Repairing Seam Cracks In a Wood Hull

[Tim Strange]

I built a gas scale hull over Winter/Spring and it is developing some cracks along the seams on the transom and the bottom of the sponson. I was pretty sure that I sealed everything pretty good, but I guess with the change in humidity and stresses and vibrations are showing the weakness in the hull. The cracks really just seem superficial, so I was thinking about either filling them with CA or thin epoxy. There has been no leaking in the sponson yet, nor does any water leak from the transom.

I am looking for some advice on the best way to stop any further (or worse) damage. The cracks really just seem superficial, so I was thinking about either filling them with CA or thin epoxy.

Sorry about the poor quality pictures...I think you'll get the idea...

 

[harvknox]

Tim, I've had similar problems. A suggestion given to me that seems to work is to use thin CA.In addition I clean the crack with denatured alcohol, and use masking tape on each side of the crack. Of course the crack has to be level to prevent the glue running out. It takes very little glue to fill these small cracks.

See ya in two weeks.

Harvey

 

[Tim Strange]

Thanks Harvey.

I guess waiting a few days to let it dry out a bit would be wise. I ran it pretty hard the last couple of days so I am sure if the splits exposed bare wood the ply is pretty saturated. I flipped it at least three times today...which isn't so bad since it wasn't fast enough to flip last race!

Looking to be a good race weekend...see you there.

 

[P THOMAS]

Do you have any drain holes in the sponsons or hull? If you get some water in the hull it will never dry out. You need to vent the hull so it can dry inside. Water in the hull can cause those seam cracks. Dry the hull and grind out the cracks and fill with epoxy.

 

[Tim Strange]

There are drain holes in the sponsons and the back is open so it should dry out. Going to let it bake in the garage for a few days to make sure it dries out before I attempt repairs.

I really wish I would have glassed the hull...probably would have prevented this.

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Glassing the hull just adds weight that the hull has to lug around the pond. I've seen very few wood hulls that didn't develop a stress crack or two over the course of a season or two. Just out of curiosity, what epoxy did you build the boat with?