Preview: Wooden Boat Repair — Refastening, Part 3 — New Screws & Bungs

25 Responses So Far to “Wooden Boat Repair — Refastening, Part 3 — New Screws & Bungs”

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  Edwin Booth says:

  Thanks for this. I’d like to see a video about refastening a boat that has steel screws and (most likely) iron sickness. How to decide if you need to replank the hull and when can you use larger fasteners or rivets. Obviously switching to bronze screws or copper rivets. Thanks.

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    Steve Stone says:

    Good idea. It’s now on the list if/when we come across it (they come less often for obvious reasons).

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  Nick Kutscera says:

  I don’t know if anyone else has tried this but sometimes to get bungs out I just take a similar size fresh screw and screw it into the existing bung. When the new screw bottoms out on the screw under the bung, the threads of the new screw pulls the bung out. It doesn’t damage the head of the old screw (too much anyway)

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  GeorgeS says:

  Oh Guru’s of the bronze wood screw, thankyou for the brilliant expose’ .
  Never have so few showed removal of so many, for which we owe so much!

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  John Foad says:

  Absolutely terrific series! Thanks to all involved.

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  Howard Thorkilson says:

  Other than cosmetics, what purpose does a bung serve? I ask this question because I have a 30 year old clinker built sailboat that is fastened with rivets and roves above the water line and screws below the water line. The screws are recessed but not bunged. Should I consider adding bungs this off season?

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    St.John Starkie says:

    The bungs do protect the screws.
    It depends how thick your planking is, how deep the screws are counter bored (is there enough depth for a bung to hold?) and so on. For a small boat a bit of filler works very well. Use a filler that will chip out easily. Epoxy with a low density filler works well but don’t use a tougher epoxy filler. It will be hard to get out.
    Have you pulled any screws to see what condition they’re in? If you fill a hole over a corroded screw you may just be making life harder.

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      Howard Thorkilson says:

      Thanks. I did pull half a dozen screws. They appear to be is pretty good condition. There is not room enough to counter bore and add a bung so I’ll just go with some kind of filler as you suggested. Should I replace the screws that I removed with one size up?

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  Peter North says:

  It’s been a lot of years since I owned a wooden boat but now that I’m 60 I decided what the hell. I found myself doing some refastening of a keel on a 24’Skiff Craft (similar to Lyman) this weekend. Consider this a old rookie question. I was wondering were those bronze screws you used for the refastening? I used a few brass screws over the weekend and am wondering if I should go back now and back then off and replace them with bronze?

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    St.John Starkie says:

    Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The zinc is subject to electrolysis. You posted this question last year; the screws may be Swiss cheese by now. Definitely worth replacing them with bronze or marine grade galvanised.

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  Raymond Morgan says:

  Watching craftsmen do their job well is like listening to fine classical music. At the end, their is a feeling of calmness and joy, you feel comfortable and at peace.
  Morgan

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  Michael Seibert says:

  Excellent content for the video. I wish I had watched it before I did the bungs in my deck. But I do have a suggestion. I suffer from Vertigo, and your videos make me dizzy . . . I think it is probably good that the camera isn’t in a fixed position, but I think the back and forth, in and out of focus, and constant moving of the camera could be improved upon. It would greatly help my enjoyment of the videos if the camera didn’t move so much. Thanks for considering my suggestion.

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  Stephen Coy says:

  Again, very well done. There is lot of enjoyment hanging out with people who enjoy their work and are sharing with others who have the same interests. All three parts are great.

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    Stephen Coy says:

    How about part four, repairs to ribs that would not accept oversize fasteners.

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  Mark Reuten Mark Reuten says:

  Outstanding series of videos. Concise and informative. I learned a few new tricks that I’ll be bringing to the next job myself. Thanks guys. Keep up the good work.

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  benjamin herrmann says:

  Great Video, may I ask what angle grinder/pad setup was used to sand the hull?

  Thank You

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  Michael Ryan says:

  Very well done and clear… thanks and cool boat.

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  Edward Harris says:

  A wonderful series and very useful. I’ve been looking (with trepidation) at a 36′ Grand Banks which needs refastening. Maybe now I’ll get the courage to buy it. Ned

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  Alex Nislick says:

  I recently started refastening my Herreshoff H-28 after watching these 3 videos, twice. They gave me the courage to do it, and so far I’ve gotten every screw out. I am replacing them with Frearson head screws as they are easier to put in and I hope easier to take out then slotted heads. Two little tricks I learned while doing this; first grind down a pair of needle nose pliers so they fit in the outer part of the slot( past the shaft of the screw) and you can pull out threadless screw that will not unscrew. I got this tip from boat surveyor Paul Haley. The second tip is my own. I can’t chip bungs as fast and as good as in the video, so I took my Fein tool with the saw blade, slightly bent so as to not cut the hull, and cut off the bungs 1/16th” proud and then sanded them flush. This went very fast for me. I will finished refastening Summer Song this fall after the sailing season is over. Thanks again for the great videos, it’s all in the details covered and you are doing a great job.

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  Joe Morrison says:

  I really enjoyed watching your work guys. One thing I was wondering is why you use slotted screws when you are replacing fastenings? Is there any advantage over square drive screws, for example?

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    Patrick Dole (O'Donovan & Dole) says:

    Thank you for your question Joe. We chose to use slotted screws instead of an alternative like frearson or square drives because when you need to remove them in the future (plank repair or frame repair) it is much easier to clean out a slot than to clean out a recess. All three types are fine fasteners, and the frearson and square are slightly quicker to drive but can be a bit harder to remove when full of paint or glue.

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  Walter Connolly says:

  Now that the boat has been refastened was there any concern about re-caulking?

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  Michael S. Ellegood says:

  Great series. Lots of tips which I will use. Good photography, excellent workmanship, good use of tools including both explanations on how to use them and alternative methods. I enjoyed the remarks of the owner as well.

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  william greene says:

  Excellent Piece
  Was able to learn a lot on screw replacement (which I have to perform on the deck of my 41 year old wooden boat). I will start with confidence after watching these Video’s

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  Doug Wood says:

  That was a great series of videos! Nicely done, all.