Rot Question

luckyinkentucky

Chief Petty Officer
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Jul 29, 2007
Messages
462
If I remove rot from an area in a boat do I have to sanitize the area before putting new wood in it's place? I will be putting a bow eye in tomorrow, and I have already removed the old wood and some of the fiberglass around it. Should I sanitize the area with paint thinner or something before I put the new wood in? I will be covering it with fiberglass and resin, and want to make sure since rot is somewhat like a fungus.
 

peacekeeper6

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Apr 25, 2005
Messages
765
Re: Rot Question

clean with acetone to get a good bond with the new fiberglass. then re lay everything.
 

watermellonI

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jun 23, 2007
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224
Re: Rot Question

I would replace wood with dried pressure treated, no more rot then.
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Rot Question

i still don't understand why people think pressure treated won't rot. it will, just not as fast. 4x4 fence post rot off at ground level, why. the contact with water puddling around them. they top drys quickly, the part in the ground stays damp. it's the soaking and drying that creates the rot process. they idea is to keep water away from wood.
 

luckyinkentucky

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Jul 29, 2007
Messages
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Re: Rot Question

I won't be using pressure treated. A local boat repair guy told me that fiberglass doesn't adhere to pressure treated as well as regular untreated wood. He suggested I use composite decking. He said the composite decking should last longer than the boat. :p Any comments?
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
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Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: Rot Question

Fiberglass bonds about the same to treated and untreated wood, it's just that most treaded wood is very wet and it needs to be thoroughly dried to get a good bond.
What did he mean by composite decking? If he means composite decking like you would use for a house deck, then it may last, but it has no strength and is very heavy. If he was talking about making a fiberglass Composite (Penske board, foam, honeycomb), then that would work well, but is costly.
 

luckyinkentucky

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
462
Re: Rot Question

What about using Cypress? How strong is Cypress compared to run of the mill pine? I have a lot of Cypress and Cherry blocks sitting around. The cherry was from a Cabinet build I did not too long ago, and the Cypress is left over from a gazebo I built for a friend's sister.

Although, as long as I keep it water tight I could probably just go ahead and use regular building pine, and seal really well with 5200 adhesive sealant through the bolt holes. Right?
 

Gary H NC

Fleet Admiral
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Dec 1, 2005
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8,972
Re: Rot Question

Heck if you got cypress lying around i bet its stronger and would outlast pine..
 

Solittle

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Apr 28, 2002
Messages
7,518
Re: Rot Question

Rot is caused by a fungus. It must be removed or killed else it will spread. Automotive antifreeze will kill it. Do a search. There is a long article on it.
 

seven up

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 4, 2006
Messages
275
Re: Rot Question

Heck if you got cypress lying around i bet its stronger and would outlast pine..

Yes, definitely the cypress.

You could use some propylene glycol antifreeze on the surrounding wood, it has to dry before any resins are used because of adhesion.

While we are on the subject of rot, there is also bora-care and timbor as well as copper green(copper napthanate) which are used to kill and prevent rot.


Enjoy
 
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