Boat Dry Rot in Sacramento

Dry rot repair by Sacramento Boat Repair. Dry rot is a living organism related to fungi. I believe
the term dry rot started because wood submerged underwater does not develop this type of rot, and only wood exposed above water rots thus the term “dry rot”.

When I was a young apprentice many of the old shipwrights thought that only rain water caused dry rot. As dry docked boats, or boats sitting outside out of water on stands or trailers, got substantial amounts rain water in them when left unattended and these boats developed more and faster growth rot, so it is easy to see where this folk myth came from.

Chris Craft Ski Boat Bottom Repair

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The most common forms of rot found on a boat are brown rot and white rot. Brown rot exhibits a rectangular or cubicle fracturing on the wood and in some cases where the wood has substantially blackened it often looks like burned lumber. White rot decays the wood leaving a fibrous appearance and lightens in color. Both forms of rots need a moisture content of 20% and higher but below complete saturation. Both forms of rot require air to grow. Therefore, dry rot can be prevented by keeping the wood dry and/or sealed from air.

Another factor determining the speed that dry rot grows is the ambient substrate temperature. Dry rot turns off when it is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and above 110 degrees Fahrenheit with optimal grow occurring between 50 and 90 degrees.