Subject: sealing a wooden hull
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999

Is it possible to effectively seal a planked wooden hull with a composite material inside and out?

Yes, but rarely successfully. Planked hulls are designed to move and flex, and this breaks the adhesion of polyesters and epoxies. Water gets under the composite, rot develops, and you can never see it until it's too late. There have been a few boats that have been hauled, dried out completely, epoxy-saturated, and then had what amounts to a new hull of laminated veneers constructed around the old hull. I think it works but you can just imagine the expense.

Doc