Thinking of buying a wooden boat...

Daydream believer

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You are going to be a live aboard.
So think of it lie buying a house. Would you choose one of solid bricks & mortar construction that will last for years with just a small amount of upkeep. Or would you buy a tin shack with leaky roof & needs loads of repair & will NEVER be as good as the bricks & mortar house & will ALWAYS need constant maintenance & will NEVER do its job properly & which one day, in the future you are going to have to shift & move on.
You talk about crossing oceans. You may never do that, but you can get bad weather crossing the channel. Do you really want cross in that?
Try short tacking up the Wallet in a chop & a foul tide & F6 & having to keep raising & lowering those boards. Fun at first, but after a while the novelty will wear off & you will motor everywhere- if anywhere.
 

Kukri

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You are going to be a live aboard.
So think of it lie buying a house. Would you choose one of solid bricks & mortar construction that will last for years with just a small amount of upkeep. Or would you buy a tin shack with leaky roof & needs loads of repair & will NEVER be as good as the bricks & mortar house & will ALWAYS need constant maintenance & will NEVER do its job properly & which one day, in the future you are going to have to shift & move on.
You talk about crossing oceans. You may never do that, but you can get bad weather crossing the channel. Do you really want cross in that?

I think your prejudices may be showing!

I seemed to manage all right in this.

BC37D31C-C3DF-4F87-BC33-DE1FC8CC6773.jpeg

Tens of thousands of people have crossed oceans in small wooden boats including dozens of Golden Hinds which have exactly the same construction as this Waterwitch.
 

Daydream believer

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I think your prejudices may be showing!
I seemed to manage all right in this.
I have had 2 wooden yachts & loved them. One brand new & one as a near wreck, which I totally re built. If money had been available, in between, I would have built one from scratch. I had the facilities with a joinery works. So not quite as prejudiced as you think.

I cannot see any lea boards on your yacht & i suggest it is a little different to that proposed by the OP -Just
Of course thousands have crossed oceans in wooden yachts. That is because that is what yachts were built of. People lived in mud huts for the same reason. But I suggest that it may not be first choice now though.
 
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Kukri

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Yes, we are discussing a bilge keel Waterwitch. The ditch crawler’s ditch crawler. She is self righting because MG sorted that out, so she can make open water passages, but she is intended to get to places where other boats cannot go. Beating up the Wallet is not her strong point. Getting up inland waterways and tidal creeks is. We both know that.

Where I am taking issue is your assertion that just because she is wood she is bound to be falling apart.

The boat in the picture has decks made of an inch and a quarter of solid teak. The grp boat that I have now has decks made of end grain balsa wood between two thin sheets of polyester resin and glass fibre. Which is going to fall apart faster, if neglected? I have to go through an elaborate procedure whenever I want to bore a hole in it, because if the bond ever fails I have a soggy mess.
 

Wansworth

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Whats wrong with motoring in such a fine craft,motor up or down and sail the other way,sailing is not something you have to do so owning a nice charachterfulketch which gives your life pleasure is what it’s all about!
 

Travellingwithtoby

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Hey, remember to keep 'us' in the loop; it's 'our' boat as well; .....as dictated by curiosity of course! Good luck.

Haha no worries I will have any more questions as I, earn the new boat and keep her maintained and ask questions on the east/south coast

You are going to be a live aboard.
So think of it lie buying a house. Would you choose one of solid bricks & mortar construction that will last for years with just a small amount of upkeep. Or would you buy a tin shack with leaky roof & needs loads of repair & will NEVER be as good as the bricks & mortar house & will ALWAYS need constant maintenance & will NEVER do its job properly & which one day, in the future you are going to have to shift & move on.
You talk about crossing oceans. You may never do that, but you can get bad weather crossing the channel. Do you really want cross in that?
Try short tacking up the Wallet in a chop & a foul tide & F6 & having to keep raising & lowering those boards. Fun at first, but after a while the novelty will wear off & you will motor everywhere- if anywhere.

If I where to buy a house, I would buy an old solid house with a good architect behind the design.

And like an old house, keeping on top of the maintenance would be a joy, not a chore ?

IMHO for under 10k I cannot find a decent grp boat. That gives me all of the benefits of the waterwitch. And I'd rather be stuck in a solid wooden boat in a storm!

I'm due to borrow a copy of "the lota story " in that I believe a waterwitch gets stuck in a hurricane and survives.

I could get a bilge keeler, and worry every time I have to settle on what should be soft sand. Or worry going up shallow waters, someone once said that all boats are a compromise.

I appreciate your "reality check" style post for it's good intent!

I think your prejudices may be showing!

I seemed to manage all right in this.

View attachment 86339

Tens of thousands of people have crossed oceans in small wooden boats including dozens of Golden Hinds which have exactly the same construction as this Waterwitch.

Wow that's pretty!

What keel configuration did it have?

Is that a rope ladder up the side?


Yes, we are discussing a bilge keel Waterwitch. The ditch crawler’s ditch crawler. She is self righting because MG sorted that out, so she can make open water passages, but she is intended to get to places where other boats cannot go. Beating up the Wallet is not her strong point. Getting up inland waterways and tidal creeks is. We both know that.

Where I am taking issue is your assertion that just because she is wood she is bound to be falling apart.

The boat in the picture has decks made of an inch and a quarter of solid teak. The grp boat that I have now has decks made of end grain balsa wood between two thin sheets of polyester resin and glass fibre. Which is going to fall apart faster, if neglected? I have to go through an elaborate procedure whenever I want to bore a hole in it, because if the bond ever fails I have a soggy mess.

I agree with this totally, weirdly I had a notion of having another centre keel made for when in a few years time I decide to take her further afield, but i will have to ask People more in the know to do that!

Whats wrong with motoring in such a fine craft,motor up or down and sail the other way,sailing is not something you have to do so owning a nice charachterfulketch which gives your life pleasure is what it’s all about!

Nothing wrong with it at all! I'm quite looking forward to it!
 

Kukri

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Wow that's pretty!

What keel configuration did it have?

Is that a rope ladder up the side?

I shared my life with this gorgeous creature for 29 years and she only threw the crockery at me once! Only lived on board for a couple of them, though.

Yes, she had ratlines, along with deadeyes and lanyards.

Keel is like this:

004E927D-8EAB-4DC7-9622-2571332C963A.jpeg
 

jamie N

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Dolphins are attracted to 'proper' boats! I've stayed on mine for about 3 months a year for over a 4 year period, and had cold, wet days when even the 2nd bottle hasn't helped.
Can't wait to do it again.
As a liveaboard however; I'm in my mid 60's......

CjkCojkW0AAHWxv (1).jpg
 

srm

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I'm still stuck between staying around local waters where the waterwitch will be very useful

Or getting a boat with a pedigree of ocean going behind it?

May I sugest that you decide what you have the time to do in the foreseable future. If you can only manage local sailing for the next few years get the Waterwitch. I have seen people buy 'ocean ready' boats then leave them unused for years.

I took my last boat, a small Prout catamaran, out almost every week sometimes just for a couple of hours in the evening because she was easy to handle singlehanded and could even be sailed into her marina berth in good conditions. My current 'ocean going' boat only goes out after a bit of planning and usually heading for another port. I do sail her singlehanded but getting out of the marina can be tricky with no bowthruster and is safer with two on board.
 

Kukri

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May I sugest that you decide what you have the time to do in the foreseable future. If you can only manage local sailing for the next few years get the Waterwitch. I have seen people buy 'ocean ready' boats then leave them unused for years.

I took my last boat, a small Prout catamaran, out almost every week sometimes just for a couple of hours in the evening because she was easy to handle singlehanded and could even be sailed into her marina berth in good conditions. My current 'ocean going' boat only goes out after a bit of planning and usually heading for another port. I do sail her singlehanded but getting out of the marina can be tricky with no bowthruster and is safer with two on board.

I agree, very strongly indeed.
 

jwilson

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Daydream believer

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I can see a lot or pluses for the design as a creek crawler .
A lot of people go on about creek crawling and for an occasional weekend sailor, in a small boat, that may have an attraction, because he may not actually sail a lot, or have the time to go far. So sailing up a local creek & anchoring for the night is an adventure.
But can you imagine a liveaboard creek crawling all the time? Unless the liveaboard just intends to plonk somewhere & go nowhere ( in which case any old tub will do) surely he is going to get fed up creek crawling very soon.
Let's face it; once one has been up one muddy creek, one has been up them all.
They soon loose their attraction. The amount of different creeks actually diminishes unless one moves around the country to get some variation.
So, so called " creek crawlers" may be just that. But are they much use to someone who actually wants to use the boat & get a bit of variation in life.
 

Kukri

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Daydream Believer doesn’t like this boat.

I do, though. There are all sorts of places that she can get to using inland waterways - the Med, the Baltic, even the Black Sea. You don’t have to traipse off to the Caribbean!

(Fwiw, I am an OCC member and my boat is the polar opposite of a ditch crawler - draft 2.7 metres!)
 
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Rappey

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A positive about a ply boat is the ease of repair.. It is very easy to cut out soft parts and bond in or backing panel and screw in new ply sanding back to a seamless join. If it is bone dry inside then i would think you will get many years of trouble free maintanance, but the rain is your enemy as fresh water inside the hull supports the bacterior that softens and rots wood.
Cascovered is similar to a grp skin and i would rate cascamite as one of the best sigle pack wood glues out there.
 

Wansworth

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A lot of people go on about creek crawling and for an occasional weekend sailor, in a small boat, that may have an attraction, because he may not actually sail a lot, or have the time to go far. So sailing up a local creek & anchoring for the night is an adventure.
But can you imagine a liveaboard creek crawling all the time? Unless the liveaboard just intends to plonk somewhere & go nowhere ( in which case any old tub will do) surely he is going to get fed up creek crawling very soon.
Let's face it; once one has been up one muddy creek, one has been up them all.
They soon loose their attraction. The amount of different creeks actually diminishes unless one moves around the country to get some variation.
So, so called " creek crawlers" may be just that. But are they much use to someone who actually wants to use the boat & get a bit of variation in life.
With a proper wooden sailing dinghy each week end can be enjoyed whilst anchored in a creek not everyone wants to thrash to windward although a water witch will afford lots of spray flying going to windward in a breeze.It can be a perfect base for a painter or birdwatcher or just sitting!
 

Travellingwithtoby

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May I sugest that you decide what you have the time to do in the foreseable future. If you can only manage local sailing for the next few years get the Waterwitch. I have seen people buy 'ocean ready' boats then leave them unused for years.

I took my last boat, a small Prout catamaran, out almost every week sometimes just for a couple of hours in the evening because she was easy to handle singlehanded and could even be sailed into her marina berth in good conditions. My current 'ocean going' boat only goes out after a bit of planning and usually heading for another port. I do sail her singlehanded but getting out of the marina can be tricky with no bowthruster and is safer with two on board.

Yep totally agree with you! Well I put a deposit down! Now just to sell everything else I have left and get onto it... 7 days roughly! Hahah
I agree, very strongly indeed.

Thank you!
I assume MG would have made it possible to Steeve up the bowsprit?

Please enlighten me as to what this means? Sounds interesting!
Good luck, genuinely, if she really is in good order. I can see a lot or pluses for the design as a creek crawler that could make occasional longer passages. Almost all Waterwitches were Cascover sheathed which does a lot to protect the underwater timber. If you do buy her send me a photo so I can add a picture of the leeboard option to our old archive page at Waterwitch archive details - at Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

She is in wonderful condition! Photos to follow!
Daydream Believer doesn’t like this boat.

I do, though. There are all sorts of places that she can get to using inland waterways - the Med, the Baltic, even the Black Sea. You don’t have to traipse off to the Caribbean!

(Fwiw, I am an OCC member and my boat is the polar opposite of a ditch crawler - draft 2.7 metres!)

No he doesnt, and ohhh that sounds nice and stable!
A positive about a ply boat is the ease of repair.. It is very easy to cut out soft parts and bond in or backing panel and screw in new ply sanding back to a seamless join. If it is bone dry inside then i would think you will get many years of trouble free maintanance, but the rain is your enemy as fresh water inside the hull supports the bacterior that softens and rots wood.
Cascovered is similar to a grp skin and i would rate cascamite as one of the best sigle pack wood glues out there.

Yep and I will be asking lots and lots of questions as there are a few little things i want to do purely aesthetic though!

So i spent two nights in her and am in love with her, went through the template from john lilly (much appreciated) as best as I could, but with the boat being set up to go back in the water ended up helping out with some bits, and got shown a few things I didn't know!

So I'm to sail from essex to the BC at some point soon!

Any pointers or indeed recent ish pilot books, I will be trying to avoid marinas as much as possible....


Also anyone know if a taylors 79k will run on standard heating kerosene? Or am I going to have to find a cheap source of c1?

Thanks again for all your help this far! Will get some pictures up later on in the week!
 
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