thompsondockside.com

I have a bit of wood chipping on the back of my boat. The transom is in great shape.
I took a screw driver and looked for rot inside the boat. Everything seemed good.

Last year was the first time in over a decade the boat hit the water.It took on a "little" water, but nothing to scary I think.

I plan on trying to scrap / clean and re-poly? the inside this summer.

My questions are this.
For the small amount of rot (about 1/2" of chipping", I have been told CPES™ (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) is good stuff.
These chips also occur a little above the water line.

Any recommendations on the chip repair, or what process to follow on re-doing the interior?

Thanks,
Jamie
'57 Thompson Double Cockpit Cruiser

I will actually answer a few of my own questions after doing a bunch of reading.... let me know if I'm incorrect or correct on this:

I plan on buying some "CPES/Warm Weather Formula"
Here in Milwaukee Its about 50 - 90 for most of my work. I figure this temp range is in the "warm" category.

I plan on scrubbing the entire inside of the boat and cleaning up any dirt / debris. Then coating the waterline and lower with CPES. POssibly doing the entire inside.
Any objections?

On the outside I plan on puting the "Layup & Laminating Epoxy Resin" followed by "Fill-It Epoxy Filler" on the outside to clean up any chipping.
Then CPES and paint.

Have I got that right???

Jamie... I am not completely sure what you mean by chipping, so I won't comment on that... Maybe you can post a picture...

However, I have used most of Smith's products over the years...and they are superb.....the L&L Epoxy dries clear.... the Fill-it dries white... after CPES, you could apply the Fill-it for chipped areas that are painted, without L&L first....

Both L&L and Fill-it are aggressive, meaning that they really stick to where they are put. Fill-it is like taffy, and can even be used on vertical surfaces.

Also, with either one, you can use a sheet of poly pressed against the area after application, and even put a scrap of wood to hold a flat shape. The L&L epoxy is the consistency of thick honey, so it will run off unless you trap it somehow, apply multiple applications, or keep reworking it for a couple hours until it sets up enough to stay put.

The next day, the poly will peel off easy as pie, and you will have a smooth surface for sanding. (but will show every wrinkle in your poly, if there were any).

As far as CPES on the inside goes, I brushed multiple passes all along the inside of my Seacoaster, below the waterline.... It lifts varnish like a stripper, and I didn't want to scrap the entire inside before revarnishing.


John.

Jamie,

First thing: CPES is intended to be used on clean wood without any finish on it. Whay it is call a "penitarting" epoxy sealer. Do not us it over varnished or painted surfaces. It is not designed for being applied over these items and I beilieve it will cause the paint and varnish to be raised and crinkled when dry. Cpes is a sealer for sound wood not a Rot fix.

Second thing: I do not recommend applying fiberglass and epoxy over wood. It will hold the mositure in the wood and cause more rot. You are better off replacing any bad wood with new and then resealing and tightening all bolts and screws to make the hull as water tight as is possible. I have used "Git-Rot" on a small area on a sprayrail that had a soft spot. After using the Git-Rot is faired out the area with Bondo and painted the area with good sucess. The area was small and did not effect the structure of the sprayrail.

A wood boat like the Thompsons should not leak. Leakage tells me there is a seam that is open somewhere and needs to be fixed. When the inside and outside of these wood boats are kept in good repair, i.e.: varnished on the interior and painted on the exterior with tight seams, it will not take on water.

If the rot you are talking about is above the waterline and is not a structural item or an area that will compromise the strength of the hull. It can be patched using either a "Dutchman", cutting out the bad wood and replacing it with a piece of wood or plywood that is glued and mechanically fastened to the parent wood member, or a fairing compound like "Bondo" if it is in an area that will be painted or is not visable when varnished.

If it is a rib or other structural member scarffing in a new section of wood or sistering a new wood along side of the original is best.

With wooden boats there is no way to short cut a repair without ending up with a bigger problem later on down the road or this case on the water.

Good Luck,

Phill

I too have no clue what you mean by "chipping." Is the plywood delaminating? Is sold wood material rotten, or cracked or split?

If you have rotten wood, replace the wood.

In order for CPES to do any good, you have to strip all old finishes (paint, stain, varnish) from the wood surfaces.

Do NOT use polyurethane on a boat. Bad stuff for boats. Use marine spar varnish.

Andreas

Jaime... a couple other things I forgot to mention (in addition to acknowledging that I mis-spelled scrape)

If the area that you have wood chipped/flaked/etc is cosmetic only, and is not painted, you could use a little L&L epoxy mixed with a filler... (I keep a tub of mahogany dust from sanding) .. you can make a paste, and that should allow you to apply like a wood filler.. then press on a sheet of poly to hold.... After you sand it, stain it, CPES it again, and varnish, it should blend in pretty well.

The other thing I wanted to mention, and I see that Andreas has already identified this, is that CPES needs an open wood surface to soak in.... it wicks in .. you need to do any stripping/sanding/repair to the transom before this step.


John.