daggerboard wood repair

tag

my2fish
I have a quick question - I've stripped the varnish and have started sanding my Super Porpoise daggerboard. at the edges, where the board thins down, there are a few soft spots (dry rot?), that I chipped/chiseled away.

what is the best method to build that back up? I have some Durham's Rockhard putty down in my basement that I've used around the house, but it didn't seem like the best solution for a daggerboard that would be immersed in water for prolonged time periods. but, if I put a few coats of epoxy over the board, would that waterproof it enough to use the Durham's putty?

the amount to fill is pretty small - no more than a 1/4" deep, 1 or 2" long in a few different places. I'd prefer to not fiberglass the whole board.

in this thread, NightSailor used epoxy with fillers, but I didn't see the end result to see how it looked.

thoughts?

thanks, tag
 
Epoxy resin mixed with a low density filler makes a good putty for this kind of repair. It will not match the wood but it will make a long lasting, water tight repair. Another idea is to use clear epoxy resin mixed with sandpaper dust of the same color as your daggerboard
(find a piece of scrap wood similar to your daggerboard and sand it with 100 grip paper and save the dust.) Mix with the epoxy resin and fill away. I just did this with a small daggerboard ding, and it worked rather well.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
thanks for the suggestion, Alan. I've used the sawdust tip for woodworking projects, but haven't tried it with boat projects before.

thanks,
tag
 
One thing that you might consider is painting reference lines on the trailing edge of dagger board. When I last finished my center board I painted white lines that extend forward of the trailing edge on port and starboard sides at 6 inch intervals. The 12 inch lines are longer 1.25" and the 6 inch lines 1" hatches.
I sail in heavy tides and knowing the best center board position is very helpful.
><>Don<><
 
minas man,
good tip - I had been thinking about marking along each side, but a small reference mark on the back would probably be more visible.

thanks,
tag
 

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