Wood Hull Repair Toredo Worm

[minaret]

Originally Posted by awab

hello friends
I had this experience not the first time.
Somebody ask a question and behind is a real problem and the with more and more answers the theme get out of control.
I understand that it is nice to talk about boats and what s around it.
I know the best would be to take the infested wood out and replace it. I am sure there is enough money in this world to pay for all this.
But I am also sure the theme was not dry rod. I have only in some spots some holes from this toredo. It will be dead by now. Now the question was how to deal with this.
I've had this boat for 12 years and I have solved a lot of problems already.

You guys talk about everything else but not solving this problem in matter of solving it.
Stay out of my question if you have nothing to say.

Sorry if this seams rude but I am not getting what I need.

thanks
peter

Nobody here said anything about "dry rod". The subject from the start was worm damage and how to repair it. It seems clear the consensus is you can't repair it but must replace affected planking. So the topic moved on to prevention, which is obviously the only topic that matters when it comes to worm damage. Sorry it's not what you wanted to hear. But here's something else you won't want to hear as well= If you own a 60 year old 60' wooden boat, you better either be rich or know how to spile a plank. If you can't do one you better learn how to do the other. Replacing the odd plank and sistering a frame here and there is just part of old wooden boat maintenance, right there with caulking. If you can't afford or are afraid to pull a plank or two and replace them you are in deep trouble.

[Blue Stocking]

THREE MONTHS DRYING OUT MAY NOT HAVE KILLED THE WORMS. REPLACE THE PLANKS THAT ARE DAMAGED OR RISK LOOSING YOUR LIFE WHEN THE VESSEL SINKS.

There!!

[minaret]

You also said you have several entry holes. Note the earlier poster who's sacrificial keel was all eaten up, but he could only find one entry hole and one worm. That's all it takes, I've seen teredo six inches long. Their jaws are terrifying...

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

G'Day Minaret,

No, we're strip planked, not cold moulded. She's done in 25x25mm strips of Western Red, coved top and bottom, laid over laminated ring frames, glassed inside and out. She's about to have her 22nd birthday and has done well over 100K miles, from the Aleutians to Southwest Cape in Tassie. The resins were indeed West, and there have been no issues with the bond. I was not aware that West had "banned" WRC from use of their epoxies. As you likely know, we didn't build Insatiable II... she was done by Gary McAualy, a very talented shipwright, then in Noosa, Qld and now down here on the Clarence river. We're still good friends, and I will ask him if he was aware of that ban.

There are still some wooden boat schools around. There's one down in Tassie, at Franklin on the Huon River, and it has a waiting list for admission. The Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart (every other year) draws 200+ entries and thousands of visitors. Further, there are still lots of timber working boats down there, many maintained lovingly. In fact, one of the things that keeps drawing us back there are the traditional boats in daily use. When you get away from the PNW, perhaps you will voyage in this direction. I think you would find a lot of kindred souls both here and in NZed.

Cheers,

Jim

Nice. That is the original WEST method, though the Gougeon Bros. often cold molded over the strip planking instead of glassing. I think glass is superior, of course. She must be fast, that's a great way to build a very light stiff hull.
My understanding of WRC and WEST is that while it's very commonly done, at some point problems were experienced doing this and lawsuits ensued. Hence they have had a CYA disclaimer for years now. If you were going to have problems it would have happened long before now. It's just a fairly oily wood that needs aggressive solvent wiping before sealing with lots of heavily reduced resin.
I'm sure I would really enjoy your neck of the woods, and we are still on target for departure next year. But right now there is some debate as to whether we will head west or east after leaving Mexico. But since we plan on spending a couple of years just to do Mexico, we have plenty of time to work it out!

[CharlieCobra]

No doubt Jim...

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Revere's rolling mill, I believe, produced the copper used for the USS Constitution.

That makes sense since the Navy loaned him the money to start the mill. It is amazing that they started with large blocks of copper and very slowly rolled them until flat. I know from experience that copper work hardens very quickly. Annealing must have been a pain.
...and believe it or not, they are not a worm, but instead a species of clam.

[Blue Stocking]

Minaret,
In the 70s I co-owned and raced a cold moulded West epoxy/WRC Tornado catamaran built by Jerry Houlton in Florida.
These boats were works of art.
We were "clothe-pegged" during the US Nationals by a Canadian boat that put his forward beam 24" into my port hull, just below the deck.
The strength of this construction was evident in that we did not loose the rig on impact.
With some careful router and chisel work I stagger cut the diagonal veneers back and built a new stem and skins in place using WRC.
I made ring templates and "torqued" the boat to test strength and it met criteria. I do recall wiping down the veneers with alcohol ITIW.
We sailed her for a number of years before selling back to Florida.

[Astrid]

species of clam

Right! A bivalve mollusc.

That's all it takes, I've seen teredo six inches long

I have heard of some specimens being up to a metre in length. As the critter grows, it will deepen its burrow in the wood, and can easily pass from one plank to the next, so it is wise to remove the compromised plank and check the ones around it.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Right! A bivalve mollusc.



I have heard of some specimens being up to a metre in length. As the critter grows, it will deepen its burrow in the wood, and can easily pass from one plank to the next, so it is wise to remove the compromised plank and check the ones around it.

A meter! I would run from that, it might eat YOU!

We always remove planking until we find no entry holes. It's when they get in the deadwood that things get really bad. A boat can easily be totalled by worm. Gribble too.

[awab]

hello

Here is some serious info about the ships worm

http://wreckprotect.eu/fileadmin/sit...ormspdfnew.pdf
and
http://www.booksupstairs.com/Wood-an...-Shipworm.html

[minaret]

In the first link I particularly like "wood that is attacked is damaged beyond repair by the many burrows drilled in it" and "ships used to be protected by copper sheathing", exactly what you have been told here.

[minaret]

In the second link I liked "as much as 50% of the weight of a piece may be removed without much evidence on the outside" and "failures often come suddenly and without warning". According to that link they can reach 5 feet!

[Astral Blue]

The OP was intent on using epoxy and wanted affirmation. It's the classic "I have a rotten transom. Will Git-Rot fix it?" syndrome.

His quote from the original post:

I think there is no need yet to replace the invested planks but what is the best system to repair the wood and close the holes.

I been already thinking to cut with a circular saw stripes half the debt of the plank and fill the gaps with a kind of epoxy.

If by the time he finished reading post #4 and was still unconvinced that a proper repair was not necessary, I'm convinced he is going to end up learning the hard way.

Just my two cents...

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Astral Blue

The OP was intent on using epoxy and wanted affirmation. It's the classic "I have a rotten transom. Will Git-Rot fix it?" syndrome.

His quote from the original post:

I think there is no need yet to replace the invested planks but what is the best system to repair the wood and close the holes.

I been already thinking to cut with a circular saw stripes half the debt of the plank and fill the gaps with a kind of epoxy.

If by the time he finished reading post #4 and was still unconvinced that a proper repair was not necessary, I'm convinced he is going to end up learning the hard way.

Just my two cents...

Unfortunately in this case learning the hard way could potentially risk the lives of people other than the OP....

The worst part is that by the time you kerfed out a plank and epoxy filled it and sanded it fair, you would probably have more hours and materials into the job than if you just replaced the affected planking. It doesn't take long to spile a plank. And wood is cheaper than epoxy.

[Blue Stocking]

And wood is cheaper than epoxy.[/QUOTE]

--and SO MUCH more pleasant to work with.