: This is the first time I have ever seen anyone suggest to wet down the raw
: wood before final sanding. It seems like a good idea to me, but is there
: not a risk of softening the glue (I am picturing watching a hull slowly
: deform then end up as a pile of sticks at my feet). Do you use waterproof
: glue? When you say WET are you suggesting that I take the hull out and
: hose it down, or take a rag and wipe down the hull as if washing a car? I
: am very intrigued by the "closing of staple holes" More info
: would be great.

Generally "Wetting down" does not mean making it dripping wet, but I have gotten to the point where I feel very comfortable making the bare strips very wet, not just mildly damp. I suppose there is some risk of loosening the glue it there are places where the glue is a little sparce to begin with, but I've never had a problem.

You want to make the wood wet enough that deep scratches have a chance to swell. For me this means that after the sponge, the wood glistens slightly. If you only wet it enough to darken the wood you may not completely swell out the scratches. If you soak on more water than you feel comfortable with, just wringe out the sponge and wipe off the excess. The glue does not soften fast enough that too much water for a short time causes any problems.

The down side of getting thoroughly wet is you really need to let it dry completely before sanding and particularly before applying epoxy.

While the boat is wet turn on some good lights and inspect the boat thoroughly for visible glue. The wettness will turn surface glue white. You can clean some off while the boat is wet, but use some dots of tape to mark the spots and come back later and clean it up.