Bell Starfire Wood Rot seeking a DIY fix

[Brightraven]

I just picked up a very used 1996 Bell Starfire in the black gold with wood layup, set up as a tandem, but I want to convert it into a solo…I took this boat out today with my dog, and I absolutely love it!

First, I want to clean up the gunwales which are mostly strong and intact, except for a small rotted area in the stern where it meets the deck.

Today I sanded out the soft wood, and am thinking I could maybe fill in these gaps with something like a “wood/epoxy blend” or something similar, and fare it out, sand it, and apply watco or something else at the end…I’ve never done this kind of wood repair work before…and I think it’s premature at this point to take it somewhere to replace the gunwales…

Does anyone have any experience with that or have some good advice? There are also a couple splintered areas in the gunwales where the wood is raised…Would love some insight…
Please see photos…

Much appreciated and thanks in advance,

Gregor (Brightraven)

 

[carpenter]

Gregor,

Looks cosmetic, it will not affect the performance of the boat. Outwales look to be in reasonable shape. Epoxy would fill the space and look like epoxy filler until it pops out. It may also fuse the different elements together requiring future repairs to be more aggressive.

I would cut back to a clean, solid surface on the inwale and repair with a scarfed replacement - if I were you I would flood with varnish or oil to protect the wood from water and then find someone to do a clean and thoughtful repair, while draining and storing the boat to avoid the pooling of water that led to this damage in the first place.

At the separations on the gunwale surface you may be able to gently lever the loose end up and slip some type III glue or epoxy between (tape the edges to keep it tidier if desired) and then clamp it tight with tape or a clamp if there is enough edge. This looks like delamination of the grain from exposure to elements or an impact across it, hard to tell but again not likely structural.

Sand the old finish off and reapply - I like treating raw wood first with mix of equal parts boiled linseed oil, turpentine and varnish then reduce the turpentine and BLO in subsequent coats. Lots of mixes and preferences in this forum and others for wood treatment.

 

[Pseudonym]

If that's the worst of it, you've done well, congrats! If you can store the boat indoors, you could get away with doing nothing in the near term.

If you're not confident about removing/excavating the rest of the deteriorated material around that deck, then I would suggest a penetrating epoxy, which will soak into the remainder of the deteriorated wood and help stabilize it: https://www.westsystem.com/products/wood-rot-repair-kit/. Finish varnish coats thereafter as advised by @carpenter will protect the epoxy from UV degradation thereafter.

 

[Cruiser]

You can fill in the rotted areas with something like "JB Weld 8257CAN KwikWood Wood Repair ", it is an epoxy product, so it will require UV protection on top. Just dig out all the rot and fill/shape.

The rest of the gunnels can just be sanded back, followed by a few coats of a good marine varnish with UV protection (Epifanes, Interlux etc)

Having said that, if you had the shop and tools, replacing might be the easiest option, refinishing is a lot of work.

Brian