Any thoughts on 50 year old iron fastenings?

burgundyben said:
I asked the same question. Se here

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?408399-Iron-fastened-larch-boat&highlight=

John Lilley is the man for the survey.

Ask RKJ, he iron fastened Suhaili when he built her, about 5 years ago he told me each fastening was taking 45 mins to remove and make good.
Click to expand...

Thanks ... the search function on here didn't throw up that old thread.

I must admit to losing my nerve, even though she's just what we want next. Very few similar style boats around.
 
If you like that style of boat the spey is probably one of the best. That one looks in pretty good condition and has all the right features. provided it is sound and you are aware of the work required to keep it up to scratch well worth considering, Good that it is mostly painted outside as easier to keep that up than bright finish.
 
She looks a lovely boat, good luck. The importance of employing a good boat surveyor who specialises in wooden boats was brought home to me about 4 years ago when I was in the process of buying a circa1937 Liverpool lifeboat.
She looked well cared for and ticked all the right boxes. In her bilges was a reddish mould which had been hastily painted over in places and scrubbed off in others. It set my alarm bells ringing. Anyway the surveyor spent the best part of the day crawling in and out of tight little compartments under the deck, it always pays if the surveyor is slightly built I find, anyway when he finally emerged he asked me how fast I could run.... he had found an area of rotting wood which was almost inaccessible near the prop tunnel, the rot was spreading slowly, but it had started to compromise the frames above the prop. To make good this area would have meant removing the deck and wheelhouse. Also some of the bronze fixing nails around the hull? where starting to rot, I think the surveyor estimated thousands of these fittings would need to be checked. She was just a money pit unfortunately.
 
Its a very long time since I owned a wooden boat, though I did buy a 60 year old ex fishing boat way back in the '70's. Typical construction of the period so iron nails and was still fairly sound. I did learn that iron nails can cause a chemical reaction with the wood planks. However, it was regarded as quite acceptable to renail without removing the existing fastenings, provided that sufficient sound timber remained.

Lerwick's local 'ancient mariner' - Tammy Moncrieff was finishing a 16 year restoration of his even older Zulu yacht conversion, the "Loki", at that time. He had renailed all the hull planking. However, when last in Lerwick about 8 years ago the Loki was in the shed at the Shetland Museum underging yet another rebuild. The retired shipwright who was working on her told me that she was presenting serious problems as there was not enough space in the timbers to renail her yet again.

So there is hope for your project, provided that you have the time and somewhere to work on her when the hull eventually needs refastening.
 
I have a Miller Fifer 36. Iron fastened and Iroko. I posted a reply to Bungundyben post and my thoughts on
Iron fastenings are unchanged. If you like the boat, get a survey and then discuss the findings with the surveyor. We do in access of 100 hours cruising every year, economically and in comfort. I don't regret buying a similar craft and find it rewarding. Ownership will require maintenance, I find a little and often is required but is not as bad as people think. I cover mine Jan to March to protect brightwork etc.
 
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I have a near 70 yo boat with all the plank ends iron fastened, along with the stringers, keel, iron floors and deck stanchions. With very few exceptions, all the fastenings are fine. The main problems have been where fresh water caused rot in the deck stanchions, and the iron started rusting. Plank ends have been fine with one exception, where someone had badly fitted a graving piece. I do have one significant advantage, I have no oak, and mostly teak, including the keelson, and all planks to frames are copper.
 
thanks fisherman---the lentenrose was very heavily built----i read somewhere that t summers went out of business because he put too much wood in his boats---my first boat used for potting in the sixties was built before 1902 (firm ceased building boats in 1902)---heavy clinker----i like the motion of heavy boats
 
If you like the look of the GL Watson designed Spey 35 (which I absolutely love and nearly bought one about 20 years ago) You might like this GL Watson designed motorsailer. Similar layout but not as deep in the water. This one is based on a hull developed by GLWatson for Rescue Boats. This one has a single engine but some were twin screw. Downside it is GRP but no iron fastenings :)

http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/1341051/
 
There is no hard and fast rule for iron fastenings as this thread seems to indicate. French built oak on oak FVs came over here second hand and mostly gave up after not many years, acids eat the nails, although the one in the 'Bad weather' thread is fifties. Some old boats are OK, then there have been a few less than thirty years old with keel bolt problems. It may be down to the quality of the iron/steel. I suppose sampling the fastenings might do it. Luke Howell of Working Sail uses bronze screws, £3k a boat he told me.
Interesting treatise on red/white oak, salt, and the consequences of introducing DC current (5mins on)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6t2AZubF8U&t=1s
 
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Re "If you like the look of the GL Watson designed Spey 35 (which I absolutely love and nearly bought one about 20 years ago) You might like this GL Watson designed motorsailer. Similar layout but not as deep in the water. This one is based on a hull developed by GLWatson for Rescue Boats. This one has a single engine but some were twin screw. Downside it is GRP but no iron fastenings"

Re the Norseman, there were several on the upper Thames. The reputation was many had totally rotten plywood superstructures on incredibly thick GRP hulls.
 
The (converted) Scottish 60ft fishing boat that I owned for many years, will be 80 in two years time. She's still going strong, and I believe has recently sailed to Cornwall. Larch on oak, iron fastened, and built by Herd and Mackenzie of Buckie. These traditional boat builders knew what they were doing.
 
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