Subject: woodboat with rot in ribs
Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002

I have a 40 foot lobster boat. I ripped off the plywood on the gunnels and the tops of a bunch of ribs are rotten or getting that way. A lot of them have cracks and I'm wondering what you would do, and how you would keep the epoxy from dribbling out of the cracks when pouring the stuff into the top of these ribs.

Thanks, Bill

Bill,

Let the wood get reasonably dry, and then saturate the ribs with CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer). This will penetrate deeply and effectively put an end to the rotting process through epoxy wood encapsulation. Give that about a week (or longer) to gas-off the carrier/moisture displacement solvents, and then tape the sides of the ribs with clear packing tape. Now, use our Layup & Laminating Resin, the pure resin, and over a period of time apply it to the tops of the ribs and allow it to settle down. This will take some time, and you'll have to keep going back over a 2-3 hour period of time applying the resin. When the ribs will absorb no more, stop.

It's important that you use our L&L Resin for this application. It is slower setting than even the slow-setting standard resins, and it does not get brittle. It will accept screws/nails if pilot holes are first drilled.

Lastly, remove the tape and wherever you see a crack or a gap, fill it with a putty-mix made from our L&L Resin and sawdust. Just make the paste to whatever spreadable consistency you like and spread it in. In 24 hours it will have hardened and you are done.

This is a structural repair, and there will be no more rot in the treated portion of the ribs. To help prevent rot it is a good idea to treat the wood surface, joints, seams and the like with the CPES. The will substantially reduce the chance of rot developing.

Hope this has been helpful, and come on back if you have additional questions.

Doc