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 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

"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.

"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?

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?

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?

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??"

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??"

"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.

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