Preventing Rot ??
 

That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water. Each time we pull
her out all the water dries up. But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Or is it nothing to worry about?

Gary

Preventing Rot ??
 

I believe this process is still called caulking.

In article , "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


I'm remembering that when my dad had his Luhrs, way back when, we scraped
the wood bottom each year, stuck some sort of cotton-like stuff into some of
the seams, and painted. Have you done a job on the hull that approximates
these steps?

Preventing Rot ??
 

Gary Warner wrote:

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

TIMBOR

Or is it nothing to worry about?

It will continue to rot quite nicely whether you worry or not if you do
nothing to eliminate the water.

Rick

Preventing Rot ??
 

"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...


That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water. Each time we pull
her out all the water dries up. But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Or is it nothing to worry about?

Gary



Antifreeze will kill the micro organisms.
I wouldn't go pouring it into my bilge, but you could use a bug sprayer to
coat all the wood while the boat is dry docked.
Then let dry for a few days and hit it again. The ethylene glycol will soak
deep into the wood and protect it for quite some time.
Treating once again each season should protect it from rotting.

Preventing Rot ??
 

"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...


That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water. Each time we pull
her out all the water dries up. But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Or is it nothing to worry about?

Gary



I'm remembering that when my dad had his Luhrs, way back when, we scraped
the wood bottom each year, stuck some sort of cotton-like stuff into some of
the seams, and painted. Have you done a job on the hull that approximates
these steps?

Preventing Rot ??
 

In article , says...
That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water. Each time we pull
her out all the water dries up. But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Gary, There was a good discussion of this by a retired chemical engineer
named Dave Carnell. Unfortunately his page is gone, and I'm worried
about Dave too, as I haven't heard from him since I built a tool for him
after he had a stroke.

I have a copy of the cached copy of his page he
http://terryking.us/public/boats/RotEthyleneGlycol.html

and a couple of equivalent text files he
http://terryking.us/public/boats

I have used Ethylene Glycol on my 25 year old homemade inboard cuddy
cabin boat for the last 7 or 8 years, arresting some rot in several
places. Every winter layup I spray Glycol along the almost-dry inside
keel, on the lower frames, and on a couple of slightly-soft plywood
panels. I have added a new transom of 3/4" Pressure-treated plywood
with epoxy/glass over it. But the original transom is spongy to realy
deteriorated in several places. Every layup I pump Ethylene Glycol into
about 100 1/4" holes drilled into the inner old transom. It has had no
progression of rot, and no more "obvious rot fungus growth" like it had
before. Ethylene Glycol is one of the few things that can stop rot in
wood that is wet.

I hope to keep the old girl running another 25 years...

It Ain't Elegant. But it works, by gosh...

(Please read Dave's article before you bombard me with toxicity warnings
and turn me in to the EPA. I used to use PentaChlor (AKA PCP) which was
a lot worse :-)

--
Regards, Terry King ...In The Woods In Vermont

"The one who dies with the most parts LOSES! What do you need??"

Preventing Rot ?? (Found current Dave Carnell page!)
 

Very Happy to say I was pointed to a current Dave Carnell site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/davecarnell/

All the info is there.

--
Regards, Terry King ...In The Woods In Vermont

"The one who dies with the most parts LOSES! What do you need??"

Preventing Rot ??
 

Yeah, but I don't know if, for wooden boats, you still use wadding, or
something from a tube.

"Bob D." wrote in message
...
I believe this process is still called caulking.

In article , "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


I'm remembering that when my dad had his Luhrs, way back when, we
scraped
the wood bottom each year, stuck some sort of cotton-like stuff into
some of
the seams, and painted. Have you done a job on the hull that
approximates
these steps?

Preventing Rot ??
 

Gary Warner wrote:
That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water.

What?!? You haven't fixed that leak yet??


... But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

Yes. But IMHO rain and humidity is a bigger threat. Are you keeping the
boat inside? If yes, and the ventialtion is pretty good, then you have
little to worry about.


So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Yes, a mild boric acid solution. Salt plugs were the traditional
anti-rot treatment and they had limited success. Actually I just checked
the link to Dave Carnell's web site and (as usual) there is a lot of
good useful info.
http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/davecarnell/rot.html
He says glycol is better, and I believe him... it's also more of a
health & enviro hazard. Your call...

Fair Skies
Doug

Preventing Rot ??
 

System Three has a rot-fix compound that you inject into the rotted
area. Not sure how it would look with a natural wood finish boat though.

--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://www.jemwatercraft.com

Gary Warner wrote:
That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water. Each time we pull
her out all the water dries up. But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Or is it nothing to worry about?

Gary



--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://jem.e-boat.net/

Preventing Rot ??
 

Thanks everyone for the ideas - keep 'em coming if you have more.

To respond to a few posts all at once and clarify a few things:

-- I will be attempting to fix the leak but not until end of season (Mid
October?)


-- This is a plywood, not planked hull, so there are no "seems" to be
calked.
Except possibly where the last plank meats the keel. This is what I will
check out in the fall.

-- We did scrape all old paint of the bottom and repaint.

-- The boat is stored under a tarp in summer & inside in winter.

-- My thinking is that even if stored in a dry place, it takes days for the
bilge to completely dry. And by then it's the next weekend and we
get it all wet again. So it's in a perpetual state of dampness...which
could lead to rot.

-- There is no current rot (that I know of) because we fixed all that
during our just completed renovation.

Gary

Preventing Rot ?? (Found current Dave Carnell page!)
 

"Terry King" wrote in message
.. .
Very Happy to say I was pointed to a current Dave Carnell site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/davecarnell/

All the info is there.

--
Regards, Terry King ...In The Woods In Vermont

"The one who dies with the most parts LOSES! What do you need??"


Glad this thread helped you find / find out about Dave
as well as helping me.

Preventing Rot ??
 

I have read anti freeze painted on and allowed soak in well kills rot and
preserves have also read fresh water is far worse for rotting.timber.
/////////////////
"Matt Langenfeld" wrote in message
ink.net...
System Three has a rot-fix compound that you inject into the rotted
area. Not sure how it would look with a natural wood finish boat though.

--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://www.jemwatercraft.com

Gary Warner wrote:
That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water. Each time we pull
her out all the water dries up. But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Or is it nothing to worry about?

Gary



--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://jem.e-boat.net/

Preventing Rot ??
 

Most definetly, use the rock salt, works great and preserves the wood.

"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...


That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water. Each time we pull
her out all the water dries up. But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Or is it nothing to worry about?

Gary

Preventing Rot ??
 

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 13:32:03 -0400, "Gary Warner"
wrote:



That boat, as some may be tired of reading, is a 1958
Chris Craft. It's a plywood lapstrake hull. Mostly we
trailer it. When running there is a small leak and the
bilge gets an inch or so of water. Each time we pull
her out all the water dries up. But that wood
remains damp for some time. ~ As I understand it
rot is really micro-organisims that eat away the wood
and they thrive when there is dampness but also
oxygen.

So my question: Is there anything, salt maybe?, that
I can put in the bilge water while running that will
curtail these criters & their rot while not harming
the wood or making a mess?

Or is it nothing to worry about?

Gary

Gary,

First, congratulations on getting your boat in the water. I'm sure it
was a lot of work.

In regards to your problem---
It is not a problem. It would be better were the boat not to leak at
all and had spiders in the bilge. However, most wooden boats will have
water in the bilge.Typically these leaks come from many tiny leaks.
Planing hulls, like yours, are flat aft. Two gallons of water in the
bilge will spread widely.
I would not spend too much time worrying about rot resulting from
dampness. After all, the outside of the hull gets wet as well.

I did a major restoration on a Chris Sea Skiff several years ago.It
had a small amount of water in the bilge. When the boat was put back
in service in the spring I would paint out the transom framing with
copper napthanate. If you are worried, you could do the same.

Preventing Rot ??
 

In my experience, rot ocurs from freshwater intrusion! Old wood hull GRAND
BANKS 32 belonging to a friend had reoccuring tbl in the fly-bridge area and
along the stbd side of the cabin by the head portlight where rain water
accumlated-the hull proper, exposed to sal****er forever was fine. OK not fine
but better! Old wood boats.................at least ya' got something to do!
Mike