Water under the glass

[lhenderson]

I have an old Northland wooden canoe with ribs on the inside and fiberglass and epoxy on the outside. Last spring I did a lot fo sanding and re-epoxying to fix some leaky spots. It held up well for the summer but appears to need more work.

I went on a couple of short overnight trips this fall and the boat spent a decent amount of time with water in the bottom of it. Now, upsidedown in my garage I can see "stripes" forming where I think water leaked in under the strips and is now trapped under the fiberglass. The stripes are becoming more and more apparent. There was also a crack on the hull that I covered with duct tape as a temporary fix. It also got water under it and when I pulled it up a large piece of glass with it.

I plan on stripping it down to the wood and covering it with all new fiberglass next spring. However, the stripes that are forming worry me. I want to pull the fiberglass off now before winter really sets in with the freezing and thawing because I'm afraid that might make my situation worse.

If I pull all of the fiberglass off now is the canoe going to be okay sitting naked in my garage for most of the winter? It has ribs on the inside so I imagine it wouldn't lose shape or anything, but I guess I don't really know. Thoughts?

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

Applying fiberglass the outside hull of a boat like this is not always the cure-all that many people belive it to be. The "stripes" are most likely not water bubbles but the edges of the planking being warped when they get wet and the the edges lifting. The movement of the plank is transmitted thur the fiberglass. Also the bond between the wood and the glass is not very good as the evidence of the glass coming off very easily when you pulled it at the tear. A better choice of wood for the planking, a better job in applying the fiberglass to achive a greater bond and maybe even thicker fiberglass is what is needed to pevent this kind of problem.
There should be no probelm with the hull if you remove the glass and store it over the winter. I'm not a big fan of fiberglass on these hulls but if your going to put it back on, the hull will need to be smoothed, cleaned, and plank edges nailed down.

 

[Douglas Ingram]

What Rollin said. Exactly.