Wood-fill suggestions?

[Capt'n Red]

Hello!
My husband and I bought a '69 Pacemaker Alglas last July. Yes, it's our first boat. It's like learning to drive in a eighteen-wheeler. From what I've read you all like pics. So, here you go...

Well, the shine hasn't worn off, but reality has set in. She's got a few things that need fixing, but first and foremost I have some leaky windows. In the process of trying to figure out where the leaks were coming from, I started to dig around in the sills. The prior owner didn't really take the greatest care of her.

At the lowest point of these windows there are two little drains. Great idea, when their not clogged with pine needles and dead ladybugs. My guess is that snow and rain water collected and froze cracking the epoxy(?). The frame of the window is salvageable, but the wood behind it is almost gone in places. I need to stop the rot and replace the wood, so I have something to attach the frame to. I'm looking for something that will stick to whats left of the good wood and the fiberglass. So far, I'm not sure about the stuff at the hardware store (it's doesn't say outdoor or marine) and Rot Doc just sounded too good. There was a thread for 'peanut butter', but will that be thick enough to stay on the wall? Well, it's time to ask people who know what their doing. Anyone out there dealt with something like this? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Red

 

[oops!]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

hmmmm tough to say with out lookin at it......how bad the rot is and how the boat is put togeather....

as far as peanut butter...you can make it as thick as you want....

but im not sure its the way to go here.......

depends on how much rot......im a big fan of cutting out the rotten wood and replacing it.

plastic wood might be good here....but it all depends on a lot of different factors......

can you give us some close up shots?...

cheers
oops

 

[Robj]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

Tough to say. Hard to tell by the pictures. The best repair is to replace all the rotten wood like Oops said in his post. If you need to seal or caulk something, polyurethanes work great, and they stick.

Have a great day,

Rob

 

[Capt'n Red]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

Okay, let's try to post this again...

Thank you for your responses!

I'd love to get you better shots (I pulled some of the trim off to get at the frames last fall), but the old girl is covered and under two feet of snow with more promised tomorrow and Friday. Only in Minnesota......

I would cut the stuff out but there is fiberglass on the other side. I'm hoping to put off anything major with the FG until I learn how to deal with the stuff. I was thinking (and please tell me if you think I'm cracked) pull off the window frames, scrape all the bad wood out until I hit good wood or FG, fill back in with something, so it's all level with the old wood and use some kind of epoxy to protect the lowest part of the sill and drain holes. I don't care if it's not pretty. Boat in lake, not lake in boat.

Is there a way to put a piece of wood in there and make it stick to the FG? I thought it was wood first and the FG gets molded to it. That's why I was asking about filler. My biggest fear is that I'm going to get this all 'fixed' and whatever I use isn't going to withstand the elements, and I'll be trying to scrape it all out and start again.

Thank you!
Red

 

[seven up]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

Hi, Welcome. Hope we can help.

From your pictures it appears everything can be disassembled from the inside by removing the bottom edge interior trim. There may be wood bungs in the trim which cover recessed screws. There's also a good chance that there is a sealer between the outer trim(inside the cabin) and framework where the track lays. A heatgun on low setting will loosen the sealer.

The interior trim is covering the framing and the tracks lay in the framing. Save everything though, in ziplocs or containers.

Also there looks to be metal trim on the outside along the top edge of the windows that can be removed, sealed and re-installed.

When digging out the rotted wood, try to contain it from getting everywhere. The existing good wood needs to be dry before you start sealing it up otherwise you'll be promoting more dryrot.

If you can take part of one of them...the bottom trim...then we can help with what steps to take from there.

Hope this helps.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

Capt,
having restored a few old CC's i have found the best remedy to be replacing wood where you can,and filling in when its a small area. For replacing, Google "teak" or "mahogany" it will come in all shapes & sizes,then its up to you to sculpt it to your needs.for fill work,your best bet is a 2 part epoxy,the best choice for a novice is West System,primarily because it has the best directions and is user friendly AS LONG AS YOU READ ALL THE SUGGESTIONS,also you can add additives to thicken the mixture, windows are notorious for leaking,not enough "escapes"for water , i used a piece of aluminum "L" 1 inch by one inch to create a new window channel,also i increased the size of the weep hole's,If you have sliding exterior doors in your house,look at how the channels allow water to pass from inside to outside,and finally exit the channel.Never fill using 3M 5200 or any other marine caulk,this is a temp fix at best and will cause more trouble down the road.So, to summarize: Go to West Systems web page and READ,take it all apart and take your time,after a while you'll be a pro. Steve.

 

[oops!]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

good stuff here....really good post 7....


and cap....dont worry bout glassin... its easy....go to wally world ...get yourself some resin and glass and a chunk of wood and practise....its easy and fast....

i had done a few glass repair jobs...small ones....

but now im going to fab a new spacy looking dash outta glass...sun pad...swim grid...seat bases.....ect

its easy

 

[Capt'n Red]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

Thanks Guys!

I feel much better about tackling this. Of course, this means your all stuck with me now... I'm hoping to drive up next weekend and see if I can get more pics, weather permitting. Now, if you will excuse me, I got some reading to do.

Thanks!
Red

P.S. Hey, Oops! Please post pics of your fab. I'm really interested to see the process!

 

[Coors]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

Just remember; git rot, and the doctor, are bs- no good.

 

[oops!]

Re: Wood-fill suggestions?

P.S. Hey, Oops! Please post pics of your fab. I'm really interested to see the process!

yup...it will be in the hull extension thread