What do do about water damage?!

Hi!  I'm currently building a 16LT and preping the hull for fiberglass... unfortunately this New England weather has not helped progress on this project. 

I've got some water damage to the bottom of the hull and wonder if anyone has suggestions besided just patience with a heat lamp?

Thanks, Tara


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RE: What do do about water damage?!

Tara,

What do you mean by water damage? Is it just wet? Warped? Delaminated? Discolored? Swollen? Is it on the inside, outside or both?

Laszlo

 

RE: What do do about water damage?!

Thanks Laszlo!  I've been building my kayak outside in my driveway since I don't have a garage.  When I'm not working on it, I can only cover it with a tarp... that might have had pinholes in it...(after this I'm going to buy a canopy to avoid any other problems!)

I'm on the step on pg103 in the manual:  I have finished epoxy & fiberglassing the inside of the hill, and had it turned it over on the sawhorses to prep the outside for glass.  IE: The wood was exposed completely to water that got trapped underneath the tarp and soaked the hull completely  :-(  The shape of the hull is thankfully not warped, but after drying it all day in the sun yesterday I still have 2 problems:

1) Circular-like water "stains" all over the hull from where the puddles dried up.  It's leaving dark brown rings with gray middle areas...  If I just epoxy over this, will it just make a permanent stain?  Should I be planning on painting my hull?

2)I must not have done a very good job at scarfing one of the hull pannels because about 1/8 inch of the wood is curling out & away from the boat (maybe I can just sand this off?)

 

RE: What do do about water damage?!

Just bought a canopy to protect from further H2O damage, but still unsure of what to do about current damage.  I'm still just drying the boat out in the sunshine :-)  !Tara

RE: What do do about water damage?!

Tara,

Yes, if you epoxy over that the stains will be permanent. It sounds as if the stains are probably just dirt. You can try to get rid of them by washing the boat with denatured alcohol (available in the paint sections of DIY stores). If that doesn't work, you can try a light sanding with #220 or finer paper. If all else fails, epoxy/graphite bottoms are very attractive and scratch resistant.

Any chance that you can clamp that curl back down flat? If so, your best bet is to glue it back down. Otherwise, sand it off and fill the gap with epoxy/wooflour putty and sand it smooth. You basically want the glass cloth to be smooth and flat with no gaps once it gets put on.

Good luck,

Laszlo

 

RE: What do do about water damage?!

Thanks so much, I'll try out your suggestions this week and let you know how it goes  ~TAT

RE: What do do about water damage?!

Hi everyone~

With a lot of drying out in the sun and then a little elbow grease in the sanding department, the damage has cleared up.  I also tryied washing the areas with 70% ethanol and that helped with the stains.  After epoxy/fiberglassing the hull, I have  abeautiful looking canoe!  Half way to the full kayak  :-)

Hope this helps anyone else who had water damage and got affected by the summer new England storms!  Have a good day  ~Tara

RE: What do do about water damage?!

What is "epoxy/graphite" bottom? Is it just a colour or a product that you put on with the epoxy?

RE: What do do about water damage?!

It's a mixture of powdered graphite and epoxy, sometimes with a little cab-o-sil mixed in. The graphite acts a lubricant to resist rocks, oyster shells, etc. from digging into the hull and gouging. The graphite is added after the epoxy and hardener are mixed. The usual mix is equal volumes of mixed epoxy/hardener and graphite. This results in a thick mixture which can be applied with a roller and tipped out with a foam brush. Because of all the graphite particles essentially "shading" the epoxy, it doesn't need varnish or any other UV protection.

Visually, it ends up as a deep glossy black, which works very well with varnished wood. If you sand it, it turns a dull, pencil lead grey and you end up looking like a coal miner. When it does get scratched, the scratches are much less visible than on wood or paint. When the layer eventually wears too thin, you'll see wood-colored scratches which tell you that it's time to apply more.

Here's what it looks like on a Wood Duck 12: 

 

RE: What do do about water damage?!

Tara,

Well done.That's what I love about this style of building - you can fix anything. 

Laszlo 

RE: What do do about water damage?!

Laszlo,

I like the look of the epoxy/graphite hull, but have doubts about my ability to apply thickened epoxy without needing to sand at least part of the work surface.  If sanding is required, can you get the gloss finish back w/ varnish?

Phil

RE: What do do about water damage?!

Phil,

Yes you can, but it misses the point. The hard epoxy with the slick graphite is what makes the bottom scratch-resistant. Varnish is soft and gives rocks & stuff a chance to get a purchase in your finish. You might as well go with glossy black paint.

A quality roller and foam brush, along with careful mixing to get rid of the graphite lumps will let you easily get a nice finish without sanding. Remember, it's on the bottom - you trying to impress a turtle? :-)

Mix up a small practice batch and give it a try. You'll be fine. 

Laszlo

 

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