Epoxying Appendages
I am currently refinishing a Tender Craft Sportsman
rowing skiff. Built in Toronto in 1987 and used on Muskoka Lakes, it
is 16 feet LOA with a beam of 4-1/2'. Construction is cedar strip on bent
frames, covered with 4-oz. (probably) fibergass cloth set in epoxy resin.
Beneath the fiberglass the cedar is gouged in places and whitish in others,
perhaps bruised by rocks. The former owner, my brother, recoated the
epoxy at some point but did an uneven job, with pits, drips and runs.
(Don't tell him I said so. ;-) ) The recoat also may have been done on a humid
or damp day, since it shows quite a bit of cloudiness.
I have not used the boat since hauling it west a
couple years ago because, if there appear to be breaks and cracks in the epoxy
and I don't want the wood beneath to get wet before I reseal it
with a new coat or two -- which I am now about to do, having pretty well
finished preliminary sanding.
The outer stem, outer keel, skeg and 1.5"x1"
bottom rub strips (or whatever they are called) are oak, fastened with
steel or galvanized screws and bolts which have deteriorated and discolored the
wood around them. I was able to remove the outer stem and keel but half the
screws and bolts snapped off and now I have to figure out how to deal with the
broken bits. We're on salt water here and I'm worried about the
galvanized/steel screws remaining in the rub strips (which would be difficult to
remove). What I want to know is whether it's okay to epoxy these oaken
'appendages' along with the hull itself. They appear not to have been done
before, only to have been varnished with urethane or something like. I'd like to
seal it all up as thoroughly as possible.
John, in Victoria