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Re-Launching a Wooden Hull Restoration

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by C.Y. Smith, Nov 11, 2021.

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  1. C.Y. Smith

    C.Y. Smith New Member

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    I recently purchased a 1969, 36' Chris Craft Corvette that has been in dry storage for the past six years. During that time, the previous owners had the mahogany hull stripped, installed new cotton caulking and re-painted, among other things. While the boat isn't finished, I need to move it from where it is currently stored (in their warehouse). The only things left are assembly details that do not affect it's seaworthiness, so I'd like to go ahead and put it back in the water. My question concerns the process by which I can get this done. I've been told that you fill the bilges with water first to let the wood expand prior to launching it, but I don't know how much or how long, or even if that's the right thing to do. Anyone have any advice? Thanks, in advance!
  2. C team

    C team Senior Member

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    You never add water to the bilge as that adds pressure to the planks and in the wrong direction. Chris Crafts swell from the bottom up. You have a plank bottom covering a layer of plywood. The boat needs to hang in the slings and slowly let water swell the planks. I would also add 110v electric pumps to handle the water coming in until the normal bilge pumps can keep up with the intake of bilge water.
  3. C.Y. Smith

    C.Y. Smith New Member

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    Thanks for the quick replies. I understand that this is a much discussed issue, and because of that there is a lot of conflicting advice regarding what is the proper procedure. As I mentioned, the boat is currently in a warehouse and I have enough time to address things that may or may not have been done properly. I started reading the thread suggested by "SplashFl" and ended up reading several other related threads until coming across this article: https://www.star-distributing.com/howtoguides/drybilge.html . It suggests that by using more modern processes, primarily involving CPES, that it is possible to completely seal a wooden hulled boat. Seems too good to be true! Anyone ever heard of Star Distributing, or the process they suggest in the article?
  4. C team

    C team Senior Member

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    I have used plenty of CPES on lots of projects with my boats but never have totally sealed the bottom using the penetrating epoxies.
  5. C.Y. Smith

    C.Y. Smith New Member

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    Thanks for the feedback. Based on your earlier response, I've abandoned the idea of pre-soaking the bilge, but my main concern is that I do what I can now to minimize the time it takes to swell and seal, and even more importantly, reduce the risk of having to take the boat back out of the water to have major re-work done right after putting it in. I'd rather do what I can now to make sure the restoration work already done will last.
  6. rtrafford

    rtrafford Senior Member

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    Well, once you've allowed it to swell and seal, you won't need to wait any longer...? In the future that swelling process won't be as significant of an event than it will be the first time, that is unless you let her sit and really dry out, bone dry? That all being said, why did you avoid the West System (or alternative) bottom treatments, to eliminate the soak issue altogether? I really don't see that as a value detractor. Now that she IS bone dry would be the time to seal her bottom. Just think about it...
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  7. C.Y. Smith

    C.Y. Smith New Member

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    Right now, the boat has been sitting in a warehouse for the past six years. It's probably about as "bone-dry" as it will ever be again! I just bought it a couple of weeks ago, after the PO had spent a considerable amount of time an $$$ "restoring" the hull. The problem I'm faced with now is that upon closer inspection, it appears that he did not strip the old bottom paint off entirely before he had the bottom repainted. Consequently, the finish is quite rough. The good news is that overall, the wood appears to be in good repair. At your suggestion, I read up on the West System and it appears to be very similar to what I had initially mentioned in my original post, except that they don't recommend the use of thinned epoxy (CPES). If I were building a boat from scratch, or if my boat was much smaller, I'd probably go that route. I like to idea of totally sealing the bottom surface and you're right, NOW is the time to do it. Because the West System is based on the idea of making a much stiffer hull, it seems like it would be perfect for constructing a new boat or performing a complete hull restoration of an existing boat. The other option I had mentioned appears to accomplish the same goal of sealing the hull without relying on a stiffer hull to maintain the seal. I've read horror stories of epoxying the seams in a hull to seal them, only to have the wood warp when moisture inevitably causes the wood to swell later. I was hoping to get some feedback from others who may have used the CPES technique to restore an older hull.
  8. rtrafford

    rtrafford Senior Member

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    The rough finish on your surface could be old paint, but it could also simply be a lack of sanding between early coats. The first coats will encourage the fibers of the wood to swell, or stand up sort of like the hair on your arm. That results in a sandpaper type finish. You knock that down with a good sanding between coats, and as you build up the paint volume, you achieve the smooth finish. Could also be that the previous owner one-coated the bottom to dress it for a sale. That would also result in the sand paper finish.

    Anyway, as to sealing the bottom, here's a pretty good dialogue on procedure from a team that knows the business:

    http://www.antiqueboatshop.com/5200whatis/
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  9. rtrafford

    rtrafford Senior Member

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    The use of 5200 is pretty much a no-brainer. In addition, thinning the first coat of an epoxy complete with a light application is a very good bond primer for follow-on additional coats.
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  10. C team

    C team Senior Member

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    I have seen a 17' Chris Craft ski boat damaged many bottom planks when the owner filled the seams with 5200. After launching and swelling, the 5200 buckled the entire bottom. A true 5200 bottom needs to have the planks removed before applying the 5200.
  11. C.Y. Smith

    C.Y. Smith New Member

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    I've heard the exact same thing. Even though one of my earlier posts asked about a different method, I have since found a new method for older hulls, written by Steve Smith, the guy who originally developed CPES.
    http://www.smithandcompany.org/SmithMethodWoodBottom/SmithMethodWoodBoatBottomRestoration.html
    In it, he proposes a slightly different technique involving cutting a "v" notch in each seam and filling the notch with 5200 so that it has a place to move when the wood expands without warping the wood. It's the only method I've found so far that seems to account for all the issues one might face with trying to seal an older hull without completely removing all the planks.