Yachts have have been built of wood for centuries because it is a material that can be easily shaped, adapted or amended as required. It has far better insulation properties than GRP, Aluminium or Steel.

 

With proper maintenance a vessel built of good quality wood will last for decades provided it is not left out of seawater for long periods and allowed to dry out. If this happens the wood shrinks and stretches its metal fastenings. When the vessel is re-launched it returns to its previous shape but the fastenings are now unable to hold the wood in its correct postion and leaks start to appear. If this drying out cycle is repeated the situation will deteriorate until the vessel constantly leaks and  becomes almost irrepairable.

 

WOOD EPOXY CONSTRUCTION

 

In the 1960's the Gudgeon brothers in the U.S.A. invented the Epoxy Resin Saturation Process to overcome the maintenance problems associated with wood construction.

 

Good quality wood is covered entirely with epoxy resin before being used to contruct the vessel. Fewer metal fastenings are then needed because epoxy resin is also an excellent glue.

This process lends itself to "cold molding" where several thin layers of wood are glued together to produce a hull that is stronger than a single layer of wood of the same thickness. Finally the outer skin of the hull is covered with a thin woven layer of glass-fibre, bedded in and protected by several layers of epoxy resin. This saturation process and the outer layers of epoxy resin, completely seal the wood from any water penetration so at no time in the future can the wood suffer from wetting or drying out.

 

The additional benefit of this process is enormous protection from worm or other underwater borers and from impact damage and general wear and tear. The final result is a vessel which is warm and quiet down below and exceptionally strong and resiliant. This type of contruction did not lend itself to mass production so there are only a few very high quality vessels being built in this manner today.