Subject: All wood Glue vs. Tropical
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001

Doc. I just ordered some All wood glue and I am thinking that maybe I should have ordered the Tropical. I am rebuilding a wooden boat and laminating the replacement frames to the hull. Is the Tropical preferred in this area????? I made the decision to buy All Wood because I will be working through the winter and the temperature will get quite cool in the boat house, which is a temporary structure. If I need to wait for spring I will, to have a better built boat.

Vince N.

Vince,

You're okay. Either product will work fine in your application, and you made the intelligent choice. This way you can keep going without worrying about temperatures. We're getting ready to do some rebuilding on our old tug, which will be in an unheated steel barn, and we'll be using the AWG also in the colder temperatures.

The THEA is a little thinner and easier to spread, and when cured retains a somewhat greater degree of flexibility. It is useful on those areas that might receive impact damage, or a high degree of flex. In your case the AWG will have all the flex you will ever need for frames-to-hull. None of our resins will shatter under impact.

We used the THEA when we put on a new lower rub rail on the stern of the tug. This had to go around a curved stern and would be subject to impact damage. We were working with 1/4" X 8" fir planks that were bent around, coated with THEA and then nailed into place, one on top of the other. Everything was then sanded smooth, saturated with CPES, and painted. Worked fine. I'm sure we would have done as well with the AWG, but it was summer.

Doc