Quick, get some sort of finish on it!
Hi Dave,
Love the stems!
I have recently refinished/refurbished pair of old wide boards and benefited enormously from the advice of Dick Persson and the vast expertise of WCHA forum members.
I see with alarm in a pic where the timber has torn away in a seemingly consecutive & repetitive series of tears - this to me indicates an important timber shrinkage problem. Arrgh!
I managed to resolved my nightmare overnight expansion/shrinkage issue (+/- 5mm) which repetitively destroyed my expertly repaired cracks, by firstly coating the bare timber, and then attending to the splits.
I found that my evening repairs in unsealed boards would move an unbelievable amount by the next evening- the only way for me was forward was to to seal & partially finish the boat, to stabilise it, & and then later attend to the specific plank/split issues. I hope your humidity fluctuations are not as great as mine.
My immediate advice would be to put some sort of coating on it to stop the timber movement and then appraise the structure for repair.
You will of course be well advised in this forum, if not come over and have a chat, this seasons Southern Right Blue whales have just arrived here from Antarctica. .
Bill P