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  • in reply to: Leak in Mk 1 wood GP #5041
    Michael Forrest
    Participant

    Well, I now know a lot more about wooden boats! Boat recently spent a few days on Chi harbour and seems OK. Thanks for your help, Oliver

    in reply to: Leak in Mk 1 wood GP #4011
    Michael Forrest
    Participant

    Thanks Oliver.

    Incidentally, I have just had a closer look (been a bit busy recently – … retired? nothing to do? put your feet up? well, no, it’s not quite like that) and the ply panel is quite definitely coming away from the mahogany (?) plank (hog?) above it – it’s shifted about a millimetre or two to side, as can be seen from the line of varnish, and it’s just possible to get a slim knife blade in. This over a distance of a foot or so, if you will pardon the mix of units. So it might seem that all that is needed is to trickle some WEST in, but I suspect there is more to it than that. I need to turn the boat over and have a good look inside the case.

    Meanwhile, thanks for your comments, will bear in mind when considering Plan of Action.

     

    regards, Mike

     

     

    in reply to: Leak in Mk 1 wood GP #3949
    Michael Forrest
    Participant

    Thanks Oliver, that has given me plenty to think about!

    I have, as I said, had some water inside the boat and watched where it came out of! and I’m pretty sure that there is a failure of some sort between ply and hog, not between hog and case; I’ll have another look, though, and start prodding about. I managed to control the position of the water in the boat (using Blu-tak!) so I’m reasonably clear how it got out of the boat. I assume the hog and ply are supposed to be firmly glued, so this might be a case for WEST once everything is reasonably dry.

    I don’t know, though, the details of the construction and whether the ply edge gets as far as the inside of the case. Maybe this varies between GPs, although I assume all Bell kits are probably alike. I assume that, for the water to get in, there must be a structural failure somewhere. One worry is that if water gets into the plies then rot can start inside the ply, which would obviously be serious; however ply shows no sign of deterioration so far.  I haven’t had a chance to invert the boat yet, when I do I might be able to see what has been going on.

    It seems quite likely that some of the screws have given up and need replacing. I used to think that maybe bronze screws had been used, but I doubt of Bell’s finance could have run to that! so presumably just brass, after all, which could have lost its zinc.

    I rather doubt if rig tension has had much to do with this, as the only means of getting tension in the jib luff has been a Highfield lever which obviously won’t produce a great deal of force.

    I like the idea of using non-adhesive mastic in some form; obviously, if I epoxy things together, and I subsequently decide I need to dismantle them, I have given myself a problem.

    I’m a bit reluctant to get the boat wet again, as it would take ages to dry out and I can’t paint or glue anything until it does.

    As I said, much to think about, and I need to take a really good look now, and the information you have given me will be really helpful, please bear with me if I take a while.

     

    in reply to: Leak in Mk 1 wood GP #3945
    Michael Forrest
    Participant

    Reply crossed in the post, as you see.

    regards, Mike

    in reply to: Leak in Mk 1 wood GP #3944
    Michael Forrest
    Participant

    Oliver, thanks for your help on this.

    I looked for the leak with the boat ashore, putting a small amount of water into the bottom of the boat (starboard side, port was OK) and looking to see where it came out! which was out of the centreboard case.

    So that’s from the inside (top) surface of the ply panel into the case. Looking carefully at the join between the panel and the hog (that’s the plank running from well forward to aft, isn’t it?) I suspect that the glue join may have failed here.  So my initial thoughts were that filling this gap should solve the immediate problem but I would still need to reinforce the join; possibly by using some WEST first to seal the wood and then to make the glue join, first working on the centreboard side of the join then on the inside-boat side, while replacing (or doubling, if I can’t get them out) some of the screws – assuming the wood isn’t in too bad condition. Probably have a go at both sides of the boat, since if it’s gone on one side, the other is probably about to go too.

    The amount of water I used wasn’t enough to reach as far as the mast step.

    Does this sound OK?

     

    regards, Mike

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