Glue in the Boatshop
Glue is an essential tool, basic, necessary, and nearly magical. It’s the whisper of goo that makes one thing stick to another. Using adhesives is an entire skill set that will help you keep your boat afloat and functional.
Glue has an advantage over “mechanical” fastenings such as nails and screws. It provides consistent load bearing: when your boat is stressed, nails and screws tend to concentrate the load, while a well-bonded glue joint distributes the load evenly. Both of these fastening types have their places—as do the variety of glues on the market.
What is the best glue? That’s a trick question. Just as there is no best knot, there isn’t a best glue. The one you choose from a spectrum of excellent adhesives depends on the purpose. Usually the decision is a balance of a glue’s abilities and drawbacks.
The Old Stuff
Hide glue was familiar to Babylonian woodworkers. It just doesn’t work for boats, but it provides a lesson in adhesive virtues and vices. Concentrated animal collagen made by boiling down animal hides and hooves (hence, an old horse was “sent to the glue factory”), hide glue is ancient technology, but it has remarkable holding power.