Rotting ribs? -- CCSSC - Chris Craft Sea Skiff Club

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Date Posted: 22:18:22 08/13/05 Sat
Author: Michael
Author Host/IP: NoHost / 216.191.168.144
Subject: Rotting ribs?

Hi I was hoping that some one could shed some light on several rotting ribs on a 30ft 1959 hard top seaskiff. they are small ribs sistered to the main rib. these small ribs are rotting but the main ribs are still fine? did they come from the factory with the sistered half ribs?

how can i check the integrity of the hull?

thanks
Michael Lavell

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Replies:

[> Re: Rotting ribs? -- Bill, 11:57:59 10/24/05 Mon (NoHost/151.188.16.46)

Michael:

I own a 23' Lyman, and I am familiar with the sea skiffs. long sistered ribs are a common repair. If the right kind of oak was not used, they would rot very quickly. I have never seen sistered ribs that came from the factory, but you may want to check with a Cris Craft owner.

If there is evidence of cracks, you can be sure they were repaired with the sistered pieces. Re sister them with white oak bought from a wood supplier that knows boats.

To check the integrity of the hull - many people say to get a good boat survey, but competent people are very hard to come by. Any marina will agree to do one but many times they don't know what they are looking for.

I would get a good book on wooden boat surveying and do a comprehensive search over the hull yourself - then find a surveyor if you still think it is necessary.

Get a good spike (I use dental tools and a sharp awl) and go over the hull completely to check for rotting. Pay particular attention to the areas under the front deck and the transom area, where ventilation is hard to come by. Look to see if the framing in the bilge is holding paint - spike the areas well that are not.

Make sure the bilge is clean - a lot of build up of grime makes it hard for the bilge to dry out and can facilitate rot when it is in storage.

Look for cracks on the sides of the hull where there is paint. If you see any cracks in the paint that go vertical, as opposed to horizontal, this is a bad sign and may be indicative of rot. Thin horizontal lines in the paint are called checking and that is normal with these old boats when the wood flexes and twists.

Also - look at any through hull fittings and fasteners - look for rust lines or black stains where water may be coming in the boat or may have in the past.

The spots at the water line on the transom, as well as along the top inside of the transom and the sides near the back that coincide with the top of the transom are major spots to check for rotting wood.

Knocking on the boat can tell you where there is rot - rotting wood will make a different sound (dull thud) as opposed to the typical sound. Knock along the wood to check for vastly different sounds. Spiking is the best method though. Make sure the spike is going through the paint. paint can be quite hard - once you get through that sometimes the hull is totally rotted, but the layers of paint that have built up over the years give it structure and can fool you. This is where I would look for the vertical' lines in the paint.

Usually where there is rot there are warning signs that you will see.

Good luck with the ribs. Hope this helps with your question. Be careful when finding a surveyor!! Many surveyors just know fiberglass boats, and some of them don't even know that well. A wood boat restorer would be a good bet for a survey.

regards,
Bill

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