Gaps in planking   In the process of repainting the inside of an old Comet (#1292) and have found some gaps in the planking probably from years of being out of the water. My question is what would be best to fill them prior to new paint. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.     I would see how much water expands the wood first. This will tell you if flexible caulk should be used. If the question is "I am going to caulk and paint. Which should I do first?" Then the answer is, for me, caulk first. If the planks need cotton wadding, then you put white lead over that and paint last. If the planks do not need wadding or that is not wanted and the gaps are small try some 3m 5200, it stays sticky and flexible. Make sure you look at the http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/cgi-local/specials.cgi?CS121002+805. They have many wood boat products. Nelson Laffey     Mr. Laffey's remarks seem plausible and accurate. I do have another sugestion, which you may find of interest. Although it is quite unlikely, that a boat of that vintage would have anything but caulked seams, if you find no "trash" in between the planks....then their is a remote possibility the boat was glued. In either case, I would consider splining (known to be my favorite method) as a possible remedy. If the boat is still tight(fasteners to frames) you must then reef out the seams of any trash. You then need to gain some moisture back in the wood either by submerging the hull in warm water, leaving the boat in a humid enrironment or whatever; we know the boat can't hold water at this point. Once the wood has returned to a normal moisture state (judgement call) you must then allow the wood to physically dry to sight and touch, but not dry out as it was. At this point the seams can be routed out with a router bit generally no wider than the plank thickness (3/8" to 1/2" max); this will ensure, that the splines will have similar expansion characteristic to the original planks. Whether the spline depth is partially or totally through the planks will depend on the existing space between the planks and degree of strength desired. Naturally the splines should be epoxyed in with West or comparable bonding. Leave enough of spline proud of the hull to allow for shaving even with the planks. Elliot Oldak     I've been reading various comments re: 1292. According to the class records it was built by Thompson-Cortland sometime before 1943 (the first date of transfer). Its index card archives indicate that class dues were last paid in 1955, probably by Charles Kennard in Cazenovia, NY. Perhaps Gene remembers the boat. I am not familiar with this builder, but I thought that all boats from this period were double planked, which could be a limitation if routing is considered. If Laffey is only referring to interior gaps (which appears to be the case) this would preclude routing effectively because of the ribs, chine and centerboard box. The most important question is - will the boat be left in the water - which I have always thought the double planked boats were designed to do - as I saw so many at anchor in the early 1950's. If so and if the gaps are clean and small, then I think adding moisture so the planks swell could solve the problem. However, care must be taken not to use too much water as the weight could damage the hull. Although single-planked, my first boat had to be soaked for several days (I hosed the interior periodically so weight wasn't a problem), but it would still leak some for a few days (at its mooring). I remember many of the other anchored boats (Comets, Snipes and Lightnings)that had been caulked would squeeze the compound proud of the surface and sometimes the caulking would even pop out and the boats would swamp. When I began dry sailing, I did exactly what Elliott suggested and it was a great solution. But special care is needed not to make the grooves too deep (from the outside) or the wood inside the boat will crack (above the sides of the splines). A less elegant solution that I remember seeing was installing battens over the interior seams. However, I don't know how successful this was. Hope some of this helps. Brad Meade     I used a poly-urethane glue (Probond, Gorilla glue) to sister some frames and was very pleased with the simplicity (single component), speed, strength, and availability. It requires some moisture to cure and one actually wipes the joint prior to bonding with a clean, wet cloth. The latter step also reduces the potential for poor bond due to weathered wood and particulate matter that causes some joints to fail (coatings too). It does appear to have to be clamped to keep everything in place while curing as I did get some excess squeezing out between the frames. This was sanded down after curing. A spline placed in a cavity routed in the plank joints may need to be held in so it is not forced out upon curing. Well bonded joints generally do not fail through the bond so the question of bonding one ot two surfaces is still open! Maybe wishful thinking but I imagine that after one splines things and varnishes all the surfaces to seal the wood as best as possible, the planks will be insulated from moisture-related length changes. An interesting handbook from the Forest Products lab is the Wood as an Engineering Material is available on the web: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/FPLGTR/fplgtr113/fplgtr113.htm Paul Stutzman