TOPIC: help...dry rot

I'm still in the process of sanding before I put down some new coats of varnish. I stripped all the hardware off and going to be sending some pieces off to a chromer. Since I was planning on replacing the rub rail soon anyway, I took off the original rub rail as well. That way, I can just sand all the wood with nothing in the way. I have a bit of dry rot on the gunwhale. How would you guys handle fixing it? It's not as bad on the port side, but you could stick a fingernail through. Would you just cut out the rotten part and try to fit a new piece in there, sand, stain, then varnish? What would you use to remove it? Both sections have a of couple wood plugs where the screws come from the inside of the boat. I do have a good friend who is a wood worker/furniture maker who has access to all wood types (mahogany in this case) and can shape it for me.
Thanks,
Brian

try posting some more photos. You can tackle small spots of rot with west system (they have a whole instructional pamphlet on doing this repair which works quite well) or remove the bad wood and replace with good wood.
Post some more photos so I can see what you have.
Jim

I would remove the rot and then go forward. Though the glues and fillers will work and work probably OK, IMHO they are a band aide to what you really want to do. Get rid of the rot or cancer and never look back. You will never regret it, especially since it is where it is at. Again, JMHO.

I added a couple more pics. The rot is about 12-13 inches long.

Brian

I have use both the west system and smith's Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES)..I love the smiths You can buy it from Jamestown
I have a Holmes that I will be using a lot on

www.smithandcompany.org/

www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/search.do?freeText=cpes&page=GRID&engine=adwords!6456&keyword=smith_cpes

from what I can see in the photos I agree with David you should be able to replace aka scarf a good repair instead of going the route of epoxy repair.

Yep, I'm also with Dave. You have to get rid of the rot or it will spread. Replace it with new wood.

Bob

Yes, surgery is indicated. You can remove the rotted area with just about anything i.e., sawzall...even a chain saw! Trim and cut your finish joints with a router and jig. I always use a laminate trimmer. They use the same 1/4" (carbide) router bits and are much easier to handle and control. Here is a photo of a piece of ribbon sapele plywood I cut in with a laminate trimmer.

Yes, remove and replace the bad wood.

There is no such thing as "dry rot". It is wet rot. The wood decayed/rotted due to moisture content being suitable for growth and flourishing of decay fungi.

Andreas