CPES on side boards?
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CPES on side boards?
I have a 20 foot lapstrake Cortland fishing boat with an I/O. This question is not about the plywood bottom, but about the plank sides. I have all of the screws exposed, and the paint stripped and sanded to bare wood. I am thinking of using CPES to soak into the lapstrake planks brushing it on from the outside of the hull. On the inside of the hull I had figured only to clean, check for rot damage, and re-varnish. I did not plan on using CPES because in a lot of places the varnish is very much intact, and I did not think it would soak in. I thought it would just puddle. If I just apply it to the outside of the hull, am I going to cause any problems down the line? I don't think so, but would not want the boards to rot, because of water getting trapped and not being able to dry up. I think I am just being paranoid, but I thought I'd ask for some help before I do anything. Thanks.
On the inside of my Seacoaster, I only applied CPES to the dash, inside of the shearstrake, the transon, and the below the floorline planks....
My concern on the other interior varnished sides, was not that it wouldn't soak in, because it will find a lot of cracks and go in, but it will raise varnish about as good as a stripper. While this could make a mess of visible areas, on the lower areas you can scrap it off with a stiff blade, or even let some smooth places just reharden... after revarnishing, it is isn't as smooth , but that didn't bother me.
John.
My concern on the other interior varnished sides, was not that it wouldn't soak in, because it will find a lot of cracks and go in, but it will raise varnish about as good as a stripper. While this could make a mess of visible areas, on the lower areas you can scrap it off with a stiff blade, or even let some smooth places just reharden... after revarnishing, it is isn't as smooth , but that didn't bother me.
John.
So JohnHart, it sounds like it is acceptable to to apply CPES on the inside of the hull, below the waterline. You concern seemed to be cosmetic, not really a performance issue, i.e. CPES trapping moisture and rotting the board from the inside. I have two spots inside my hull which are giving me pause. In the bow, the sides of my keel are very solid, but have a white mildew-like spots. I beleive this is due to a Racoon doing #2 this past winter. After a thourough cleaning, I was thinking of treating the keel with CPES to stabilize it.
I used perhaps a gallon and a half of CPES on the interior of my Seacoaster. I believe it penetrates and then hardens the wood, but still permits the wood to breathe.
I also believe that it will seal gaps or cracks between adjoining pieces of wood. I wouldn't worry at all about it doing any harm. I just got horrified that the varnish all bubbled up. I started to scrap it off, and then figured, so what, and left it alone... After 5 coats of varnish on the entire inside, a few bumps, glumps and puddles on the bottom of the inside didn't/doesn't bother me.
I brushed CPES liberally over several several passes, including the three piece keel, the stringers, garboards and frames, up to about where the floorboards covered. I repeated this about a week later. I also used a hypodermic needle and hit the center keel piece, under the two side pieces, to make sure that I got good coverage there. (If your boat is upside down, with the garboards removed you wouldn't have this problem.
I did things in reverse order, in that I did the inside of my boat before the outside. When I did flip it, and scrape out the caulking in the outer keel, I brushed on CPES liberally all along the keel... again, another treatment 4 or so days later.
Make sure you wear an organic mask, and have fan(s) going, especially while under the bow...
I also believe that it will seal gaps or cracks between adjoining pieces of wood. I wouldn't worry at all about it doing any harm. I just got horrified that the varnish all bubbled up. I started to scrap it off, and then figured, so what, and left it alone... After 5 coats of varnish on the entire inside, a few bumps, glumps and puddles on the bottom of the inside didn't/doesn't bother me.
I brushed CPES liberally over several several passes, including the three piece keel, the stringers, garboards and frames, up to about where the floorboards covered. I repeated this about a week later. I also used a hypodermic needle and hit the center keel piece, under the two side pieces, to make sure that I got good coverage there. (If your boat is upside down, with the garboards removed you wouldn't have this problem.
I did things in reverse order, in that I did the inside of my boat before the outside. When I did flip it, and scrape out the caulking in the outer keel, I brushed on CPES liberally all along the keel... again, another treatment 4 or so days later.
Make sure you wear an organic mask, and have fan(s) going, especially while under the bow...