Both chine rails were somewhat the worst for wear due to damage caused by travel-hoist slings. The fix - a stainless steel plate screwed over the top to protect the wood - caused rot where the water had penetrated between the steel and the chine railNot wanting to change the whole rail, I decided to cut out the rotten wood and place a new piece in, suitably glued and screwed. These pieces are sometimes called "Dutchmen" (because they plug a hole) or "graving pieces".
Picking up the old hole positions was achieved by taping some tracing paper over the old rail after removing the fixings. the classic brass-rubbing technique with soft pencil, located the holes fairly accurately. The tracing paper was then transferred to the new lump of wood and the holes marked through with a bradawl. The end holes were drilled first and the piece temporarily screwed in place to check alignment. At this point one or both of the end holes can be remarked if necessary.
Once satisfied, the remaining 12 holes were then marked and drilled. On fitting the new piece again, 13 out of 14 holes lined up with the originals. the odd one met up with another fixing in the chine log. It was opened out to allow the screw to find it's previous hole.
The rot was then removed using a power planer, mallet and chisel and block plane. It's worth ensuring that all the old screws and nails are located and removed before doing this, otherwise, you'll get nicks in the blades of the planer.
Once satisfied with the fit, the new piece was epoxied and screwed into place with new fixings. Slightly proud so it can be re-profiled to match the shape of the chine rail. the screws are deeply countersunk and filled with suitable filler.
Just got the other side to do now.
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Now playing: Candy Dulfer - Lily Was Here
