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Soaking

Winterizing? Summerizing? Covering? Trailering? If it is about a boat out of water put it here.

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david.peat
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Soaking

Post by david.peat » Tue Sep 29, 2020 4:30 pm

Hello to all,Im a newbie so please be nice,Im new to wooden boating and have just brought and imported to the UK from the States a 1948 Chris Craft runabout which has been dry stored for a number of years.
When I initially brought the boat home I put a hose into the boat and she leaked like a sieve,She has an original soak up bottom so the next thing I did was to put a layer of foam in the hull and then drenched these with a hose on a daily basis for a week,this seemed to seal nearly all of her except the bow section which still leaks but not to the amount as she did.
my questions are
1.How can I check if the screws are tight on the bottom of the hull.
2.Should I take her to a lake and try to soak her there.
3.Storing her over winter would it be best to dry store her in my workshop,no heating,or store her outside over gravel with a cover on her.my only worry is that we do sometimes have snow and ice in Norfolk over winter.
Apart from the above we're very pleased with her having only just having her for a few weeks and running the engine up which sounds marvellous but I guess there will be other things lurking to suprise us.
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Matt Smith
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Re: Soaking

Post by Matt Smith » Tue Sep 29, 2020 7:06 pm

Hi David, great boat! You are doing it all, but you need to drop in in the drink. On a trailer for a bit. Have a bilge pump. Note that in cold water it takes longer to soak. Also if you fill the boat from the inside it can swell from the inside out vs outside in. Try it in the lake. But it may take 24 hrs. It will tighten up. Then you need to leave it in for the summer so you are not swelling and shrinking. So you may want to wait for spring? Or just try it.
As to storage, on gravel, not in a heated garage. Under a cover is best. Concrete sucks in moisture. Its all about the relationship with water and wood. Some boats can gain as much as 700-900 lbs in water after being soaked.
Some folks run a sprinkler under the boat for a bit BTW. Just enjoy the process. Its all part of the experience. And welcome to the best community on the planet.
1948 25' Chris Craft Sportsman
1937 16' Special Racer
1968 40' Rice Trawler
1968 11' Crab Skiff
2018 Hole in my head

WoodyBoater.com

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david.peat
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Re: Soaking

Post by david.peat » Wed Sep 30, 2020 3:24 am

Thanks for the reply and advice Matt, will probably give her a soak in the norfolk broads next week just to see if she seals up completely and then take her out for the winter and store over gravel.

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drrot
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Re: Soaking

Post by drrot » Wed Sep 30, 2020 2:02 pm

Be careful on how much water you put in the boat to soak it from the inside. It's not designed for that.
Jim Staib
www.finewoodboats.com


1947 Penn Yan 12' Cartopper WXH474611
1950 Chris-Craft 22' Sportsman U-22-1532
1957 Chris-Craft 26' Sea Skiff SK-26-515
1968 Century 17' Resorter FG-68-174

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david.peat
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Re: Soaking

Post by david.peat » Thu Oct 01, 2020 10:29 am

Thanks ddrot iv'e now stopped that and will be trying her in the water next week,have checked the bilge pump out and that works OK so fingers crossed for next week

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