Tule Lady Refresh

"Tule Lady" has been in the San Rafael Yacht Harbor's boatyard now for a couple months (as of 02-27-09). What the skinny is from the yard rabble is that she's been a regular award winner at variour boat shows through the years. I don't know who her designer is, nor where she was built at this time, but she clearly is a pre-war boat, very 1920's and quite a beaut.

She has been completely wooded down which is to say all paint has been removed both from the topsides and the bottom. This is periodically done on a wooden boat to inspect the condition of the hull and the fasteners that hold it all together.


Like so many boats of this era, Galvanized Iron Screws or Iron Boat Nails where used to build the boat. Over time, they attack and destroy the wood immediately surrounding them as they corrode. "Tule Lady" was refastened i.e. new Galvanized Steel Screws where installed adjacent to the existing nails/screws. Above the waterline, Stainless Steel screws where used.










Now, to the casual observer, one might ask "why not use Stainless Steel below the waterline?.. aren't they more corrosion resistant than Galvanized Steel?"... a very fair question. This boat was originally fastened with Iron. Iron can't be found today anymore, so Steel is the next closest on the "Galvanic Series Index". Basically, the Galvanic Series is a list of metals laid out in the order of their corrosion resistance (or lack thereof).
An example of such a list is shown on the left. Metals that corrode easily are at the bottom, and those that don't at the top. Wouldn't it be nice to have fasteners made from Gold or Platinum? :) Now, as stated above, Iron is no longer available, so Steel was used instead (Galvanized). We all know Steel and Iron rust, so why use those inferior fasteners when Stainless Steel or Bronze are readily available. Well, it boils down to this. Put two dissimilar metals into salt water, and make electrical contact between them (like a salt water soaked wooden plank!), and you will actually be able to measure a voltage between the two! This is the core science behind how your Lead/Acid battery works in your car. In a boat, two different metals used below the waterline produce a weak battery circuit. So cool, now I have "free electricity" right?... Well, actually what happens, is the "weaker" metal (as found on the Galvanic Series Index" will corrode at an ACCELERATED rate.

The old Iron fasteners cannot be removed without tearing out all the wood they are sunk into (they swell as they corrode). The only way to get all the Iron out of the boat is to rip out all the wood (planks and frames). Once you've done that, you basically are building a new boat.


Anyhow, "Tule Lady" was completely refastened, which is a pretty conventional thing to do to an aging wooden boat. But the next step the owner decided to pursue was pretty UN-traditional. The hull above the water was coated in Epoxy. This is a "putty" that effectively and permanently seals out all water transgression. What the owner is trying to do is prevent the wood from swelling and contracting with the changes in humidity in the air around the boat. This can prevent the paint from being stretched and contracted with the wood movement. Eventually the paint will crack if the wood under it moves enough.



Here is the boat in the "paint booth", after all the epoxy putty/fairing compound has been sanded and primed. Once completed, the hull will be so smooth, one wouln't necessarily know it was made from wood! Some traditionalists get all hot and bothered by this, and you'll hear much grumbling. If it means a boat that lasts longer, I don't much mind personally.