Wooden Sailboat Restore with epoxi

[diegogalan]

Hi fellas, I just buy a 1950 25 ft. wooden Sailboat. This boat has been Stored for 3 years in a shed. I wonder if can i replace the Caulking and fill the seams with epoxy putty? And can i Paint the entire hull with 1 coat of epoxi resin?

[jacquesmm]

I have seen some successful restorations and some that failed.
The good one were complete restorations. The failed ones were partial jobs like just a layer of glass and epoxy on a bad hull.
If the framing and structural member are solid, you could reinforce it with epoxy and glass (difficult) and then coat the outside with glass and epoxy.
All parts have to be very dry, all rot problems have to be fixed before applying the epoxy.
To add epoxy to the outside of a hull will not keep it from opening at the seams plus, trapping the moisture inside may result in faster rotting than leaving it as is.

I think there are silicone based caulkings that could replace the old fashioned type but I am not an expert on them.

[lung]

A related but different question:

I read a Wooden Boat article a year or two ago about a fairly large Motor Sailor that was rebuilt by thoroughly drying the thing out, then covering with multiple layers of both (epoxy impregnated) fabric and mat. The result was an extremely thick exo-skin that was stronger than the initial planking. The boat was also sealed on the inside with epoxy and, if I remember correctly, some cloth.

I've been offered a derelict hull, strip-planked Juniper over yellow pine 2X4 skeleton. I'm wondering if it is possible to cover the (stripped and faired) planking with, say, two layers of 1/8" Marine Mahogany plywood, epoxy glued and probably nailed with plastic brads, sealed with epoxy and dynel or if necessary biaxial glass. Inside covered with epoxy and, say, dynel.

It's basically a 26' flared bow hull, almost 10' wide. Inboard. It does have a Juniper bottom.

Possible? Advisable?

[tech_support]

you would basically be cold molding a couple layers of thin plywood over top the juniper strips

So long as the Juniper strips are in good shape, i would probably let them dry out then cover the whole thing in a couple layers of biax. You also would need to epoxy the inside