Now that we are on the internet, I am thrilled with the aspect of reaching more people from all over the U.S.A. and the world!

For those who have not read any of my printed articles, I am Jack McCarthy and I own The Wooden Boat Shop, Inc., in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have been writing technical articles for Vintage Boating Life and before that The Boat Trader, for more than fifteen (15) years. I also write for many club new’s letters and lately for the Brass Bell, which is the magazine of the Chris Craft Antique Boat Club. Enough about me. The topic of this article is refastening of planked and plywood boat hulls.

Over the years, the fasteners that hold the boat together become loose. The best way to tell if your boat has loose fasteners is if the mahogany plugs or the wood filler above the screw is raised above the plane of the deck or hullsides. They are definitely easy to locate.

Now, if you are about to strip and refinish your boat, it is an excellent time to refasten. The last thing you want to happen is to get the boat all finished and have a plug pop up on your newly refinished boat.

We are going to get a little "technical" about fasteners. First of all, the fasteners in a boat must be brass, silicone bronze or stainless steel. Nothing Else! The reason is that iron screws rust and make wood deteriorate around the screw. Next, the silicone bronze screws in a Chris Craft utilize a Reed & Prince screw head. This is not to be confused with a Phillips head screw. You must use a Reed and Prince screw bit to tighten or remove screws in a Chris Craft. We sell these screw bits at The Wooden Boat Shop. We also ship daily world wide (1-800/807-7281). Century boats and many others use a common or slotted screw and are brass. The Canadian boats (Sheppard and others) use a square head screw and we have those bits as well.

Now, we will tighten the screw until it is snug. The reason not to overtighten the screw is because of the board swelling – it can snap off the screw. Now if the screw just spins, remove the screw. Get a few lengths of 1/8" wood dowels and a small container of Titebond III waterproof wood glue. Stick the wood dowel in the screw hole, mark the face level of the plank with a pencil. Remove the dowel and subtract approximately 7/16 of an inch and cut the dowel. Dip it into the wood glue and insert it in the screw hole. Push it down to the bottom of the hole and then run the screw back in. It will hold now.

Now, after all of the screws are tightened, we will make the plugs (bungs). Most boats have 3/8 diameter plugs, so using a 3/8" plug cutter by Fuller will be the next step. These cutters make a tapered plug and you can purchase them with stop collars to limit the depth. What we do here at The Wooden Boat Shop, is make the mahogany plugs using the cutter to a set depth, not to exceed the thickness of the board. If you are replacing planks, use the off-falls from the new planks or wood (mahogany) purchased at the same time from the same vendor. If you are plugging old wood, try to get some old mahogany for your plugs. New mahogany is O.K., but may be a little light in color.

Now it is time to install the plugs. Using a jar lid, we fill the lid with Titebond III, which is waterproof wood glue. Next, note the direction of the grain of the wood plank. Pick up a plug and position the grain direction between your fingers. Dip the plug in the glue and place the plug in the hole with the grain matching the plank. Then, gently tap the plug in with a small hammer. After the glue dries, we will shave the plug flat with the plank using a very sharp chisel. We will sand the plug until it is almost flush with the deck.

Next, block sand the plugs flat using a sanding block and sandpaper wrapped around it. If you have chemically removed the varnish, just begin your normal sanding procedures. But, if you are just refastening one or two screws on a freshly varnished hull, be careful not to burn through the varnish and filler stain around the screw hole.

Should you have any further questions, you can reach me at The Wooden Boat Shop, Inc. – 1/800/807-7281. If you seek restoration supplies, we have everything in stock. We ship U. P. S. daily and accept Visa & Mastercard.