Thread: Restoring Egret type Sharpie... cross planked bottom

The bottom planking on my sharpie is solid. No rot. Good quality pitch pine planks approx. 1 3/8" thick by 3" wide. It has been out of the water since Christmas 2010 and the planks have shrunk, leaving gaps anywhere from 1/16" to 3/8".

How to finish the bottom depends somewhat on how I plan to use the boat. Not having a mooring or dock space I will need to keep this boat on a trailer. Options that I have thought of so far:

1. traditional cotton caulk and seam compound followed by bottom paint
2. nail on 1/4" plywood and then sheath with fiberglass cloth and epoxy
3. Put splines in gaps and sheath with fiberglass cloth and epoxy
4. Do #2 or #3 but use polyester resin instead of epoxy to cut cost

Concerns:

1. Option #1 traditional caulk and seam compound is for boats that are mostly in the water
2. Option #2, #3 or #4 This seems like a recipe for disaster. Any water that enters the boat will go down the cracks between the dried out planks and be trapped
3. Options #3 - #4 will plank expansion and contraction make the fiberglass delaminate.

Please post your thoughts... I am sure that I am not the first person to face this. I will appreciate any thoughts you have.

Jonathan