The Joey is a 42 foot trawler-style boat used primarily on Lake Erie.  Its wooden hull (not fiberglass or steel) was built in the early 1960's, and after nearly 40 years of Ohio winters and Lake Erie summers, portions of the wood under the stainless steel rub rail started to rot and decay.  Olson was tapped to rebuild these sections in order to prepare the boat for sale.

As one of our more challenging projects, the Joey presented a unique set of circumstances:  make an invisible repair using thin strips of mahogany, just as original, and make it 100% weatherproof.  This project required the use of state-of-the art epoxies and primers to insure the repairs are permanent, regardless of the environment.  Olson cut away the rotted wood and carefully fitted 1 inch wide strips of mahogany, no thicker than 1/4 inch, steam-bending them to conform to the compound curves of the Joey's hull.  The strips were secured with epoxy and finish sanded to exactly duplicate the original contours.  With final paint, the repair will be unnoticeable.

The Project:
Repair rotted sections of wooden-hulled ocean-going ship, the Joey.