Salt and timber

[JFC]

Ive just been reading a post on a boating forum where they are recommending putting salt in the bilges to turn any rain water into salt water as salt water is better for the timber than fresh water .
It got me thinking , wouldn't the salt attack the sapwood and weaken the timber ?Im sure it wood :roll:
Any ideas on the subject ? Or facts ?
Jason .

 

[mahking51]

Generally speaking freshwater, especially standing fresh water is bad for boat timbers. For example it appals me when I see neatly coiled lines on a teak laid deck, over time this not only discolours the wood but will start rot.
Salt water in bilges is fine (not too much !) and keeps the timbers swollen and tight. Most nail sickness in oak frames is caused by clogged limber holes allowing rainwater from a leaky deck/coachroof to just lie against the wood and the iron fastenings.
I once had the pleasure (?!?) of putting in over 3,000 new bronze screws and 14 frames in an old wooden hull because of this kind of rot caused by neglect/lack of proper care.
Regards
Martin

 

[Chris Knight]

Jason,

Only a thought but it doesn't answer the question:-

There will probably be some osmotic exchange a bit like a water softener that means that whatever fluid crosses the wood cell boundaries is not the same composition as the water outside. Whether this makes any difference I have no idea.

 

[woodbloke]

Mahkings51 wrote:

a teak laid deck, over time this not only discolours the wood but will start rot.

I may be unsure of my ground here and will certainly bow to a more informed view than mine, but was of the view that teak (one of my favourite timbers) was practicaly rot proof and did not decay. I remember seeing the 'Foudroyant' (hope thats spelt correctly) afloat in Portsmouth harbour in the sixties - she was a French man-of-war dating from the time of Nelson, where her hull was built entirely from Burma teak. Similarly, the steel hull and superstucture of RMS 'Titanic' is fast corroding (according to experts, she will be all but gone in a few years), but the decking, I believe is made from teak and is still sound, even at 12500' depth at the bottom of the Atlantic - Rob

 

[mahking51]

Rob
A little overstatement on my part! Certainly teak is pretty well rotproof but not often used for planking or framing. Nonetheless if you could see what a teak deck looks like after a few month of rain soaked rope lying on it you would be amazed - green and slimy and smelly. Not good news for the rope either which should be stored with air round it.
Regards
martin

 

[Alf]

I remember seeing the 'Foudroyant' (hope thats spelt correctly) afloat in Portsmouth harbour in the sixties - she was a French man-of-war dating from the time of Nelson, where her hull was built entirely from Burma teak.

Right spelling but wrong nationality. Built in Bombay of Malabar Teak to Admiralty plans. Gone back to her original name of HMS Trincomalee now, with rather a lot of Opepe instead of the teak. Sorry, family connection so I couldn't resist the website plug.

Cheers, Alf

 

[woodbloke]

Alf wrote:

her original name of HMS Trincomalee

Alf - thanks for that, I often wondered what happened to the old 'Foudroyant'. As I recollect, she looked like a dismasted hulk in the middle of Porstmouth harbour and I remember you could get quite a good close up view of her from the Gosport ferry, and then one day she twern't there. Glad she's still afloat and has been fully restored - Rob