First launch.

Jan 15, 2012
97
Ericson 28/2 Port Kent
Point of clarification. I'd given the boat to my step son. He went through the unfortunate divorce and resultant downward economic spiral. The boat joined the list of victims as a result.
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
keeping the hull 'wet' saves allot of problems. allowing it to dry out too much by a late launch was avoided as much as possible. saved allot of issues with the calk and finishes.
There must be a hundred wooden boats launched in my harbor. Most get a portable high capacity bilge pump - or two, tossed in the bilge as soon as they hit the water.

At times on the docks with all the hoses gushing overboard, you could close your eyes and imagine you're standing in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

Stepping the rig as water gushes, that's confidence,...or denial.

Wooden boat swellin' up. (1 of 1).jpg


The yard and the owners are nonchalant as water to gushes out the pumps hose. They have been through this a zillion times.

"Swellin up", it's called.

It usually takes a surprisingly short amount of time, a few hours, and a noticeable lag of time builds between pump cycles. The next day, the pumps are silent.

But for a few unlucky wooden boat owners, spring launch can be a heartbreaker. I've seen them; their long faces, the looks, the worry. They pace around the dock until sundown. The pump runs and runs all night.

They return anxiously, hopefully,... at the crack of dawn only to be devastated as they spot the pumps flow before they even reach the dock.

I suspect the yard already knows the problem having previously advised the owner that work should be done.

The distraught owner, shoulders slumped, heads toward the yard. Somebody is waiting inside to give them the bad news.

"She's tired,...." Back in the sheds, the woody goes.
 
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Likes: Will Gilmore
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
oh yeah, we still pumped till she would swell tight. if the boat is over calked you run the risk of buckling the planks. you got to know your boat.
on aeolus the teak decks leak allot till they swell. after a couple of rains and/or wet sails all the leaks are gone for the season. leaky teaky :)
 
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MitchM

.
Jan 20, 2005
1,011
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
the shiny varnished - looking hull on that concordia looks better than the teak trim on any of my boats ever did...