Poleboat Repair.

Pete McMiller

Pete McMiller

Well-known member
We'll you followed the construction of my poleboat here: http://duckboats.net.nmsrv.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_threaded;post=126154;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC; and then the destruction of it here: http://duckboats.net.nmsrv.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_threaded;post=175530;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;

So, lets go through my reconstruction project. First the original damage..nasty looking. In fact I almost thru a match on it when it happened.
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Here are a couple of pics of the damage from the inside.

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It took me months of letting this rattle around in my brain before I realized a way to fix this. Started by cutting out all the bad hull, making sure I got all the cracks and surrounding wood. Here is what I am left with
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I then cut a piece of 4mm plywood (same as the hull) oversize, tacked it on, scribed the hole dimensions then beveled the edges of both the hole and the plug back about an inch or more. This gives me a pretty good scarf - all the way around the hole.

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As in all scarfs, I mixed up my epoxy with slow hardner and applied without fillers. Then, while it was still liquid I put wood flour filled epoxy over all the edges - hole and plug. Then clamped with a bunch of washer headed sheet metal screws - I think they are 1/2" at the most.

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Then sanding, application of 3.25 oz cloth and two coats of epoxy and three coats of FME paint. On the inside I applied some odd looking tape I had left over from something else around all the hole/plug joints after first putting on wood flour filled epoxy to fill any voids. After curing, sanding, etc. I put on two more coats of epoxy and then a couple coats of paint.
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Time will tell if this is going to be the best route to take but so far it looks good and seems strong enough. I haven't had it in the water yet but that will happen soon.
 
Pete,

Looks like a good solid repair. In a few years, even you will forget it ever had to be repaired. Well maybe not you, but every one else will never know it.
 
Pete,

Good idea on the beveled edges. How much overlap do you think you have where your beveled edges meet? With as much flex as the 1/4" has I would be a little concerned about planting my weight square in that spot.
 
Ryan,

I think it's about an inch or a tad more all around. I understand your concern but my thinking was that I have never had a scarf joint fail and this is like a big scarf joint. It's not easy to bevel this much more as it's so thin the way it is. I'll find out when I start using it but I'm not going to baby it. If it's going to fail I'd rather it fail sooner than later but I don't expect it to.
 
No Jim, they go in perpendicular to the wood, sandwiching the two bevels of the scarf together. I put them in just as temporary clamps until the epoxy was set. Afterward it was easy to remove them, sand a bit and fill the holes with thickened epoxy.
 
Pete
I just wondered spreading the layers of plywood with screws. I guess I don't have the confidence with epoxy that you do. How's your hunting going?
wis boz
 
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I guess I don't have the confidence with epoxy that you do.
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Jim,

That is because you are too old school before good adhesives. :>)

A well prepared and executed epoxy scarf joint will hold more than the parent material around it, no need for mechanical fasteners.
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Dave
I guess that is true. I just reread Woodrow's journal and the great day you had with your dog "Jack" six years ago.
Jim
 
Jim,

Dave is exactly right in his discussion. The strength of the epoxy will exceed that of the underlaying material in most cases. When I built my BB3 I had to scarf two 3/8 x 4x8 ft. panels together. After I had cut out the hull panels I had a couple of strips that were 16 ft. long by about 4-5" wide with an 8:1 scarf in the middle. At that time I really wasn't all that confident in the epoxy so I bent those strips in a circle and then tightened the circle until they broke. They never broke at the scarf joints but someplace else on the wood. That was good enough for me. If you follow the rules of epoxy it really is a miracle adhesive.
 
Wow, Pete I didn't even know you broke your baby. Your repair puts my patch job on the Broadbill rot I found this year to shame. And the damage from when it came off the trailer. Neither repair was as nice as what you did here and guess what?? They are both just fine. Epoxy is indeed wonderful stuff. BTW my rough Poleboat just came home from a weekend that I cut short because I shot my limit this AM. And a double on wood ducks yesterday. This year is shaping up to be great in addition to being able to hunt weekdays I now have a dog that hasn't lost a bird this year and one last year, what fun. I think you will be happy you fixed your poleboat, keep us advised.
 
Pete:
I loved that boat when I saw it in Lacrosse a couple of years ago and was saddened when you posted the pictures of the damage done by the posts. Your fix is very creative. Between the epoxy and glass on the both sides, the patch may be stronger than the rest of the boat. Well done!
 
Tom,

Our split started today and I never got out the first week. Otto is retired now so I have to think about where I'm going and how to retrieve any birds I shoot. He'll be 11 in January and doesn't have much stamina or strength in his hind legs anymore - can't get in or out of the truck by himself. In fact I had him down along the Ohio River in April and he needed help to get back up the bank.

Good Luck with the rest of your season - great to be retired isn't it?
 
Hi Pete,

If I recall, we were on the phone just hours before the incident. The forces of nature are amazing (and potentially destructive) things. Your patch looks great considering your starting point. I likely would have gone overkill and laid a piece of ply over the inside, laping onto the old ply. It would be ugly, and a constant reminder of the damage below, and like I said probably overkill. Way to make the best of a bad situation, hope the poleboat (and patch) continues to give you years of service.

Best
Chuck
 
Boy, you are right about that. My life long goal has been to not let Mother Nature do me in. The older I get the more cautious I have become and STILL stuff like this happens once in a while. I have to remind myself that there are things that I am not physically capable of doing as well as I used to. We have to constantly be on our toes.
 
Pete, that looks like a very nice, well executed repair. you should be happy and dry for years to come.

Now get out there and HUNT!!!
 
Pete, I reread the account of your day when things didn't go as planned. Rest assured that has happened to others including yours truly. Mine was no damage to the boat but my back took the pain. Never again will I try to grab a boat the wind got ahold of. Sorry to hear about Otto's retirement, I remember very clearly when Jack had to stay home by the fire even though he had earned it he didn't quite see it that way. Hope you get out the rest of the season and get some ducks even though you probably insist on using your subguage. Seriously -shiny side up, I'm pullin for you
 
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