Thread: Glass Sheathing

Lucky boy with that old girl. Look after her.

The problems you're having are one reason why they say sheathing an old boat is sentencing it to death, especially as there is usually moisture trapped behind the sheathing leading to rot.

Not that I'm saying you sheathed her, it sounds like it's been that way for a long time.

Though I'm basically ignorant about this (with a lot of misinformation picked up on the net), I'd suggest that if the dynel is starting to lift, it'll continue to do so. This makes me suspect that patching will only lead to more patching until you wind up doing the job properly. My suggestion therefore (remembering my qualifier at the start of this para ) is to strip her back to bare timber and resheath her with modern epoxy. You may even be able to do her in sections so that the job isn't too daunting.

Richard
piccies please

Originally Posted by Daddles

Lucky boy with that old girl. Look after her.

The problems you're having are one reason why they say sheathing an old boat is sentencing it to death, especially as there is usually moisture trapped behind the sheathing leading to rot.

Not that I'm saying you sheathed her, it sounds like it's been that way for a long time.

Though I'm basically ignorant about this (with a lot of misinformation picked up on the net), I'd suggest that if the dynel is starting to lift, it'll continue to do so. This makes me suspect that patching will only lead to more patching until you wind up doing the job properly. My suggestion therefore (remembering my qualifier at the start of this para ) is to strip her back to bare timber and resheath her with modern epoxy. You may even be able to do her in sections so that the job isn't too daunting.

Richard
piccies please

Howdy Richard,

Dynel was a really big thing in the 60s and 70s. Usually it was applied with epoxy - so worked quite well with many boats still with their original sheathing. Sometimes was applied with thinned down polyester so it had problems adhering to the timber.

Thus the comment about sheathing being a "slow death"

Generally if it has started to let go I would suspect that polyester was used. Polyester and epoxy smell quite different when sanded - but I don't know how to tell you what the difference is in an email.

If there are only a few bubbles you could try gluing them back down again - it will keep the current sheathing going a bit longer. But if there are lots of areas it will have to be redone.

Luckily glued double diagonal is quite suitable for sheathing as it is dimensionally stable and does not rely on the wood swelling the timber to prevent leaks.

Michael.