Gunnels and Decks

mtpocket · Post by **mtpocket** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:16 am

I am ready to attach my decks and gunnels. I am going to glue, screw and tattoo them. With epoxy on all mating surfaces, while tightening the screws, do I need to be careful with starving the joint of enough epoxy? If I tighten the screws too much, I fear that most of the epoxy will squeeze out. Many times, I have read about starving the joints in laminations of stem material. Is this also a problem with decks and gunnels or is that only true for unsealed wood?

I have completely covered the decks and gunnels with a coat of epoxy and the end grain has been sealed.

JimND · Post by **JimND** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 10:44 am

Unless your screws are very close together, like an inch or two, I doubt you will starve the full length of the joint mating surfaces. If you get one screw too tight, it will just be within the close proximty of the screw. Even then, if you have properly glued the piece, it won't be a problem. Remember, the best way to get the most joint strength from epoxy is to first soak the surfaces with unthickened epoxy, wipe off the excess that doesn't soak in, then do the actual gluing with thickened expoxy, preferably using silica. If you follow that method and use screws, you will have bombproof gunwales.

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:17 pm

I agree with Jim on the squeeze-out, it shouldn't cause a problem.

If you only applied one coat of epoxy to those gunwales and decks, you will probably sand through when you prep them for varnish. If you apply two coats of epoxy but miss any spots with one of the coats, you will have spots with just one coat which will be sanded through. I now apply at least three coats and sand between coats with 120 grit to obtain a smooth, uniform surface.

Epoxy sealed gunwales could be installed with a bedding compound instead of thickened epoxy making it easier to replace them later if necessary. You should epoxy coat any screw pilot holes to prevent water intrusion if you use bedding compound.

mtpocket · Post by **mtpocket** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:14 pm

Thanks for the help guys. This should keep me busy for a day or two. I did only have one coat of epoxy on everything, so I will start adding some more and more and more until I have enough.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 1:32 pm

Not to hijack this thread, but i am begining to wonder about the prep from my gunnels and decks. I intend to oil rub my gunnels and decks, i would assume that i can just skip the epoxy coatings on the majority of the gunnels and just epoxy the surface that will contact the hull once installed?

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 2:18 pm

Hi Erik, if you want to oil rub the wood, do not apply epoxy to the areas that will be oiled. If you want to glue the outwales in place with thickened epoxy, just use the normal gluing procedure. Apply unthickened epoxy to the bonding surface until it will not absorb any more, wipe off the excess, apply thickened epoxy and install the outwales. Clean up any squeezed out epoxy immediately. When the epoxy has hardened, prep the wood for oiling by following proper sanding procedures.