Salt & Tarvideo
Salt & Tar: Ep.351 - Cracked Butt
23 July 2026 · 25 min · 51K views · Napa
What this video covers
The owners of the wooden boat Red Aviva perform final structural repairs and maintenance before a scheduled launch after a six-month haul-out. The primary repair involves a cracked butt block on the hull, which the owner attributes to using Douglas fir off-cuts containing "wind shakes"—internal fractures from the tree's growth.▶ 11:59 Rather than replacing the block, which would require removing fasteners and springing planks, the owner installs a 1/4-inch G10 fibreglass laminate plate over the existing block to serve as a permanent structural backing.▶ 12:45 Additional pre-launch tasks include fabricating a new, more robust stern bearing housing, re-packing the stuffing box with fresh flax, and cleaning the bilge to ensure debris does not obstruct the four bilge pumps.▶ 3:35 The crew also verifies the engine and clears construction debris from the aft deck.▶ 5:32 The G10 reinforcement provides a permanent, high-strength solution that allows the owner to proceed with the launch while maintaining confidence in the hull's structural integrity for future offshore passages.▶ 23:03
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