Ken Latham the renowned Poole builder of "X" boats is a expert in the restoration of seemingly un-restorable boats. If you get the chance, take a look at his Flying Fifteen "Dainty Duck" (FF 4) this boat was Uffa Fox’s own boat built in the 1940’s. When Ken came across it, it was in a terrible state and so rotten you could almost push your finger through it. Today it is absolutely beautiful and is regularly raced at the RMYC with great success. 

What’s the secret? Well apart from being an absolutely superb craftsman Ken is a great supporter of modern techniques. In particular, epoxy resins. "Dainty Duck" was saved by removing all paint and varnish then baking her in a plastic tent for several weeks until the original wood was so dry that it was almost like Weetabix. Then the entire boat was saturated in epoxy resin, the resin soaked right through the whole structure then hardened leaving a boat as strong as when it was first built.

Now although there are very few people with the skill and experience of Ken Latham, small repairs are not beyond the abilities of most people. Centre boxes and the rear bottoms of GP.s are favourite spots for a touch of softness to appear. If this happens to your pride and joy get your self down to your local supplier (in Poole I recommend Poole Glass Fibre at Davis’s yard in Hamworthy) and buy some standard epoxy resin but while you’re there also buy a small tin of diluant. This, when added to the resin/hardener mix thins the solution so it penetrates deeper in to the wood, then when the resin hardens the affected area becomes almost as hard as fibre glass.

Be careful when removing paint/varnish not to scrape away any wood (even soft wood) as this acts like the mat in fibre glass. It is also very important to dry the wood out thoroughly so that the resin soaks right in. If some of the wood is already missing, after the initial application add some "fillers" to the mix to thicken it and bring the wood back to its normal thickness. I like to use type "D" as this has a fibrous content and puts back some of the lost strength. You can also buy brown coloured fillers which maintain the a appearance of a varnished boat. The finished job can be varnished like normal.

Next time some tips for plastic fanatics. See you on the water.

Barry Southam GP 11810. Mange Tout  (Well its green!)