Subject: 1935 Dyer Dink
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002

I recently purchased a very early Dyer Dink. It had been taken out of service over 20 years ago. A couple of years ago it underwent a complete restoration and really looks gorgeous. It is of wood lapstrake construction and is naturally finished wood in and out (no paint anywhere). So what's the problem? There is a ten inch split in one of the planks (most noticeable on the exterior) running horizontally with the grain and not part of any seams between planks. It is probably just above the waterline unless heeled over. It is a fairly tight split that may have developed since it was restored a couple of years ago. There is one other similar split that seems to have been repaired at the time of restoration. That split looks to have received an overlay fiberglass patch that was blended into the the finish and is hardly noticeable. I am not sure what was used to actually finish the boat. How can I best repair the current split? Which of your products would be most suitable? Can or should a fiberglass patch be used? Could it simply be filled with one of your products. Or would it have to be sanded, filled, and top coated? Any product or filler would have to cure to a clear finish to maintain the natural wood appearance. I want to actually dry sail the boat on a lake although it probably should be in a museum. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Vince G.

Vince,

A beautiful little craft, I'm sure.

The epoxy/glass patch kind of guarantees the integrity of the repair, but may not actually be entirely necessary. If it were me, I'd probably do this:

Scrape clean the inside of the spit with a sharp blade, getting down to actual wood on the sides. Leave it rough scraped inside. Wipe out the inside of the split with a bit of rag soaked with lacquer thinner. Tilt the hull so that the split is uppermost, and then slowly drizzle in some of our All Wood Epoxy Glue. This can be fairly easily done by just dipping in sharp piece of wood in the AWG, and then holding it over the split and allowing it the drip in. Fill the split this way, and have on hand a rag and a little lacquer thinner for wipe up. Give it 48-72 hours for full cure, and then touch-up with varnish if that's necessary. The AWG cures clear.

I think this will hold the the split at its present dimensions just fine. The AWG is stronger than the wood around it. I think you can avoid the process of sanding the whole area down to bare wood and coming back with the glass patch.

You can keep your eye on the repair over the years, and if you see any evidence that the split is opening further, or a new split is occurring directly adjacent to the existing one, then you can add the glass patch, a light cloth (6-7 oz) applied with our Layup & Laminating Resin.

And feel free to come on back if you have further questions.

Doc