Using Epoxy to Stop Wood Rot

[resilientg]

There is only one way to repair wood rot, ....

remove it completely and replace with something else, preferably more wood.

"miracle products" are just salesmen selling something to stop you doing what you should actually be doing.

example, you place the rot doctor stuff over wood rot or you thin down and use epoxy? well the rots still in there, if its not totally encapsulated and air tight, spores can still spread and rot will continue.

Just bite the bullet, cut out, dig out, use a chisel and poke out the rot until you get back to good dry wood and then repair it, you can still do it cheaply if you need to, the biggest cost will probably come from all the nasty hard to reach areas of your boat that rot has gotten in to which will need to be cut out to open up access.

A cheap alternative for smaller areas is to mix saw dust and wood chips with your resins for repairs, at least then you have some wood fibers in the "glue" that you will be using to hold you boat together.

Matthew

[Geoduck]

No magic cure for rot - nothing will cure rot except replacement of the wood.

ethylene glycol - not polyethylene glycol - will effectively kill the bacteria that causes rot. It will help dry out wet rotted areas because it acts as a desiccant and dries out the moisture. Then you can effectively treat the rotted areas with most any epoxy cure all you like because they're all about the same. About all you are doing is prolonging the inevitable which is replacing the
wood.
The use of ethylene glycol - cheap antifreeze - does work. I pickle all my wood with it and I use it in a sprayer to saturate closed spaces and hard to get to areas such as the stem & counter - behind lockers - anywhere you have poor ventilation. It does not stain or discolor. You can paint over it after it dries. I dont use it on glue seams when gluing up a mast or splicing wood but for a rot preventative, it works great. One of my shipwright buddies replaced a plank in a guys fishing boat 15 years ago with inferior wood - the guy was in a hurry and we didnt have anything at hand but crap. We told him he'd have to replace the plank in a couple of years. We pickled it in cheap Ace hardware antifreeze and installed the plank - 15 years ago and it's still in the boat - hard as a rock. The plank was fir. End of story.

[resilientg]

thanks for the tip on the antifreeze, i will try that one.

Matthew