Paul Bomber Swindell

Thanks Pete, it was the ply rotting unnoticed that I was worried about, if money was no object I would love to strip the whole cabin off and rebuild but trying to do this where she is moored would be hard work, I would love to get her out of the water and undercover but being a self employed joiner in these times of recession means the funds are not there, so I am trying to make the best of what I have, I recently made some oak farmhouse type doors with the oak boarding I mentioned and when I had them sideways on the bench I thought mmmm that would make really nice cabin sides! As regards the windows I would take them out before I clad and then cut new holes out, I will give it some more serious thought before I make my decision Regards

Thanks for your replies, it wouldn't add too much weight as the cabin is mostly windows but I will definitely take this into consideration, I would fit the boards horizontally and would treat them all around before fitting, I have carried out a lot of external work with oak in a domestic setting and had some success with sikkens cetol treatments as regards colour fastness and waterproofing but not used on boat apart from new oak cockpit screen which seems fine up to now, I may not even go down this route but just thinking of options at mo so will take your comments on board (pardon the pun) Thanks again

Hi, I am renovating a 70s burland cabin cruiser that I rescued from certain death, it took some time to get the plywood cabin watertight but this has now been achieved with a lot of filling and painting and a miracle sealant, I am contemplating cladding the outside of the cabin in oak matchboarding and wondered if anyone can see any reasons why this shouldn't be done, I am certain with the right treatment and sealants that I could make this watertight too and would probably fit a breathable waterproof membrane on the plywood first. I would welcome any comments or observations. Thanks