60ft of Italian Style for £38k

Tender_aft said:
There's a lot of goading going on in this thread. :-) I somebody buys them, it'll be fun to watch.

Have any of you got an answer to my question in post #15 I really do want to know. What are the issues with wood or wood laminate. I understood they permanently required maintenance, which grp doesn't
Click to expand...

Wood is fine, and in many respects beautiful material for a hull. There are plenty of new build boats made beautifully in wood today. Vas's boat suffered neglect under previous ownership and he is fixing that, but once done that boat will have a long life with occasional repaint (every 6 years maybe?). Likewise MapisM's wooden boat (planks not plywood) seems to cause no more trouble than GRP - he had it sorted out very properly when he bought it and it probably has 100 rather than 10 years in front of it
 
jfm said:
Wood is fine, and in many respects beautiful material for a hull. There are plenty of new build boats made beautifully in wood today. Vas's boat suffered neglect under previous ownership and he is fixing that, but once done that boat will have a long life with occasional repaint (every 6 years maybe?). Likewise MapisM's wooden boat (planks not plywood) seems to cause no more trouble than GRP - he had it sorted out very properly when he bought it and it probably has 100 rather than 10 years in front of it
Click to expand...

Thanks... In that case, I can see why everyone is impressed. The interior looks great once the zebra has been dealt with and the exterior looks well looked after... If it lives up to those photos. (Judging by the engines, they are honest photos)


Nautorious do you know the owner, or just know of the boat a little?
 
Tender_aft said:
looks great once the zebra has been dealt with
Click to expand...

Oi! "Dealt with"? Whaddya mean??? :D

IMG_4511.jpg
 
Tender_aft said:
What are the issues with wood or wood laminate. I understood they permanently required maintenance, which grp doesn't
Click to expand...
I'd rather say that the TYPE of maintenance/attention is different, in all of these cases (timber/plywood/grp - and also with other materials btw).
It is fair to say that with wood in general it pays to be aware of the inherent risks (mostly connected with rotting due to fresh water, as Alf already mentioned), and keep a constant eye on them.
But the (actually rather common) idea that wood requires maintenance and grp doesn't, that is bit of a sweeping generalization.
After all, as an old boatbuilder who dealt with each and every material known to mankind (with the only exception of ferrocement) once told me, nobody knows how longlasting grp really is.
Considering for how long grp has been around, even if the very first grp built hulls would begin rotting and falling apart in 50 years from now, that would still be a poor performance, compared to wooden hulls.
In my home harbour alone, there's a 1893 vintage timber workboat, if you see what I mean.... :)
 
Last edited:
jfm said:
Oi! "Dealt with"? Whaddya mean??? :D

IMG_4511.jpg
Click to expand...

Hahahaha I knew of your prowess with scatter cushions but I had no idea it extended to skinning Zebras :-)

I just showed my SWMBO the subject of this thread and it is the first boat that she has said she loves....her eyes lit up when she saw the Zebra print.....see what I have to put up with!
 
MapisM said:
I'd rather say that the TYPE of maintenance/attention is different, in all of these cases (timber/plywood/grp - and also with other materials btw).
It is fair to say that with wood in general it pays to be aware of the inherent risks (mostly connected with rotting due to fresh water, as Alf already mentioned), and keep a constant eye on them.
But the (actually rather common) idea that wood requires maintenance and grp doesn't, that is bit of a sweeping generalization.
After all, as an old boatbuilder who dealt with each and every material known to mankind (with the only exception of ferrocement) once told me, nobody knows how longlasting grp really is.
Considering for how long grp has been around, even if the very first grp built hulls would begin rotting and falling apart in 50 years from now, that would still be a poor performance, compared to wooden hulls.
In my home harbour alone, there's a 1893 vintage timber workboat, if you see what I mean.... :)
Click to expand...

I understand what's needed with GRP, I don't with wood. I know it rots and has to be maintained a lot, but how it is maintained is a black box for me. A friend of mine has an old wooden sailing boat and he regularly has to replace various pieces of it at extortionate cost. (I wonder whether that is because it is an antique though; as I said, I'm ignorant)
 
Wood has also a lot of variations, and its recent more newer versions of its construction like Cold molding and Lamellar are interesting developments.

I also would add that the comfort wood gives in the sea is a lot better then any fiberglass boat can ever achieve. From its sound proofing, to dampening noise and vibration while under way, and last the nice fresh atmosphere a wood boat usually gives inside.

In the USA a cold molded jig construction is competitive in a new price to a production sportfish boat from 50 - 80 feet. And last but not least most of these cold molded sport-fish apart being custom and some of them looking a charm perform better with about 10-20% less horsepower to a fiberglass build of similar size. This always depends what one puts inside.
 
Tender_aft said:
I understand what's needed with GRP, I don't with wood. I know it rots and has to be maintained a lot, but how it is maintained is a black box for me.
Click to expand...
This is the key point. It CAN rot, but that's not unavoidable.
If you keep an eye on any signs of leak (and there are indicators of them, even when somewhat hidden, like the wood getting darker), and immediately fix any seams, portholes sealings, of whatever else can let rain inside the boat, you can prevent the need for extra-ordinary maintenance. Which can indeed be expensive, depending of course on how extensive the necessary repair is.

And no, there's no reason why repairs on an antique wooden boat should be more expensive, for any given construction type.
Otoh, the best in class yards are obviously more expensive than those in the mickey mouse league...
...and most owners of valuable classic boats are rather discerning folks, demanding the best also for maintenance. :)
 
PowerYachtBlog said:
the comfort wood gives in the sea is a lot better then any fiberglass boat can ever achieve. From its sound proofing, to dampening noise and vibration while under way, and last the nice fresh atmosphere a wood boat usually gives inside.
Click to expand...
Seconded 100%.
Just as an example, one thing plastic boat owners often complain about is that the bow cabin is noisy when sleeping at anchor, whenever there are even the smallest waves hitting the hull underneath. In my 40mm thick planks hull, that's a problem which doesn't exist. If the waves are high enough to hear them against the hull, it means that the boat is already pitching like hell, and it's time to move elsewhere regardless of noise.
Though of course the traditional planks build is very heavy, hence only suitable for displacement boats. Horses for courses...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top