Sinking Wooden Boats???

[nicaragwa]

Hey All,

I was hoping to get some insight into the the methodology behind wooden hulled boats. This curiosity was spurred by me finding a sportfisherman for sale that had sunk due to a "popped plank". This totally baffled me. I thought wooden boats were supposed to be superior? Maybe this boat was not cold-molded? Whats the deal???

Any of your personal knowledge or referred resources would be greatly appreciated.

nicaragwa

[Chaps]

Planks fastened to frames is one of many wooden boat construction techniques and one of the oldest. Cold molding is a more recent variant and is highly successful. Pick up a book on wood construction methods. If you are handy you could consider building one.

[ali'i kai]

Any type of boat can sink due to various failure. Many old style plank on rib boats exsist today and our successful but due need routine maintenence.

Cold molded wood boats actually become part composite in the construction process. They have many qualities such as lack of vibration, quiet, very stout.

Many will say nothing raises fish like a wooden boat.

[bewitched]

Or rides like a wooden boat. But anyone that has had one will tell you, it's a labor of love.
Reminds me, we had a lap strake run-about at the yard I used to work at. The guys that built it (amish, believe it or not. That should have been my first red flag!), anyway, they put the scarfs in the planks the wrong way. So they acted like scoops on the bottom. Well not all the time, just while it was being sea trialed! There was a bad spot in the bottom, and while underway the scarf caught, and as a result it peeled the plank back, leaving a hole about 6"" wide and about as long! Luckily they still had the sling of the travel lift still in the water! That was a tense boat ride!

[delmar]

wooden boats were typically plank on frame with fiber calking between planks the wood would swell when put in the water and seal. caulking and planking have to be maintained and protected or down she goes. cold molding uses lightweight composite or balsa strips bonded with epoxy resin and usually covered with a layer of glass .......

[robmill54]

A plank popping can be the result of several problems. Planks fastened inproperly or with the wrong type of fastener can cause the stresses of the hull to pop the plank. A wooden boat is built in stages and not laid up all at once like a fiberglass boat.
If the boat was out of the water, had rot in her planks, had iron fasteners instead of bronze, grounding that loosens the garboard plank ( the first plank above the keel) too tight caulking , a broken frame, on and on.......

[mronzo]

Our family boat in the early 70s was a 26'
American Finn! It had twin 120hp 4cyl dual carb volvo penta sterndrives.
It was pretty quick for back then.

A labor of love or just LABOR? Dads' boat had teak everywhere!
Between the i/ohhhhh and the wood upkeep....wouldn't want to go there again!

[rocksandblues]

railyard next to my marina is one of the last around here to specialize in wood boat repairs. He "sinks"' his repaired or new hulls so that they swell up and then pumps them out. pretty neat to watch. I have tons of pics of his projects.

[alice]

nicaragwa - 4/7/2006 12:46 AM

Hey All,

I was hoping to get some insight into the the methodology behind wooden hulled boats. This curiosity was spurred by me finding a sportfisherman for sale that had sunk due to a "popped plank". This totally baffled me. I thought wooden boats were supposed to be superior?

They are superior in many ways. In the Arctic you will find many wood and steel boats, and virtually no fiberglas. That's because of the cold. When it drops to -30F, fg breaks (heck it shatters) apart when bumped. Wood boats are warm and will absorb that stress.

A popped plank that goes un-noticed will send it to the bottom rather slowly. You need to be careful when purchasing any boat in the Gulf Coast area because they are way too many of them with hurricane damage. Wood boats, pulled out of water can dry rot, in addition to not being worked on properly. Wood boats are a labour of love. One doesn't just buy one, without a working knowledge of how it is put together. In southern waters, worms love wood boats, so make sure the one you're looking at has been treated and has a worm shoe in place. If it's been out of water more than three days it needs to be hung in a sling in a water bath for at least five days before being refloated.

Maybe this boat was not cold-molded? Whats the deal???

Cold molding is a process to bind together the wood fibers with epoxy. It's a newer way of building a semi-wood boat. It's not accepted practice of real wood boat builders - cheating you might say.

Like my Daddy used to say, "you don't see any fiberglas trees!"

I'm buying Hawknest's Kettenburg. I saw it yesterday in Seattle and fell in love with it. Simple rakish lines, low center of gravity, it sails beautifully, well taken care of by it's owner (a builder himself) and best of all it's wood! If you want more info there's a magazine found in most large bookstores (B&N) called Wooden Boat. www.woodenboat.com