Looking for help

[Mr.Mahogany]

My trawler was built in 1949 and has mahogany hull I'll be putting her in the water for the first time in may, she's been out of the water for 4 years at this point. I had a survey done and he said throw some paint on the bottom and see if she floats she should, as a first time boat owner who may have bit off more than he can chew I admit that gave me some anxiety I've been doing research but any tips and help to get this old beauty running smooth would be greatly appreciated ... thank you

 

[RobK]

They might be a little rough on you, but you should take your questions to the wooden boat forum.

 

[Comodave]

Good luck! I am not a woodie owner so I don’t have much to offer. Make sure to leave it in the slings after launch to let the planks swell up and stop leaking. Otherwise the pumps may be overwhelmed.

 

[Mr.Mahogany]

Thank you

 

[Mr.Mahogany]

Heyyy

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings, eh?
Mr. M. Is the boat still in Iroquois? Is Robert still the owner there? If so, he knows the launch protocol for wooden boats and is a wealth of knowledge. You might direct some of your questions to him.

 

[Benthic2]

Be sure to discuss launch protocols with the launch master before you launch. The wooden planks tend to dry out and shrink leaving large gaps between them. Eventually they will swell to become water tight, but you may have some high stress moments before that happens. As a kid I remember it was the most animated I ever saw my dad was waiting for the swelling while the launch manager told him it would be fine and to move off the launcher. You should know before hand if there are other pumps available, how much time you'll have before you have to get out of the straps. Some strategies to consider are pumping water into the bilge before the launch to start the swelling process or to load the seams up with caulk.

 

[darkside]

Consider renting a good size electric or gas portable pump. You may take on a scary amount of water for some time. I have no experience with Mahogany but such a hard timber may take a while to swell.

 

[jagates10]

Also, after putting her in the water, watch out for the first time out on a run. I almost lost my shrimp boat on first trip out after a long winter due to the upper bow planks drying out.

 

[bgillroy]

Experience says launch and leave in slings for few hours while dewatering til expansion seals to degree bilge pumps keep up. Be sure you have several days of power avail for pumps to run full time. This scenario means be prepared.
Good luck.
Owner several wooden boats

 

[ofer]

flood her first on land one week prior to launch. you will see leaks and wood should expand and leaks should reduce as time goes on. make sure all pumps are working and have a back swamp pump as already mentioned. keep her on the sling as long as possible. i didn't have that option due to tides in Alaska as i only get 30 minutes.

I would not paint yet. take her out after a week and make your repair plans etc.

 

[Portage_Bay]

flood her first on land one week prior to launch. you will see leaks and wood should expand and leaks should reduce as time goes on. make sure all pumps are working and have a back swamp pump as already mentioned. keep her on the sling as long as possible. i didn't have that option due to tides in Alaska as i only get 30 minutes.

I would not paint yet. take her out after a week and make your repair plans etc.

DON'T flood the boat on the hard. You can do a lot of damage that way. If you want to get her wet before launch set up lawn sprinklers underneath to soak the wood. I'm not blowing smoke, I've owned and cared for old woodies.

 

[ofer]

DON'T flood the boat on the hard. You can do a lot of damage that way. If you want to get her wet before launch set up lawn sprinklers underneath to soak the wood. I'm not blowing smoke, I've owned and cared for old woodies.

nothing wrong with flooding IMO. i do it every season. PO did it for 30 years. you can identify heavy leaks that way.

 

[Shrew]

When I was a kid there were a lot more wooden boats around, but they were definitely becoming the exception. I remember watching some of those old boats swelling in the slings for a couple of days. I also remember guys racing to get in before an old woody on the launch schedule tied up the lift for a couple of days.

 

[78puget-trawler]

Some good advice here. I worked on wood boats for nearly 30 years in boatyards and owned a few as well.
If you have already launched, hope it went well, if not... do spend some time hosing the boat down with sprinklers or whatever is handy and be prepared to leave it in the slings for a time depending on how much ingress you have.
Also be prepared to spend the night aboard to monitor if still leaking after several hours.

 

[SteveK]

You are on a lake? No tides. Ask if you can launch late afternoon and sit in the sling overnight. In the morning good to go or haul it out.

 

[Lepke]

A gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs. depending on temperature. It's easy to exceed the ability of some blocking to support the hull or cause hull damage at the blocking points. A small amount of water in the bilge pumped to sprinklers works well. Or sprinklers placed around and under the hull before it's painted.

Small leaks, after the boat is in the water can be stopped by forcing sawdust under the hull in the vicinity of the leak. Oakum works best for calking because it can swell to twice it's thickness when wet. Calking seams too tight in hulls with shrunken planks can cause weak fasteners to pull out when the planks swell later. I do my best to swell the planks before calking.
60+ years on the water and about 20 as a shipwright.

 

[Bob Cofer]

A good trick is to grab some wax toilet bowl rings and pack the larger gaps with that. As the bii of studs take up the wax is squeezed out and will fall away. I had a 1926 woody and we did this on the garboard planks.

 

[fgarriso]

Thank you

If it has been out of the water for some time now. The joints will have dried and have opened up. Now for the BAD part. The "chinking" in the joints will have to be redone by some one that knows what they are doing.

One thing you might try is setup a sprinkler system on both side of the boat hull. Adjust them so that they are soaking the hull from top to bottom, and let it run water for a week until the hull will not soak up any more.

Try not to put it in FRESH water, fresh water will cause the timbers to dry rot.

 

[artfulltune]

Mr Mahogany, watch a few early episodes of a YouTube "travels with geordie" restoration of an old Monk MV. He goes in to great detail about planking, particularly the garboard and then filling the boat with water on the hard. You can skip the beer commercials...well, maybe not.

 

[OldDan1943]

Consider renting a good size electric or gas portable pump. You may take on a scary amount of water for some time. I have no experience with Mahogany but such a hard timber may take a while to swell.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. a. I have not watched the YouTube videos BUT I disagree with "...filling the boat with water on the hard." Boats are designed and built to keep the water OUT, not IN. Mr. L's comment (post #17, first paragraph) is bang on. Any water introduced inside the hull has to be allowed to drain somewhere. Leave the drain plug out.


I've heard of the sprinkler technique before and also heard one can pile ice (cubes?) along the inside chine. Slow melting allows a "flow" of water.

 

[jjorgenson3]

We have had our wooden boat for about 10 years and have learned a lot. Feel free to call me or pm me for any questions.

 

[Jaybo]

We had a fine woodie once upon a time on Lake Ontario. On recommissioning, I was able to leave the boat in the slings at least overnight and slept on board to watch for any serious leaks. The longer she soaks in the slings the better. But the bad news is that the planking will degrade in fresh water (salt water pickles the wood and slows down rot.) I see that you are based in Toronto; be aware of the damaging impact of fresh water on wood hulls. I wish you luck; there's a beauty in wood that other materials can't match.

 

[Circumnavigator]

DON'T flood the boat on the hard. You can do a lot of damage that way. If you want to get her wet before launch set up lawn sprinklers underneath to soak the wood. I'm not blowing smoke, I've owned and cared for old woodies.

Absolutely. Water belongs on the outside. Putting more than a very little on the inside while the boat is on the hard will tend to loosen planks and may pop caulking out.


It's tempting to leave her in the slings overnight, but don't forget to consider the tide. If launched at low tide, she could sink in the slings at high.



Jim

 

[Bensjoy]

i
INVESTIGATE USING "SLICK SEAM" MADE BY DAVIS

 

[Capt Dan]

DON'T flood the boat on the hard. You can do a lot of damage that way. If you want to get her wet before launch set up lawn sprinklers underneath to soak the wood. I'm not blowing smoke, I've owned and cared for old woodies.

Totally agree with this. Boats are built to have pressure from tho outside, not the inside. You might be surprised at the pressure caused by the weight of the water.

Think about the best case scenario. A dry bilge. You want the planks to wet from the outside, that is what you want to get them used to. Sprinklers as suggested above or steam, warm moist air even better.

 

[fgarriso]

Greetings,
Mr. a. I have not watched the YouTube videos BUT I disagree with "...filling the boat with water on the hard." Boats are designed and built to keep the water OUT, not IN. Mr. L's comment (post #17, first paragraph) is bang on. Any water introduced inside the hull has to be allowed to drain somewhere. Leave the drain plug out.


I've heard of the sprinkler technique before and also heard one can pile ice (cubes?) along the inside chine. Slow melting allows a "flow" of water.

 

[SteveK]

We had a fine woodie once upon a time on Lake Ontario. On recommissioning, I was able to leave the boat in the slings at least overnight and slept on board to watch for any serious leaks. The longer she soaks in the slings the better. But the bad news is that the planking will degrade in fresh water (salt water pickles the wood and slows down rot.) I see that you are based in Toronto; be aware of the damaging impact of fresh water on wood hulls. I wish you luck; there's a beauty in wood that other materials can't match.

Any alternative aside from trucking to the nearest launch ramp with saltwater

 

[ofer]

Absolutely. Water belongs on the outside. Putting more than a very little on the inside while the boat is on the hard will tend to loosen planks and may pop caulking out.


It's tempting to leave her in the slings overnight, but don't forget to consider the tide. If launched at low tide, she could sink in the slings at high.

Jim

Boats are always a compromise..

no running water in the Alaskan yard. water tanker is $50 an hour. sprinkles for a week are NOT an option. I get 30 minutes at best to launch at high tide.

there are many ways to accomplish a goal none are perfect in real life.