all this work and then
have things go wrong in the "basement". So, after months of study,
this is the treatment that I believe will keep these two old beauties
sound for another 15 years. After opening up the boat and installing
access to most of the interior of the hull, I pressure washed the
whole interior. Pumped the water out and let it dry. Then I boiled up
on the stove a mixture of antifreeze, boric acid, and borax. I spent
about $50 to make about 10 gallons, of which sells for around $90 a
gallon at the marine supply. The glycol in the antifreeze LOVES water
and absorbs into any wet surface, carrying the boric acid/ borax mix
into and wet or moist wood. Oils and epoxies will not go into damp
wood. Thinking it out, this is the only way I could think of to take a
strong anti-fungus to any wet parts. After drying it out (summertime)
I am now cooking boric acid into raw linseed oil and maybe getting a
little packets of anti fungus that the paint store sells to add also.
Fungus and rot LOVE linseed oil to eat. I am going to take this
mixture of raw linseed oil, paint thinner, and boric acid/anti-fungus
and spray it into the inside of the hull where the glycol/boric acid
mixture has already absorbed into the wood, sealing it in there for
all time. The last spraying will be with boiled linseed oil
substituted for the raw. Boiled doesn't absorb as much, but does leave
a final barrier.
I know this sounds like a lot of work. But it really isn't. I fill
industrial spray bottles from Costco with my mixture and it takes
about 3 minutes to empty each one. Once everything is in the spray
bottles , I just put on my gasmask and empty a couple into the wood
before I leave the boat for the day, or the week. It really doesn't
take any time at all.
I was going to paint the bilge and all the inside of the hull, but all
my studies showed me that it wasn't a good idea. Paint goes on the
outside of the boat to keep moisture out, and the inside of the boat
gets a treatment that lets moisture evaporate back out.

The whole cost of this for two 35 foot boats is about $100. These
boats are worth near $60,000 together. A small price for a little
peace of mind about wood rot.

Contact me if you would like my recipe's.

My next adventure is to see if the old cresote roofing tar that a
local roofing company gave me from the back of their warehouse can be
mixed with paint thinner and substituted for the pine tar sold by the
wooden boat companies!!!

Please let me know if there are any other folks out there that have
tried to preserve their classic boats on a budget!

Thats quite a chemical composition. I am not a chemist so I can not comment
on the compounds you describe but I do know a couple of things about rot.

One of the best ways to avoid rot in timber boats is to ensure adequate
ventilation throught the entire boat even when moored and with the covers
on. Yes proper ventilation is the key to longevity in timber boats not rot
treatment.

It would seem the composition you have described is aimed at killing the
fungus spores that cause and distribute dry rot. It seems like a lot of
trouble but I guess if it is a long term fix and you know it works... then
why not. Assuming you know the borax will remain active 15 years.

I am currently restoring an older timber launch and using CPES (clear
penetrating epoxy sealer) on any new or removed & replaced timber components
in the boat.

I am using polyurethane bedding compound in joints to keep water out and
round the deck etc. as it will seal and still remain flexable and move with
the wood rather than use epoxy "glue" which is not.

Here is the CPES Im using. It is very expensive though which is why Im not
doing the entire boat with it.

I do think you are right in painting and sealing the outside of the boat and
leaving the inside to "breathe" (take and give off moisture) I think this is
best practice. I have heard and seen photos of some horror stories where
wooden boats have been fibreglassed outside (sheathed) and epoxy coated
inside. Moisture laden wood does not like to be sealed.

I will add this. My project launch is about 60 years old and completely
original. Despite having 27 broken ribs only one is rotted and 2 planks need
scarfing in up the bow. Other than that it was a working boat and spent its
whole life moored.

It was painted outside hull and deck and the inside has never been painted.
Not even the bilges or engine beds.

Craig

"tomdownard" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am a recent graduate of Chapman's School of Seamanship Marine
Surveyor course. One of the things I was looking forward to learning
about was the treatment of rot in wooden hulls. The school didn't
spend much time on it because (and it's true) the majority of the
hulls I survey are FRP. But! I own two beautiful 35 foot wooden motor
yachts that I am restoring. I didn't want to do all this work and then
have things go wrong in the "basement". So, after months of study,
this is the treatment that I believe will keep these two old beauties
sound for another 15 years. After opening up the boat and installing
access to most of the interior of the hull, I pressure washed the
whole interior. Pumped the water out and let it dry. Then I boiled up
on the stove a mixture of antifreeze, boric acid, and borax. I spent
about $50 to make about 10 gallons, of which sells for around $90 a
gallon at the marine supply. The glycol in the antifreeze LOVES water
and absorbs into any wet surface, carrying the boric acid/ borax mix
into and wet or moist wood. Oils and epoxies will not go into damp
wood. Thinking it out, this is the only way I could think of to take a
strong anti-fungus to any wet parts. After drying it out (summertime)
I am now cooking boric acid into raw linseed oil and maybe getting a
little packets of anti fungus that the paint store sells to add also.
Fungus and rot LOVE linseed oil to eat. I am going to take this
mixture of raw linseed oil, paint thinner, and boric acid/anti-fungus
and spray it into the inside of the hull where the glycol/boric acid
mixture has already absorbed into the wood, sealing it in there for
all time. The last spraying will be with boiled linseed oil
substituted for the raw. Boiled doesn't absorb as much, but does leave
a final barrier.
I know this sounds like a lot of work. But it really isn't. I fill
industrial spray bottles from Costco with my mixture and it takes
about 3 minutes to empty each one. Once everything is in the spray
bottles , I just put on my gasmask and empty a couple into the wood
before I leave the boat for the day, or the week. It really doesn't
take any time at all.
I was going to paint the bilge and all the inside of the hull, but all
my studies showed me that it wasn't a good idea. Paint goes on the
outside of the boat to keep moisture out, and the inside of the boat
gets a treatment that lets moisture evaporate back out.

The whole cost of this for two 35 foot boats is about $100. These
boats are worth near $60,000 together. A small price for a little
peace of mind about wood rot.

Contact me if you would like my recipe's.

My next adventure is to see if the old cresote roofing tar that a
local roofing company gave me from the back of their warehouse can be
mixed with paint thinner and substituted for the pine tar sold by the
wooden boat companies!!!

Please let me know if there are any other folks out there that have
tried to preserve their classic boats on a budget!

Sorry I forgot to add the link

http://www.rotdoctor.com/boat/Bmain.html

I "rescued" a 1960 Owens using epoxy, and new lumber bent,cut, and
tapered to fit. The Owens is a double planked vessel, and fortunately
for me the inner planking was perfectly dry, After I scrubbed the
engineroom with a solution of oileater, I found the planking sound.
The only reason I am stikin' my nose in here is I found a green
coating that I believe was Sherman William's Cupernol. It had done
yeoman service keeping the inner hull sterile. Don't know if it is
still on the market ot not.
Enjoy
Den


"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats." -- Kenneth Grahame
www.densnet.com

Two thoughts that may even be related:

1. one of the folks at one the marinas I dive at has done a lot of
fiberglass work as a job. He said that the Git Rot product penetrates the
wood even when wet and drives the water out. He really liked the product.

2. When I was looking at the CPES I talked with one of the chemists at
System 3. He said that their low viscosity product penetrates as well or
better and provides about 3 times the coverage (perhaps the name of the
company?) because it is not thinned with solvents. I am aware that he
wanted to sell the product but it is something to think about.

Brian

On Jul 3, 8:58 am, "Brian" wrote:
Two thoughts that may even be related:

1. one of the folks at one the marinas I dive at has done a lot of
fiberglass work as a job. He said that the Git Rot product penetrates the
wood even when wet and drives the water out. He really liked the product.

2. When I was looking at the CPES I talked with one of the chemists at
System 3. He said that their low viscosity product penetrates as well or
better and provides about 3 times the coverage (perhaps the name of the
company?) because it is not thinned with solvents. I am aware that he
wanted to sell the product but it is something to think about.

Brian


I have met a half a dozen people that have told me horror stories of
doing CPES on the inside of their hull. I know my post was long, so to
condense it, Use the Boric Acid/Glycol solution first to kill any
spores that are or will be present. Seal the boric acid in with a
linseed oil compound that includes a biocide to keep mold from eating
it. I also added two hatches in the sole of the boat, in the saloon,
to keep it properly ventilated. This has been lots of work, but I am
hoping I have kept this 1949 boat working for another 30 years. Also,
this is the least toxic to humans that I could find.
I am going to try a bit of Tar heated to thin it, along the keel
strake. A boat restorer in Stewart Florida told me about this. He
restores old Trumpy's.

Now, when you find an old wooden boat with the battens curled up away
from the hull, how do you folks put them back? I cut kerfs in many
places and then clamped it back and glued it. Now that the glue has
set up I was going to epoxy that batten into the kerfs so that rot
will not set in. Any other methods out there? These battens are an
inch thick. Steaming them in place? I can't picture how to do that!

On Jul 4, 10:55 pm, tomdownard
wrote:
On Jul 3, 8:58 am, "Brian" wrote:

Two thoughts that may even be related:

1. one of the folks at one the marinas I dive at has done a lot of
fiberglass work as a job. He said that the Git Rot product penetrates the
wood even when wet and drives the water out. He really liked the product.

2. When I was looking at the CPES I talked with one of the chemists at
System 3. He said that their low viscosity product penetrates as well or
better and provides about 3 times the coverage (perhaps the name of the
company?) because it is not thinned with solvents. I am aware that he
wanted to sell the product but it is something to think about.

Brian

I have met a half a dozen people that have told me horror stories of
doing CPES on the inside of their hull. I know my post was long, so to
condense it, Use the Boric Acid/Glycol solution first to kill any
spores that are or will be present. Seal the boric acid in with a
linseed oil compound that includes a biocide to keep mold from eating
it. I also added two hatches in the sole of the boat, in the saloon,
to keep it properly ventilated. This has been lots of work, but I am
hoping I have kept this 1949 boat working for another 30 years. Also,
this is the least toxic to humans that I could find.
I am going to try a bit of Tar heated to thin it, along the keel
strake. A boat restorer in Stewart Florida told me about this. He
restores old Trumpy's.

Now, when you find an old wooden boat with the battens curled up away
from the hull, how do you folks put them back? I cut kerfs in many
places and then clamped it back and glued it. Now that the glue has
set up I was going to epoxy that batten into the kerfs so that rot
will not set in. Any other methods out there? These battens are an
inch thick. Steaming them in place? I can't picture how to do that!

Also, I just gave you the formula for Getrot, and any other Boric Acid
type rot killer. They give Boric Acid the longer name of Disodium
Octaborate Tetrahydrate. I watched a show on TV where people were
signing to stop the spread of Di Hydrogen Oxygen (bad speller), which
is water. Does this forum have a spellcheck?

Hi,

Ethylene glycol (in normal antifreeze) is both toxic and a VOC (it
evaporates), I wouldn't spray the inside of a boat with it, see:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mhmi/mmg96.html

Propylene glycol (in non-toxic RV antifreeze) might be a safer
alternative.

I'd look at copper napthanate as mentioned elsewhere, also try the
wooden boat forum.

Why experiment and try to save a few $$$ on $60k of boat?

cheers,
Pete.

On Jul 1, 4:32 pm, tomdownard
wrote:
I am a recent graduate of Chapman's School of Seamanship Marine
Surveyor course. One of the things I was looking forward to learning
about was the treatment of rot in wooden hulls. The school didn't
spend much time on it because (and it's true) the majority of the
hulls I survey are FRP. But! I own two beautiful 35 foot wooden motor
yachts that I am restoring. I didn't want to do all this work and then
have things go wrong in the "basement". So, after months of study,
this is the treatment that I believe will keep these two old beauties
sound for another 15 years. After opening up the boat and installing
access to most of the interior of the hull, I pressure washed the
whole interior. Pumped the water out and let it dry. Then I boiled up
on the stove a mixture of antifreeze, boric acid, and borax. I spent
about $50 to make about 10 gallons, of which sells for around $90 a
gallon at the marine supply. The glycol in the antifreeze LOVES water
and absorbs into any wet surface, carrying the boric acid/ borax mix
into and wet or moist wood. Oils and epoxies will not go into damp
wood. Thinking it out, this is the only way I could think of to take a
strong anti-fungus to any wet parts. After drying it out (summertime)
I am now cooking boric acid into raw linseed oil and maybe getting a
little packets of anti fungus that the paint store sells to add also.
Fungus and rot LOVE linseed oil to eat. I am going to take this
mixture of raw linseed oil, paint thinner, and boric acid/anti-fungus
and spray it into the inside of the hull where the glycol/boric acid
mixture has already absorbed into the wood, sealing it in there for
all time. The last spraying will be with boiled linseed oil
substituted for the raw. Boiled doesn't absorb as much, but does leave
a final barrier.
I know this sounds like a lot of work. But it really isn't. I fill
industrial spray bottles from Costco with my mixture and it takes
about 3 minutes to empty each one. Once everything is in the spray
bottles , I just put on my gasmask and empty a couple into the wood
before I leave the boat for the day, or the week. It really doesn't
take any time at all.
I was going to paint the bilge and all the inside of the hull, but all
my studies showed me that it wasn't a good idea. Paint goes on the
outside of the boat to keep moisture out, and the inside of the boat
gets a treatment that lets moisture evaporate back out.

The whole cost of this for two 35 foot boats is about $100. These
boats are worth near $60,000 together. A small price for a little
peace of mind about wood rot.

Contact me if you would like my recipe's.

My next adventure is to see if the old cresote roofing tar that a
local roofing company gave me from the back of their warehouse can be
mixed with paint thinner and substituted for the pine tar sold by the
wooden boat companies!!!

Please let me know if there are any other folks out there that have
tried to preserve their classic boats on a budget!

On Jul 3, 8:58 am, "Brian" wrote:
Two thoughts that may even be related:

1. one of the folks at one the marinas I dive at has done a lot of
fiberglass work as a job. He said that the Git Rot product penetrates the
wood even when wet and drives the water out. He really liked the product.

2. When I was looking at the CPES I talked with one of the chemists at
System 3. He said that their low viscosity product penetrates as well or
better and provides about 3 times the coverage (perhaps the name of the
company?) because it is not thinned with solvents. I am aware that he
wanted to sell the product but it is something to think about.

Brian

Brian, GetRot is from their MSDS sheet is just Boric Acid with some
kind of vehicle to get it into the wood. That is exactly what I make
on the stove. Cheaper too, as Boric Acid costs $3 a lb. The trouble
with Boric Acid/Glycol solutions is that they leach back out. Thus a
sealer of Linseed Oil. But the bugs like Linseed Oil so I am getting
some packets of anti fungus from the paint store to mix in. Also I
have heard that the paint store sells an emulsifyer (makes oil and
water mix) so I can put the Boric Acid into boiling water and then
introduce it into the Linseed Oil. I have more time than money you
see.

On Jul 5, 1:14 pm, Pete C wrote:
Hi,

Ethylene glycol (in normal antifreeze) is both toxic and a VOC (it
evaporates), I wouldn't spray the inside of a boat with it, see:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mhmi/mmg96.html

Propylene glycol (in non-toxic RV antifreeze) might be a safer
alternative.

I'd look at copper napthanate as mentioned elsewhere, also try the
wooden boat forum.

Why experiment and try to save a few $$$ on $60k of boat?

cheers,
Pete.

On Jul 1, 4:32 pm, tomdownard
wrote:



I am a recent graduate of Chapman's School of Seamanship Marine
Surveyor course. One of the things I was looking forward to learning
about was the treatment of rot in wooden hulls. The school didn't
spend much time on it because (and it's true) the majority of the
hulls I survey are FRP. But! I own two beautiful 35 foot wooden motor
yachts that I am restoring. I didn't want to do all this work and then
have things go wrong in the "basement". So, after months of study,
this is the treatment that I believe will keep these two old beauties
sound for another 15 years. After opening up the boat and installing
access to most of the interior of the hull, I pressure washed the
whole interior. Pumped the water out and let it dry. Then I boiled up
on the stove a mixture of antifreeze, boric acid, and borax. I spent
about $50 to make about 10 gallons, of which sells for around $90 a
gallon at the marine supply. The glycol in the antifreeze LOVES water
and absorbs into any wet surface, carrying the boric acid/ borax mix
into and wet or moist wood. Oils and epoxies will not go into damp
wood. Thinking it out, this is the only way I could think of to take a
strong anti-fungus to any wet parts. After drying it out (summertime)
I am now cooking boric acid into raw linseed oil and maybe getting a
little packets of anti fungus that the paint store sells to add also.
Fungus and rot LOVE linseed oil to eat. I am going to take this
mixture of raw linseed oil, paint thinner, and boric acid/anti-fungus
and spray it into the inside of the hull where the glycol/boric acid
mixture has already absorbed into the wood, sealing it in there for
all time. The last spraying will be with boiled linseed oil
substituted for the raw. Boiled doesn't absorb as much, but does leave
a final barrier.
I know this sounds like a lot of work. But it really isn't. I fill
industrial spray bottles from Costco with my mixture and it takes
about 3 minutes to empty each one. Once everything is in the spray
bottles , I just put on my gasmask and empty a couple into the wood
before I leave the boat for the day, or the week. It really doesn't
take any time at all.
I was going to paint the bilge and all the inside of the hull, but all
my studies showed me that it wasn't a good idea. Paint goes on the
outside of the boat to keep moisture out, and the inside of the boat
gets a treatment that lets moisture evaporate back out.

The whole cost of this for two 35 foot boats is about $100. These
boats are worth near $60,000 together. A small price for a little
peace of mind about wood rot.

Contact me if you would like my recipe's.

My next adventure is to see if the old cresote roofing tar that a
local roofing company gave me from the back of their warehouse can be
mixed with paint thinner and substituted for the pine tar sold by the
wooden boat companies!!!

Please let me know if there are any other folks out there that have
tried to preserve their classic boats on a budget!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I can't find anywhere to buy propylene Glycol at a reasonable cost! If
anyone knows where to buy it, I can use lots!!