Floor Repair on the Obsession...

I pushed my boat pretty hard down on the Rogue Wild & Scenic in September. The water was low and so was my ability to spot new trouble in old places which resulted in a couple of holes in the bottom of my boat. It took a couple of Class II's to "remind" me that a familiar line can change with the water level... so "HEADS UP". DOH!!

My river-side repair with Duct tape stopped the bleeding from both wounds well-enough to finish the float - but I did a lot of bailing along the way. Back home in the garage I assessed the damage: one broken rib, a big "push-up" hole directly below the passenger seat, and a "push-up" hole at my feet.

Here's what I did to fix the "holes". Sanded the area down on both sides. Light coat of epoxy (used a blow dryer to "blow" it in all the cracks). Another coat of epoxy after a light sanding. Glassed the damaged area, more expoxy, more sanding. Final coat of epoxy and sanded smooth as glass.

For the broken rib... I sandwiched it with some scraps of mahogany... clamped, epoxied, screwed and varnished... very sturdy.
The last thing I did was re-apply the UHM plastic to the bottom and THEN... I put three coats of Black Durabak 18 Poly on the "inside" of my boat for extra protection and to cover up my "patch-work". This is GREAT stuff... kinda like an "Arma-coat" for boats. Got it from Randy Dersham and love the way water "beads up" on it!!!

That's it... ready to roll. By the way - the "Bar I put in my boat" got a great work-out this year... it makes the boat much more responsive but it only works if you spot boulders early enough to avoid them!!
Thanks for taking a look.
In case you want to check out the pictures Scott Volstedt took of my boat going through Slim Pickens... here you go.
http://www.woodenboatpeople.com/photo/photo/slideshow?albumId=13122...
GH

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Permalink Reply by Tom Martin on November 15, 2009 at 7:29pm
Hi Greg, gotta tell you how Dog-Gone proud I am of you! We row wooden boats. We break wooden boats. So...we fix wooden boats. Somehow, your boat ends up looking better than before you wrecked it!! But hey, IF I had your skills, mine would too. But i don't, so that's why my boat is painted right out the gate :>)

Thank you for sharing this story. We are off to run the very low water Moab Daily soon, and i completely expect to hole the boat. It's what we get for rowing egg shells in rock gardens! Your story reminds me that there is life after hole-in-boat!

Yours, tom
Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on November 15, 2009 at 7:49pm
Thanks so much for the encouragement Tom. Well put - "rowing an egg shell in a rock garden"... I love that!! That's exactly what it is. And you're right - there's life after "hole in boat"... so I see no reason not to run it hard and fix it often - keeps me humble... and focused!!
Good luck down there on the Moab - the Gem is an awesome looking eggshell!!!
GH
Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on November 15, 2009 at 8:45pm
Great job and a great slide show. Whoot.
Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on November 15, 2009 at 8:55pm
I knew that your boat would come out looking fine! Good job on the repair, the story and the photos!

Rick Newman
Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on November 16, 2009 at 7:11am
Thanks guys... gotta get that boat back on the water.
GH

Randy - love that "Durabak 18" - great stuff.
Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on November 18, 2009 at 6:32pm
Hey Rick... How is YOUR boat coming?? Keep meaning to ask. I'm headed to Spokane tomorrow - making a call on Coldwater Creek over in Sandpoint, ID. Do you have snow over there?? Hope not - I'm not ready for that yet!!
GH
Permalink Reply by Herb Jacobsen on November 16, 2009 at 10:39am
Greg,

You did some beautiful work on your boat. Some great pictures. The gussets on the ribs on the inner batten are an interesting addition. Nice job on the fix. I know how those dings hurt.

Brand new 16' Keith Steele, first time off the trailer and it lands on a rock. Result, nice cracking sound and a beautiful star in the bottom near the back. What a bummer. Another time, the same boat, a buddy helps me lift it up on the side to wash it out and it ends up on a sharp rock. Nice little hole just below the batter board. Epoxied it that night and guided the next day....

My friend Kenny Jones, from Springfield, used to get on my case and ask me "when was I going to get rid of my Spam Can and get a real boat?" Jones never rowed anything except wood that I knew of.

Another time, a new Tatman and my fishermen get in the boat and don't tell me they have spikes in the bottom of their wading boots. I got some mats out of my truck but not before the spikes left a lot of dings in the floor boards and one horrendous scratch on the interior side. That was part of having a wood boat for a guide boat. I know some guys always seem to never get a scratch, somehow I always seemed to manage to get them...

One of our guys on the Middle Fork in a new clear finished Meranti boat, had a kayaker come out of an eddy and put the bow of his kayak through the side of his new boat. That was a real bummer......

I also like the "egg shell in a rock garden" comment. Well put....

Herb
Permalink Reply by eric stevens on November 16, 2009 at 11:24am
Did you have the plastic bottom on when this happend Greg? Just wondering if the rock broke the plastic too, or if the wood broke under the uhmw. How thick is your uhmw?
Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on November 16, 2009 at 11:40am
Hi Eric... the UHMW was on the bottom and no, it didn't break the plastic. It's about 1/4" thick & doesn't do much to absorb a "blow"... pretty much "transfers" the energy from a direct hit. What I love about it is the way it slides through skinny water and deflects a glancing blow on big rocks... doesn't "stick" or hold. You can literally slide it down the driveway or a put-in without fear of damage to the wood.
GH
Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on November 16, 2009 at 11:33am
thanks Herb... feels good to know I'm not alone out there crashing my wood. As Tom says: "we row wooden boats, we break wooden boats, ... we fix wooden boats". Part of the price for rowin wood... I've been paid back many times over - nothing like it!!
GH
Permalink Reply by kirby williams on November 16, 2009 at 4:05pm
Hey Greg, Great repair job; I think I like repairs as much as rowing a woody. Question, what are those "rings" on the chine log on either side of each frame?? Roadkill
Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on November 16, 2009 at 4:22pm
Hi Kirby... those little rings are the result of me just "fooling around" - trying to find a way to class up "the joint" or in this case the "joints". I created something that I liked and before I knew it, I was obsessing about it and made one for every frame joint front and back. It was so time consuming and tedious to get all the graduated angles to come out right with those little pieces of scrap wood... I could've built another boat in the time I invested in those things. It seems kinda silly now - but it was actually part of the fun... I got a little carried away with the "router" too... just kinda started "routing" everything in sight.... good thing my wife stayed out of the garage during my "obsession with the router".
GH

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