Posted by Mike Field on March 28, 2010 at 05:21:26 user mikefield.
In Reply to: Re: Swallow replica appeal posted by Robin Marshall on March 27, 2010 at 09:25:20:
I noticed with horror a mention on the 'Saving Swallow' link of using epoxy resin to help make Swallow watertight, should the auction purchase go through.
Please disabuse your minds entirely, absolutely, and forever of any such plan.
Should the bid succeed the only material you should consider using to help make the laps watertight is the US product Slickseam. This is a wax-based product which can be used to seal the laps until the wood takes up, and which is extruded from between them without damage to the planking as it does.
Epoxy in new construction designed for it (eg Iain Oughtred's glued clinker designs) is one thing. Epoxy is a wonderful glue, and can make a good gap-filler in the right circumstances. But you don't want the stuff anywhere near the laps of an existing clinker vessel. It sets rock-hard, and once the wood swells against it as it absorbs water the planking becomes always, forever, and permanently damaged.
For myself, I wouldn't use any filler at all, I'd let water do the job. But given the length of time the poor girl has been kept in dry storage I would expect if to take at least several days' immersion for the timbers to swell to the point where occasional bailing is all that's required. And unless she was floated regularly (say, every weekend or two) she would need at least several hours soaking each time before being again ready for use.
The problem with owning any clinker vessel that is predominantly kept out of the water is the constant drying she undergoes between launchings, necessitating subsequent swelling once she's launched (during which time of course she can't be used.) A traditional clinker vessel is not a good purchase-choice for a vessel that will be stored on dry land and trailered to outings -- unless you're prepared to use Slickseam on a regular basis.
I was fortunate with my own clinker dinghy Aileen Louisa that my back gate opened on to the waters of Western Port, and so she could be left permanently wet (even though drying between tides.) Once I moved inland I found, very sadly, that the best thing I could do for her was to sell her to someone who could keep her afloat the way a clinker vessel should be kept.
