Dry rot

[RekkaBell]

Hey guys!

I need some advice on how to fix a patch of dry rot on my boat (Unfortunately it was already there when i purchased it).



For now, i cut out the rotten section of the wooden board. I was told that I could just put two plates of metal (one over and one under, with the bolt holding it all together) to cover the gap and squeeze the wood. I was going to take the measurements to a machinist to have the pieces made.

Would you consider this a good way to do it? It won't be a pretty fix but at least i won't have any dry rot and it'll keep the bolt in place. I was wondering too if i should seal the wood somehow before putting the plates on, and if so with what. This is my first time attempting to fix anything on my boat.

I imagine this happened because of a leak from under the chainplates outside. Any tips on how i could fix that leak? Dont want that happening again. Should i put sealant anywhere? Thank you very much for your input!

[PlumKrazy]

You could have a new piece of wood cut and carved to match so that you could replace the bad piece with it.

Then use a piece of sand paper to smooth it down by-hand and stain it after it's in-place. You'd probably have to re-stain all of your wood to get it looking good and even throughout, though.

If you have water coming in from outside, you'll probably have to open a whole other can of worms to repair it. Such as possibly pulling the chain plates, cutting out any bad or rotten wood/fiberglass and replacing it with new material.

It sounds to me like it could potentially be a very time-consuming job, especially if you aren't familiar with the process of repairing fiberglass or wood to a marine-grade finish.

Might be a good idea to talk to a professional about what it would take.

There's a youtube channel called "Sailing Uma" that has several great videos about repairs they have had to do to get their boat ready to go back in the water.

This video gives you a basic idea of what you have to do to properly take care of a chainplate problem, even if it's only a small leak. Its safe to assume that if there's already a leak, then there's also already rot and moisture-related problems around the chainplate hardware under the deck.

Anyway, I'm not a professional, but I hope this helps.

And I'm sure there are several old salts who could give a lot more helpful advice here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJspxzKUxg0

[RekkaBell]

thanks for your input .

I think i can do the wooden finish myself, but getting those chainplates out to check underneath isn't something i feel i can take on right now. I'll try and find someone around here to take a look at it.

Yea! I love sailing Uma. I learned a lot about fibreglass repair just from watching their videos . Im nowhere near their skill level but i am hopeful! Anyone can do it, just takes time and preparation.

[Ribbit]

I'd get to the bottom of it, as it might be that the dry rot spores have been carried inside the boat from the core via the chainplate leak.

Dry rot is nasty stuff and the spores are not good for our health (don't ask me how I found out).

A local village hall had an extremely bad case of it, went to great expense sorting it out with lots of wood surgery and very powerful fungicides (the building had to be sealed up for about a week after spraying), but they weren't thorough enough, and it was back within 2 years.

If it's a balsa core that's gone, it isn't too bad a job by the looks of it, if you cut out on deck where the nonslip is moulded, get all the balsa out, and replace it with a foam or grp sheeting. UPVC foam boards are solid and structural (and I think closed cell too - worth checking if they are up to the job), and you might save a bomb replacing the cores with something like that then glassing back in and replacing the nonslip?

Best of luck with it.

[sartorst]

Thats just what we started with today and was about to do a quick reseal and found cracked chain plates [URL="http://http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2062102#post2062102"]http://http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2062102#post2062102[/URL
Don't know what happened to the link?http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2062102#post2062102

[Kampuniform]

Endemic to that particular model, and most examples of the Yamaha 33' are blighted by rot at that/those bolt (s).

The bulkhead is a teak veneer over marine plywood. In my instance, I removed the bulkhead from the boat to make life easier on myself.

The rotten section was removed, and a piece of African mahogany was scarfed into place. Instead of attempting to blend-in a repair, I decided to replace the entire top strip of veneer instead.

Colour matching wasn't an issue for me, as all the bulkheads and cabinetry were being refinished at the same time. Lacquer yellows over time, so the tired old interior received a new lease on life with a new finish, making that teak veneered interior lustrous once again.

Incidentally, the chainplates on the 33 are bonded to the hull's grid and box structure, so working on the bolts in the cabin can be done without worrying about losing your rig.