Thread: Repair help

So, my brother came over for a visit, and he is undaunted by the mysteries of epoxy. He glued everything up nice and solid. Then a few more coats of paint and varnish, and today was the big day to put the Mirror in the water. There were known leaks, so I was advised to fill the inside with fresh water before-hand. I was quite discouraged to see the water disappear out at an almost visible rate. Still, as my brother said, maybe the water just leaks out of the boat, and not in. So we took her down to the lake, put the hull in the water, and watched the water seep in. I sponged it out, while my husband and brother helpfully pointed out all the places it was coming back in again. They were pretty doubtful, but I was determined to sail her.

We put the mast up, sidestays ok. I pulled down hard on the forestay, and attachment point for the starboard stay ripped out. Fine, OK, Mirrors have two sets of attachment points for stays, so I can just move them back. Tighten the forestay again and the port stay ripped out. That's OK I can have the stays set forward on one side, and back on the other. Probably not very good for the mast, but my sailing plans were looking like a bit of a lost cause, so I decided what the heck, may as well get at least half a sail out of the boat even if something does break.

My brother got in with me, half convinced the boat would sink under us once we got out to the middle of the lake. We set off on an easy broad reach. Hey, sweet, we are actually moving really nicely. In no time at all, my husband was a distant speck on the shoreline. I've had this boat in my garage for almost 20 years. What a joy to be finally sailing it! We headed back in, and my brother took the tiller. We were sailing happily along, then suddenly chaos and confusion struck. The eye for the outhaul pulled free of the wood, and the mainsail was no longer attached to the boom, but lashing madly in the wind. We managed to tie it back on somewhere and make it back to shore.

During that time, about 45 minutes, the boat took on 1-2 cms of water. That's manageable for what I want to do. Obviously, a few more repairs need to be done. All the breaks were old and rusted screws or bolts giving way under strain. The wood itself seems sound. Further inspection revealed a couple more metal bits that need replacing, but nothing major. Hopefully, the leaks don't get much worse. So far I am really thrilled with our first attempt at sailing.

The back right corner is all coming loose. The side bit is nailed to the back bit, and the nails aren't holding any more. The back left corner has a triangular piece of wood that fits into the corner, that I think helps hold the corner together, but the piece on the right hand side has come out. I think I need to put another piece of wood in the corner, and maybe some glue, or something, and some more nails, to hold the side bit to the back bit. I need some advice on what glue to use, or is this the point to start messing about with epoxy? Should I epoxy the triangular bit of wood before I put it in?

Your original post had me convinced it was a joke. I thought no-one would refer to parts of a boat so simply as "the back bit" and the "corner bit". From the lack of other posts, it's possible we were all guilty of thinking the same.

My apologies Hally. Do you have any pictures of the boat we can look at so we can have a better idea of what is happening?

Well done on persevering on your maiden voyage, glad to hear your brother doesn't mind getting wet

P.S. Your nautical terminology has improved considerably

Hi Darce,

I've been studying rigging diagrams. I'm glad it shows . I still don't know what the back piece of the boat is called, though. Transom? But there are transoms in other places as well. I don't have a camera, so I'm stuck with descriptions and my nautically inadequate vocabulary.

No worries, next time you'll know I am for real, but I'll try to get a picture as well to prove it.

For a quick rub around on bits of boats and sailing, look here
for info like this


You're right in calling it a transom. Some boats have a square bit at both ends and both bits get called transoms. Google a boat called a "pram" to see what I mean.

Thanks Darce, more words to learn! My boat is a pram, so that's my excuse for getting confused about transoms .

The large flat, vertical surfaces within a boat's structure, unless at the boat's very butt are bulkheads. These can partial or full in nature. A full bulkhead will go from the bottom of the boat to the underside of the deck or cabin overhead and also side to side. It may have a hatch or other openings cut into it. A partial bulkhead would be something like a vertical divider in a locker.

The transom is a the flattish portion of the very back of the boat (shown above). Some boats don't have transoms, but most do. Some boats have more transom then they need (like my other half) others are so dainty they call them counters instead.

you see PAR there is another reason why the differences in our languages gets us all into trouble, you call those dainty ones counters where as when I called my now ex other halfs a counter she assumed i meant like the Kitchen counter.......... big enough to rest my stubbie of beer on......... when i was just being nice in an American way

To clarify, my Australian is not so good.

Actually a counter is where you get a ploughman's lunch.

MIK