Linseed Oil and Turps as timber preservation??

[Rex Duncan]

I ask for advise. I have lifted my 25 ft Oregon timber boat and will be on the hard for some time. I plan to use a mixture of Linseed oil and Turpintine to stop the timber drying out.

Is this the correct product and to what ratio do I mix the two parts?

Thank you in advance

Rex from Sydney Aust

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

I have been using a WBF recipe for deck oil that goes something like this:

1/3 Turps
1/3 Linseed Oil ( I think it's boiled, I have it written down at home )
1/3 Teak Oil

Mix in a container and coat the wood. It has really worked out well and I have only had to reapply it three times during the season.

I used it here:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/ped27c24efb61598e5f4315719a100d7b/efea43b9.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/p030c3dc3a869da9c61ecbc29adef65b6/efea439a.jpg

Good luck & welcome to the forum
Joe

[Thorne]

Welcome!

As usual, we'll need more specific info to give specific advice. Materials used in the boat, what woods and how fastened, stored on concrete or dirt, under cover or not, etc. Photos can really help!

Try the search function, as this topic has seen a lot of discussion. From what I can tell, the BLO/Turps mix is good for sealing wood surfaces, just as Joe has used it above, and is sometimes used in place of varnish for that purpose.

But it probably won't stop the hull planks from drying out, nor frames or other major parts. For that you may need to use other products -- but it may be that there is nothing that can keep a boat from drying out and still allow you to work on it.

Putting a dry boat back in the water is another whole process that has been discussed here at length, and I'm sure it will be discussed again...

[Frank E. Price]

If you slather on lots of oil, it will slow down drying but not stop it. The benefit should be fewer and smaller checks in the wood, since the wood on the surface will dry slower. The common practice I've heard about in your situation is to keep the ground under the boat wet and the boat covered, and to minimize the time out of the water. My own 18' planked skiff doesn't leave the water except for painting the bottom between tides. It would be interesting to know what actually does end up working for you.

For what it's worth, in his chapter on dinghies in Cruising Under Sail, Eric Hiscock recommended pouring a couple of gallons of raw linseed oil (dries much slower than the "boiled" stuff) into the boat, move the boat around every day or two for a couple of weeks to cover all of it, mop out the excess, and let it sit for a month or two. After that treatment, Hiscock says, he had no more problems with his dinghy opening up. The wood was permeated and permanently swollen with oil. But the planking probably was less than 1/2" and just sloshing the stuff on wouldn't penetrate that far in heavier planking and framing.

Frank

P.S. The usual mix is 50/50. I don't recall that Hiscock used any turps.
P.P.S. If you want to try to permeate the wood raw linseed oil would seem preferable, as it would have much more time to soak in before it polymerizes and stops moving in the wood. And it doesn't seem like trying this on wet wood would work since the oil would be blocked when it hit the wet wood. But presuming the surface is dry, an application of oil should mitigate surface checking I would think.

[Pericles]

You who would prevent rot in all of your wooden boats, would do well to hurry to Dave Carnell's website and learn about the efficacy of glycol. I shall assist you all in that endeavour. http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/davecarnell/rot.html

Pericles

[Ruairidh]

I ask for advise. I have lifted my 25 ft Oregon timber boat and will be on the hard for some time. I plan to use a mixture of Linseed oil and Turpintine to stop the timber drying out.

Is this the correct product and to what ratio do I mix the two parts?

Thank you in advance

Rex from Sydney Aust

I have slathered many gallons of linseed oil on wood over the years, and I still do, and this is what I have discovered.

Linseed oil for protecting wood should be raw, for reasons already given and also because a: it's much cheaper and b: making your own boiled linseed oil is an uninsurable risk. Really really. Mix it with turps, or white spirit if you're skint and can stand the smell. (There's no harm in using boiled, but no real advantage unless you want to sit on the wood straight away.) Proportions depend on the porosity of the wood but 50/50 is a good start-- if it vanishes immediately thicken it up a bit, if it sits on the surface too long thin it. It's art, not science.

If you slosh linseed over wood that is already wet then, assuming the surface of the wood is dry enough to accept the linseed, as oil and water don't mix, you will seal the water in. This may be your intention but in many cases won't be, so be careful. Sealing in fresh water does not sound like a great idea to me.

As a general rule, and I do realise that boats leak when dry, the wood should be as dry as possible when you oil it, so better to do it at the end of the winter lay-up. So all that being the case, I don't think using linseed in the way you suggest is really going to work. IMHO.

Also note that if you want you can use one of the proprietary anti-rot fluids as a thinner, as long as the anti-rot is diluted in white spirit or turps (rather than water-based.) If you do this it would be a good idea to make sure ventilation is adequate.

Generally though, linseed oil is great. It's cheap, really easy to apply and very effective at preserving and protecting wood.

BTW if you're into arcane alchemy type stuff try making your own encaustic by throwing a lump of beeswax into some turps and gently heating till the wax dissolves. (PLEASE do this outside, and NOT under the boat.) It's great for wood that's not directly exposed to the weather. Once your linseed oil is well soaked up and has skinned over, say 48 hours or so, apply the encaustic on a rag-- it should be as thin as varnish-- allow to dry and then buff off with a clean rag. Your wood will look lovely and your cabin will smell amazing. Just don't put any on the cabin soles, hey? R

[bischoffboatworks]

I usually use 50/50 BLO and Turps, heated to near boil, and applied hot so it really soaks in. I do this prior to varnishing. If no varnish is to be used, I also add pine tar to the soup.