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I’ll plan on being there for the parade. What time do we meet up?
Can’t make the cruise. Have used up my “away from family credits” well into 2017.
Seems like Rainbow has a target on her stern!
I buy the cheapest bottomkote and haul every year. 2 gallons is half the price of a gallon of the high tech stuff. I find I have a project every year so she is hauled regularly so i spend the money on other gadgets.
Welcome Docent. Rainbow is a 1969 aft cockpit wood ketch which I have owned since 1993.
Hope we get to meet you at this year’s rendezvous since we all need help to stave off Irish Mist. Joe is the epitome of “age and treachery beat youth and skill every time”. Lots of fun. Any questions, we’re here to help.
John
Sounds good. Main base for Rainbow is now a no frills “marina”. Cheap with plenty of latitude for the real work of being owned by a wooden boat. Spending the winter in a fancy spot. I walked in last week with my tool bag and asked directions to the head. The guy in the tie wanted to know if I was going to fix the marina’s heads! Good thing I can leave my ego at the port quarter of the committee boat.
Barry is correct. 5200 is like welding wood. Permanent. Trust the boat to swell up even it takes longer than you would like. Good luck and see you in June.
JohnI am owned by a 1969 Dickerson wood ketch.
I’d check the keelson to see if the nuts on the keel bolts were pulled down into the wood. Might be a clue as to what amount of the impact that keel and its supporting timber had to bear. If the yard where the boat is kept had a lot of power cords hooked up to boats there could be alot of stray current in the water, which could cause the keel bolts to get a “wasp waist” where the lead joins the wood.
Might be a good idea to undo the bolt nuts from the inside to see if any of the bolts shear to check their strength. The impact could have weaked them.
Wooden Boat magazine has a great forum for repair questions as well.
Steve,
I am owned by Rainbow, a 1969 aft cockpit ketch. I had the same issue with open seams many years ago when I had her out of the water for about six weeks. I saw the gaps in the planks and caulked them with Boat Life. Years later I found that this was a bad move. When the planks swelled up, they pulled themselves away from the frames and I did not know it. The caulking prvented the planks from returning to their natural position so they had nowhere to go but out away from the frames. The bungs started leaking and the entire are where the caulking was put in weakened because the planks moving out pulled the screws out of the frames.
My suggestion is this. When are getting close to launch, clean the inside of the hull as carefully as you can (a light sanding first might help since that will expose clean wood to the method I am about to describe). You want the inside of the hull clean so that when the planks do begin to swell, there is no debris inside the seam that will keep the seam from swelling up tight. Since these boats are not cauked with cotton and oakum, there is no margin for error if dirt gets in the seams.
Once you are cleaned, line as much of the bilge as you can get to with cotton towels or burlap bags while the boat is still on the hard. Costco sells cheap guest towels that fit nicely between the frames. Wet the towels down with a hose. They will hold the water for a good while and the planking will slowly start to absorb it an swell. Do this every day until ythey swell. It will take a while since she has been out of the water so long. If the seams do not swell completely, see if you can let her hang in the travel lift slings for a couple of days.
Best of luck and enjoy the boat. Hope to see you at the next rendezvous in June. Remember to check out the Treaseure Chest store for some things you absoultely need as a new Dickerson owner.
John