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We have a 1961 Sea Lancer that I am told has been out of the water (in garage) for 10 years or more after the hull was repainted. The paint job is excellent with no seams. I have told by some to fill the hull with 5 or so inches of water before putting it in the water the first time to close any seams (like our old rowboat) but I am not sure whether that makes much sense. Bruce

Soak the entire hull from the inside with a garden hose. I would not fill the hull, water weighs a lot. I wouldn't put more than a couple of inches above the keel, leave the drain plug out and rinse the entire hull. You will be able to see any leaks at laps,keel or transom. These leaks should slow to drips as wood swells. If you have a large leak , you still will in the lake.

I rinse my inner hull on a regular basis, but I live in the southwest, pretty hot and dry here.
I usually do that the day before I take any wood hull to the lake.

Wooden boats were meant to be wet!
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I always thought letting a wood boat swell before using was the correct way, after posting 3 years ago after purchasing my 1960 Cruisers Inc. 202 16', I was told that a properly built lapstrake boat should not leak at all. Double planked boats due need to swell, but plywood boats like a lapstrake should not leak. Plywood if destroyed is allowed to swell.

Soaking did in fact slow the leaking, but I was still concerned about loosing my plywood over time due to swelling. Also the rot in the partially rotted inner keel would have only been accelerated by the water soaking. I really did not relize the extent of the inner keel rot till disassembly. Recaulking the outer keel only would probably stopped most leaks for a while, but the rot would have continued.

This conceived me to do it right, stop all leaks. The caulking at the keel was the source of the largest leak, but I was also leaking at each lapstrake to some degree. The transom itself was dried up and was leaking in between laminates and at the lapstrakes at the transom.

After disassembling and reassembling with CPES, new screws and 3M 5200, my Cruisers does not leak at drop. It has been 2+ years, 5000+ miles of trailering, and 100+ hours of running. I was very fortunate, that all but two pieces of my wood, (the inner keel and one piece of the transom at the drain plug) were reusable.

I have spent a lot of time preparing the outside of my hull to ensure that it doesn't permit water inside. THis included CPES and four coats of moisture barrier coat prior to regular hull paint.

My perspective is that I do not want ANY water inside the boat if I can prevent it. I am afraid that water that is permitted in, will only seek nooks and crannies and these areas may not dry out as rapidly as I might expect.

Then these nooks/crannies, especially if there is some dirt, may foster rot that I could have prevented... I my boat was brand new, with all new wood, and I had easy access to below the floorboards with fans, then I might reconsider..... but I hate rot, and I after going great lengths to prevent intrusion, I can't imagine intentionally flooding the inside of a 1960 boat with a lot of old wood.

Sure the boat may have dried out over the ten years she's been in storage. But having a boat leak and soaking her to get her tight is a falicy. Boats were not designed nor built with the intention that they will leak.

If she leaks that indicates there is a problem. FIX the problem. Recaulk, tighten fasteners, remove and recaulk the outer keel. These are some of the typical areas to get the boat back to a tight condition.

Andreas

Any boat going in the water should be able to take getting wet. The factory built these hulls with no adhesive between laps and no varnish on those areas, the idea was that a little swell and they sealed.

If you ever wash your boat or ski with it there will be water inside your hull and it will be drained or dry out. If varnish is kept up most surfaces will be protected. Older hulls that have not been rebuilt from scratch need to be swelled before launching, this saves you from freaking out when they take on that initial sepage.

If you live up north where the humidity is high then maybe you don't need to do this but here in Texas stuff drys out so quick that wetting a hull is not a problem. Plus its a great way to discover if you have a major problem.