T&T: Old boat bedding

[LRZeitlin at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/2/07 12:00:57 AM, Russell writes:


> I am restoring a 1948 Lightning sailboat. ( My real boat is steel which
> another story entirely) The boat was double planked and the layer
> BETWEEN the planks was the standard thing they did i.e.  A rubbery stuff
> called  Bedding Compound as I recall  over canvas on the inner layer
> over which the last planks and caulking were placed.  I don't believe
> any one does that any more with the advent of stuff like CPS to preserve
> the wood and 3m 5200 to seal and "glue" the 2 layers together.  When I
> removed the bottom to redo it I recall thinking what is this stuff.
>
I learned to sail on a Lightning. It is a perfect dayboat for a couple and a
picnic basket. Even with its cotton sails it had a fair turn of speed.

The bedding compound between the layers of planking is a thickened linseed
oil. sort of like a heavy bodied paint without pigment. Painted over canvas it
makes a waterproof barrier. Paint on canvas was also used to cover and
waterproof small boat decks and canoes in that era. Bear in mind that if you
truly
want to "restore" a boat to as new condition to show in antique boat rallies,
you
will have to use original materials. Oil based bedding compounds are listed
in the Hamilton Marine catalog. If, on the other hand, you simply want a nice
old boat to sail, you can use a liquid EPDM roofing paint over the canvas.
It's
the way they waterproof the roofs of RVs and trailers.

Larry Z





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