curve
New member
I am considering getting one of these just for the sheer joy of owning a wooden boat. How much actual maintenance would be required on an annual basis?
Folk boat
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Lakesailor
New member
Lots.
curve
New member
I am also DIY incompetent so I am guessing it will also be very costly but I still fancy a wooden craft.
Poignard
Well-known member
If you can find one in perfect condition, and keep it in that state, it won't be so bad. But if you buy one that's been "let go" then you are in for a lot of work and expense.
Some factors to consider are: are you retired, do you live near the boat, will she be in an alongside berth with electricity available so that you are tempted to go down to her of an evening and do some work or, will you have to launch a dinghy and go out to a swinging mooring [only to find you've left the paintbrushes in the car!]
Anyway what is "the sheer joy of owning a wooden boat". If it's classic lines you want, you could go for a grp-hulled version of a wooden classic, e.g. Twister.
Some factors to consider are: are you retired, do you live near the boat, will she be in an alongside berth with electricity available so that you are tempted to go down to her of an evening and do some work or, will you have to launch a dinghy and go out to a swinging mooring [only to find you've left the paintbrushes in the car!]
Anyway what is "the sheer joy of owning a wooden boat". If it's classic lines you want, you could go for a grp-hulled version of a wooden classic, e.g. Twister.
curve
New member
I guess it is classic lines that I want. But all the boats that I have seen that have left me in awe have always been wooden. I guess what I am after is a smaller version of a J-class that I can sail singehanded.
I am moving to Cowes in the autumn and she will be kept probably in East Cowes marina. I am more than willing to pay others to do the work that I cannot manage. Anything beyond simple varnishing would be beyond my peculiar talents.
I am moving to Cowes in the autumn and she will be kept probably in East Cowes marina. I am more than willing to pay others to do the work that I cannot manage. Anything beyond simple varnishing would be beyond my peculiar talents.
Madeo
Member
Hi,
I had one for six years...
I now have an aluminium boat.
Nuff said?
)
Brian.
I had one for six years...
I now have an aluminium boat.
Nuff said?
)Brian.
Poignard
Well-known member
[ QUOTE ]
I guess it is classic lines that I want.
[/ QUOTE ]
Say no more. Have a look at www.twister.org.uk
I guess it is classic lines that I want.
[/ QUOTE ]
Say no more. Have a look at www.twister.org.uk
Lakesailor
New member
Get a grp folkboat
MasterofHera
New member
Hi The Folk Boat association is very strong in the Solent you can get help and advice from them. On a personal basis I have just completed a 4yr restoration on a F B for me it was a labour of luv. But as others have said "when wood is good its very very good" when its bad its a nightmare. Dont go for a "project" if you cant do it your self. Good hunting for your FB. Mike
pyrojames
Well-known member
If you can afford it go for it. I am now on my third wooden boat, all of which have had major works at some time, from a 9 foot cedar clinker sailing dingy (6 planks), a 33 foot sloop, (new interior and deck) and the current 50 foot "project". With the exception of the last boat, I have done all the work. I now have a chap who is just starting out boat building, while I give him instruction and pay him full time to work on the new boat. If you do buy a project, this is the cheapest route to take, if you can't do it yourself.
I just personally don't like GRP. Feel, smell, look, even though there are some very pretty GRP boats about.
I just personally don't like GRP. Feel, smell, look, even though there are some very pretty GRP boats about.
Searush
New member
Trouville has one going cheap in the Baltic & looking for a new keeper now that he is a hired hand on a "Tea Palace".
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Try sending him a PM, you have nothing to lose really and could have lots aof great adventures for next to nowt. Set yourself a limit on what you are prepared to spend for the craic & go for it!
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Try sending him a PM, you have nothing to lose really and could have lots aof great adventures for next to nowt. Set yourself a limit on what you are prepared to spend for the craic & go for it!
KenMcCulloch
New member
My experience so far has been that I took on Border Maid 11 months ago and she has not cost more than I anticipated. There were a few mechanical and electrical issues to sort out during the season and since coming out I have spent one full day a week on average on the refit. I employed a shipwright for a few days to help me with some structural maintenance, I have spent about 3 days removing and refitting 4 cabin windows and apart from that just the normal things you would expect in any refit.
Look for a boat with good air circulation around the inside of the hull and check all the floors and frames (ribs) for soft patches. Good luck.
Look for a boat with good air circulation around the inside of the hull and check all the floors and frames (ribs) for soft patches. Good luck.
yachtShoestring
New member
I've got a lovely wooden folkboat, (Shoestring) yes they need work, but as others have said get one with a GOOD hull and your well on your way!
One advantage of a wooden yacht is that there is a lot more you can do yourself, or in my case learn as you do yourself.
Folkboats are wonderful go anywhere little yachts, just don't ground one!
One advantage of a wooden yacht is that there is a lot more you can do yourself, or in my case learn as you do yourself.
Folkboats are wonderful go anywhere little yachts, just don't ground one!
yachtShoestring
New member
Oh should point out, as a folkboat fan, I am quite biased.
misty56
New member
Wood v GRP routine maintenance? Well, antifouling is the same as GRP, you do have to paint the topsides, but they have to polish them. Deck-- depends on the material, wooden decks can be more troublesome than GRP, it is true, but ply decks are very dry. I have laid teak. I also have drips, but--I have a laid teak deck. Who cares about a few drips?
Superstructure-- wooden cabin sides and cockpit do require a good deal more work than plastic, but it's not demanding of great skill, just a bit of determination-- rub down and revarnish twice a year. But you do get real wood, not plastic. And if the work gets too much you can always paint the brightwork. Interior varnish lasts very well.
Spars and rigging account for a good bit of regular maintenance but are independent of hull material, as are all the electrics, mechanicals, ground tackles etc. So no difference.
If you start with good examples the maintenance work for a wooden boat is not much more than a similar GRP boat. If you start with neglected, run down examples or projects, a GRP boat is usually much easier to do up enough to go sailing than a wooden one. And plastic will cope with neglect better than wood.
The thing you have to remember is a lot of people just don't get wood. It doesn't speak to them. They don't really care, so they are quite happy with plastic. On the previous page there's a picture of a plastic Folkboat--and it looks like every other plastic boat ever built. The hull lines may be the exact same as the wooden versions-- but then they went and put that upturned bath on top.
Whereas a woodie....Is different. Every one is different. Even two sisters are different. If that doesn't matter, if you don't get wood, get a plastic boat. But if you do get wood, wood you will have to have. If you buy a plastic boat you'll spend every sail thinking, "Great boat this, shame it's plastic." Simple really, BTDT.
I'm not prejudiced; I've had both. But I am convinced.
Superstructure-- wooden cabin sides and cockpit do require a good deal more work than plastic, but it's not demanding of great skill, just a bit of determination-- rub down and revarnish twice a year. But you do get real wood, not plastic. And if the work gets too much you can always paint the brightwork. Interior varnish lasts very well.
Spars and rigging account for a good bit of regular maintenance but are independent of hull material, as are all the electrics, mechanicals, ground tackles etc. So no difference.
If you start with good examples the maintenance work for a wooden boat is not much more than a similar GRP boat. If you start with neglected, run down examples or projects, a GRP boat is usually much easier to do up enough to go sailing than a wooden one. And plastic will cope with neglect better than wood.
The thing you have to remember is a lot of people just don't get wood. It doesn't speak to them. They don't really care, so they are quite happy with plastic. On the previous page there's a picture of a plastic Folkboat--and it looks like every other plastic boat ever built. The hull lines may be the exact same as the wooden versions-- but then they went and put that upturned bath on top.
Whereas a woodie....Is different. Every one is different. Even two sisters are different. If that doesn't matter, if you don't get wood, get a plastic boat. But if you do get wood, wood you will have to have. If you buy a plastic boat you'll spend every sail thinking, "Great boat this, shame it's plastic." Simple really, BTDT.
I'm not prejudiced; I've had both. But I am convinced.
oldharry
Well-known member
<<If you buy a plastic boat you'll spend every sail thinking, "Great boat this, shame it's plastic." >>
Er No. Had various wooden boats. Now have plastic, and every time I go aboard, I think "great boat this. thank goodness its plastic"
Why? Because I want a boat to go sailing in. I really am not interested in spending months of every year knee deep in woodshavings, fillers, paint etc, any more. I just want to get out there and enjoy.
I was never able to do that with any wooden boat I owned, because I was always conscious of the ever lengthening 'to do' list, and that would completely spoil my enjoyment of taking it out and using it. It always made me feel guilty.
Now I have a half way decent boat, a manageable 'to do' list, and can go out and enjoy myself.
Of course for many people, its the 'to do' list that is the main source of enjoyment..... they are the ones who enjoy owning wooden boats.
Er No. Had various wooden boats. Now have plastic, and every time I go aboard, I think "great boat this. thank goodness its plastic"
Why? Because I want a boat to go sailing in. I really am not interested in spending months of every year knee deep in woodshavings, fillers, paint etc, any more. I just want to get out there and enjoy.
I was never able to do that with any wooden boat I owned, because I was always conscious of the ever lengthening 'to do' list, and that would completely spoil my enjoyment of taking it out and using it. It always made me feel guilty.
Now I have a half way decent boat, a manageable 'to do' list, and can go out and enjoy myself.
Of course for many people, its the 'to do' list that is the main source of enjoyment..... they are the ones who enjoy owning wooden boats.
misty56
New member
Really? I suggest you speak for yourself. My primary interest is certainly neither the "to do" list nor carrying out the work, though I'm quite happy to do a fair bit of it myself. I vastly prefer the experience of sailing in a wooden boat and would never go back to plastic.
My last boat was plastic and I actually thought that it would really be the last one I'd have. I didn't love it, so I kept finding other things to do rather than sail it, and eventually I flogged the horrible thing. I was under the impression I had been cured. But happily, it turned out that I was wrong.
If you read my post more carefully you'll see I specifically said that if you don't get wood, just get plastic. The last thing a nice old boat needs is another owner who would rather have plastic anyway, begrudges the slightly greater amount of maintenance, and then lets the chores go untended.
My last boat was plastic and I actually thought that it would really be the last one I'd have. I didn't love it, so I kept finding other things to do rather than sail it, and eventually I flogged the horrible thing. I was under the impression I had been cured. But happily, it turned out that I was wrong.
If you read my post more carefully you'll see I specifically said that if you don't get wood, just get plastic. The last thing a nice old boat needs is another owner who would rather have plastic anyway, begrudges the slightly greater amount of maintenance, and then lets the chores go untended.
chrishelen
N/A
But surely that is part of the enjoyment of a wooden boat is the maintenance,and as for, and i quote"spending months each year knee deep in wood shavings"the boat shoulnt be allowed to get in that state in the first place,My Eventide comes out every two years and all she needs is a scrub off,and a lick of paint here and there.I agree you need to keep on top of any jobs,but its the same for plastic.
alec
New member
[ QUOTE ]
Really? I suggest you speak for yourself. My primary interest is certainly neither the "to do" list nor carrying out the work, though I'm quite happy to do a fair bit of it myself. I vastly prefer the experience of sailing in a wooden boat and would never go back to plastic.
My last boat was plastic and I actually thought that it would really be the last one I'd have. I didn't love it, so I kept finding other things to do rather than sail it, and eventually I flogged the horrible thing. I was under the impression I had been cured. But happily, it turned out that I was wrong.
If you read my post more carefully you'll see I specifically said that if you don't get wood, just get plastic. The last thing a nice old boat needs is another owner who would rather have plastic anyway, begrudges the slightly greater amount of maintenance, and then lets the chores go untended.
[/ QUOTE ]
It's a pity that you have to respond in such an unfortunate and negative aggressive fashion toward other people's choices. One often finds this on the Classic Forum and all this does is drive people away. Why are you and others like this ? It just spoils the fun .
The impression I get is that you only want wooden boat owners on the forum , is this correct ?
Really? I suggest you speak for yourself. My primary interest is certainly neither the "to do" list nor carrying out the work, though I'm quite happy to do a fair bit of it myself. I vastly prefer the experience of sailing in a wooden boat and would never go back to plastic.
My last boat was plastic and I actually thought that it would really be the last one I'd have. I didn't love it, so I kept finding other things to do rather than sail it, and eventually I flogged the horrible thing. I was under the impression I had been cured. But happily, it turned out that I was wrong.
If you read my post more carefully you'll see I specifically said that if you don't get wood, just get plastic. The last thing a nice old boat needs is another owner who would rather have plastic anyway, begrudges the slightly greater amount of maintenance, and then lets the chores go untended.
[/ QUOTE ]
It's a pity that you have to respond in such an unfortunate and negative aggressive fashion toward other people's choices. One often finds this on the Classic Forum and all this does is drive people away. Why are you and others like this ? It just spoils the fun .
The impression I get is that you only want wooden boat owners on the forum , is this correct ?
yachtShoestring
New member
Before this wood vs GRP discussion turns nasty, I should point out you can also get steel and aluminum versions of classic yachts too :0)
The point is, all hull materials are in someway better and in someway flawed, best to choose the one you understand, feel comfortable working with, and ultimately repair. - And then choose the one you like the look of best?
The point is, all hull materials are in someway better and in someway flawed, best to choose the one you understand, feel comfortable working with, and ultimately repair. - And then choose the one you like the look of best?
