1962 Chris Craft Cavalier 25'

[weissmarine]

What is the best way to repair rotten wood above and below the waterline? I have already removed the old wood to dry, now it is time to repair the holes. Sizes range from quarter size holes to baseball size.

[David55cobra]

I am also new to this forum, but am finding it to be hours and hours of fun - just kind of poking around reading about all the projects. I've been working on wood boats for over 40 years now, and no, I dont have all the answers. I did receive for christmas a few years ago an absolutely FANTASTIC book on boat repairs that has ( among other things ) lots of good/detailed information on repairing damaged plywood. I am just finishing up a '66 Cavalier - my second plywood boat ( the first was a '63 26ft Cavalier many years ago). The book is: Wooden Boat Renovation by Jim Trefethen

[PAR]

Wessmarine, much depends on the wood, it's location, use and finish. Generally, you need to remove any and all damaged portions. No, there isn't a magic goo in a ca that can restore rotten wood into a serviceable material again. You can embalm the rot with a plastic coating and fillers, but the weakened wood remains.

For small repairs, drill out the area with a flat bottomed bit. Cut a plug of similar dimension and glue it into place. When cured, chisel off the excess and sand flush. If the hole is fastener size, then just fill it with putty and sand flush. As a rule, replace wood with wood if the damage is large enough to threaten the integrity of the piece. If the repair area isn't large enough to weaken the piece significantly, then a filler will do.

The have been countless previous threads here about wood repairs. Use the search tool thingie and absorb some repair techniques.

[weissmarine]

thanks for the advice. I have taken the holes in question and removed excess rotten wood. Now it is time to cure and fill.

[PAR]

Don't remove "excess rotten wood", remove all the rotted wood. Cut back until you're sure you're into good wood, then scab in a repair.