If a job is worth doing...

Thorough examination and a fair amount of prodding and scraping had revealed very little soft timber in Caress’s hull, but there were a few cracked oak ribs and several sections of short pine planking where previous repairs had been carried out. We wanted to eliminate as many scarfe joints as possible to help maintain Caress’s design stiffness, so in went new full length planks.

Decades of re-caulking had rounded the edges of much of the planking, making it difficult to establish a sustainable paint seal and finish because the joint filling would flex excessively under the paint, causing it to crack.

We decided to opt for substantial and worthwhile improvements that would stand in good stead for decades to come. Several new ribs were steamed from green oak; short sections of plank were replaced with full lengths to restore the original strength and spring. The plank joints were routered and then splined on flexible epoxy resin, the result after smoothing and sanding being a continuous unbroken surface providing the best paint adhesion.

All of the structural and aesthetic work was performed while the cabin sides were released from the decks and the keel and hog were carefully jacked and supported in the perfect position to retain the beautiful original sheerline so essential for her sailing quality.