Another Wood Rot question....
Hi All,
My first post here - it's a long one!
Have read through many of the threads - some great advice to be had here - mucho appreciated.
My question is regarding rot treatment....
Some of you guys reckon AntiFreeze and Vinegar are good at destroying rot spores. Others mention thin epoxy type solutions that soak into the timber.
What is best????
I am assuming that AntiFreeze and Vinegar may work OK, but perhaps not as well as a scientifically designed chemical that dries wood, treats the rot AND provides additional strength to wood being treated.
I know this stuff costs more than the A/Freeze and Vinegar, but it must do a better job. Am I right in thinking this?
Through my own research I found a site on http://www.senseal.com.au/ - these guys provide an epoxy rot treatment they say is designed for marine use (among other things). Does anyone have an opinion on this stuff? Worth using or is there something better?
To give you guys some background, I purchased a 28ft Alan Wright 1978 owner built sloop (backyard job) - it's diagonally lined ply with GRP/Fiberglass Sheath. Through neglect (and possible ignorance) the previous owner has allowed a LOT of fresh water to penetrate inside the hull through poor fittings and degraded caulking. Suffice to say, fresh water has been getting into the boat, lying along the ribs and has had nowhere to go.
Surveyor (grrrr...lucky the guy is in qld and I am in melb - otherwise it would get interesting), said the was one furry section of ply that would require treatment.....yeah right. My own inspections found more furry/soft spots.
You know - scratching with a finger nail and coming away with wood in your hand (and a sinking feeling in your stomach). At this point I do not know how far some of this rot goes, however I suspect it is not catastrophic.
I now have the boat under tarp and am in the process of drying it out (as best as possible in melb winter).
Through my research I believe I need to do the following:
- Dry out the wet ply/timber as best as possible.
- Use wire brush to remove the degraded timber/ply (hopefully damage does not go down all the way to the fibreglass sheath - if so - well...I don't really wanna think about that, I have not researched that far yet).
- Apply this epoxy treatment liberally - soaking up the offending timber and ply until it cannot hold anymore.
- Where timber and ply section section cannot be easily brushed/treated, use of small drill, followed with syringe application is best.
- Allow to cure, then use a filler, sand back and paint.
Is this the process?? Should I consider anything else or am I missing something?
Apart from being hard work - it "seems" pretty straighforward.
Locate, dry, treat, prepare, paint.
Let me know if I'm dreamin' ; )
Thanks!
Shanan
fresh water damage to ply boats
Hiya, I gave your problem much thought and reckon this may steer you right. There's just a few more things to know first..
How large and how soft are the "furry" patches - diameter and depth of soft timber? For example, in a 9mm ply there are usually 5 laminations - any idea how many laminations are affected?
Is the timber oozing liquid when you put thumb pressure on it and therefore saturated?
Dry rot will not occur below the water line usually, however mold will. Is it mold, or rot?
There is an enormous difference between "as dry as possible" and dry. Dry ply will absorb almost anything that replaces the moisture - epoxy, polyester or eurathanes. However each of these reacts differently in the presence of moisture - poly may not cure, epoxy will cure but not fully bond and eurathanes will dry and bond but only randomly as they displace the moisture into pools within the timber. Dry is dry, not nearly dry. Sometimes this means drilling the area for increased ventilation over a long time before repairing.
Is the glass sheathing delaminated from the ply on the hull anywhere near the wet timber - coming unglued? This is worth very careful inspection as you can do all the interior work and have it undone in an instant if this is the case.
Finally, what is your budget? Epoxy is very effective in resolving patches under 8 inches diameter. Over this you would be wise to have a boat builder look at it, with fibreglass and poly resin in mind because it is about half the cost and you can cover twice the area for future peace of mind.
delamaree