Much of the work in a boat shop isn’t very flashy, but it’s just as important as the cool woodwork that we get to do. Here’s a video of prepping some floor board supports of a small daysailer for painting.
While scraping and sanding parts like these, I check them over for damage and fasteners that need replacing. If something is damaged, I’ll make a replacement and maybe make it better so it won’t break again. Sometimes the fasteners just don’t hold anymore due to movement through the years. In this case, I’ll replace the fasteners with one that is one size bigger so it’ll grab some good wood. I’ll also ‘bed’ any joints that are taken apart to keep moisture and dirt out of the joint to prevent rot. Bedding is any kind of compound that takes up voids in a joint, and sometimes gives some adhesive properties. With these parts, I’m using a traditional bedding compound made from linseed oil and various fillers. It’s easy to use, goes a long way, isn’t harmful for me to breathe, and works well. If there is any bare wood in the joint, I’ll paint something on the bare spot to prevent the oils in the bedding compound from leaching out and getting crumbly. In this case, I’m using shellac because it’s non-toxic and dries fast. Interesting note, shellac is made from the secretions of the lac bug … gross. So, I reassemble the joint with bedding and start on the next one. This process is really the same for any part of a traditional boat: keels, frames, stems, whatever. The neat thing about traditional wooden boats is that almost any part is replaceable independently of the other parts. So, when you see an old wooden boat, often times, there is little original wood to see. Compare that to fiberglass boats that usually just end up in the landfill, after using lots of petrochemicals to build it in the first place. Sure, traditional wooden boats have some maintenance requirements, but might they be environmentally friendly, sustainable?