the boatbuilding.community

Marine sanitation laws aren’t anything new—they were included in the Federal Water Pollution Act ("Clean Water Act") of 1977—but except on the Great Lakes they were largely ignored until the late 1980s when a new environmental consciousness began to make marine sanitation a major issue. Whether these laws are needed or not can be debated for years. The fact is, we have them, and we’re going to have more of them. The Clean Water Act is up for renewal in Congress. Although no one knows exactly what changes will be made, it is a certainty that no existing federal laws will be relaxed.

Once rot gets a toehold in wood it is difficult to cure completely--- it is like a cancer. Digging out the rotted wood will still leave spores and water in the sound wood. After you fill in the cavity with something like epoxy, the rot continues to flourish underneath.  Products promoted to make rotted wood sound and stop rot penetrate only until they meet water, with which they do not mix. Under the solid repair rotting goes on. With one exception (more later), the commercial products sold to treat dry wood to prevent rot are completely ineffective against established rot in wet wood because they are dissolved in petroleum solvents and oil and water do not mix.