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I own a Sam Brown-designed 28-foot yawl that was built in Marblehead in the 1920s. In the early 1950s, the then owner glassed over the hull, seven layers of cloth. He did a very good job which held up for a long time.

I am now trying to deal with a persistent leak. I have been advised to strip off all the paint, and then apply a new coat of an advanced fiberglass in the hopes of sealing the entire hull again. The yardmaster said he would need a blank check if I were to ask them to take a look at the state of the original wood under the glass, and that if I stripped all the glass off, the wood might be so deteriorated that I would then be faced with the big job of replanking the whole boat, a task beyond my technical competence.

I do not know why the 1950s owner glassed her over--at the time, boaters thought fiberglass was a miracle material, and I remember friends and neighbors slapping fiberglass on anything that wasn't moving!

I would welcome any advice about what strategies people recommend under these conditions. If there are books or articles that you have found helpful, please send along the references.

Thanks very much for your help.

Richard

Hi Richard.

I am assuming from the text that you can't identify where the leak is at this stage to be able to fix it. It seems a shame to have to take all the glass off to fix a single leak. I wonder what you would find if you had her in a cradle and surface sanded the whole thing? Hopefully a crack or blistering that you could then fix. Logically it would be around a high stress area like rudder gland or a through-hull fitting that has leaked through and the wood rotted around to make it no longer seal. Whatever you do she has to be out of the water, I'd start with a good look at any through-hull fittings and then go for a sand to see what becomes obvious. If you find a crack or blistering, then peel and/or sand/trim until you have a nice area to re-fill with fibreglass.

These are just my opinons and I have no real experience other than one boat we owned. I founf rot in one particular plank that went quite a way along but it was above the waterline so just cleaned it out from inside and patched/painted.

Best of luck with her.

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