Ive just purchased a Frans Maas Breeon

[Rudyraff]

Rudy, can you take some photos showing how the iroko is attached to the steel, and post them on here please?

It sounds like the timber might have been riveted to the steel frames?

I'm going to take some pictures of the bilge which should give you some idea of what I've got to do.

 

[Rudyraff]

in one of your other threads you were told no such thing as a cheap boat.....I fear you did not listen...now you could be in a world pf pain but without photographs we cannot tell...

In life you've got to take chances. Well I have to in my life, to be honest I've been ill with Chonic Crohns disease which has taken away the chance of children, grandkids and everything that goes with it.
So this tiny chance of happiness is all I've got, so no more bad unconstructive comments. Give me a high five and tell me how we can take this on.
God bless you all x

 

[Bajansailor]

Give me a high five and tell me how we can take this on.

Go for it Rudy!
I am sure that we will all be as supportive as possible of your new project.
I am looking forward to seeing your bilge photos.
And if you have some more photos from elsewhere, please post these as well.

 

[Rudyraff]

Go for it Rudy!
I am sure that we will all be as supportive as possible of your new project.
I am looking forward to seeing your bilge photos.
And if you have some more photos from elsewhere, please post these as well.

I really appreciate your support and as soon as I get there I'll show you the steel frames (or what's left of it).

 

[Tranona]

In life you've got to take chances. Well I have to in my life, to be honest I've been ill with Chonic Crohns disease which has taken away the chance of children, grandkids and everything that goes with it.
So this tiny chance of happiness is all I've got, so no more bad unconstructive comments. Give me a high five and tell me how we can take this on.
God bless you all x

I would love to be positive for you, but if you have never taken on something like this before you have no idea of what is involved and the pain you are letting yourself in for. Enthusiasm is needed even for the most basic old boat renovation, but this boat is "extraordinary" in the sense that it is literally falling apart and there is little you can do to stop it. Epoxy glass sheathing is a recognised technique, although it has fallen out of fashion because people have come to recognise that it is enormously expensive in both time and materials plus long term not as successful as first thought.

To do it properly you need to literally strip the boat inside and out, restore the structural integrity of the framing, make sure it is the proper shape and dry it down to less than 15%. This is very difficult to do in the open air in the UK and at the very least you need to build a weatherproof enclosure over the whole boat. Add to that the fact that the boat is full of corroding bits of steel which is supposed to be holding it together, much of which (the nails holding the strips together) will continue rusting away. You may be able to remove the steel frames and either have new ones made or the old ones shot blasted, painted and replaced with new fastenings. The work involved in this is far more than even an experienced person can undertake on their own.

As suggested earlier it might be more sensible to just clean it up, get rid of the junk inside and get it into a state where you can use it for a few years. That in itself is a major project on this size and type of boat and if successful you might even be able to sell it if it is actually floating and sailing. If you still have the dream there are plenty of "sensible" boats that you can buy for a fraction of what it would cost to try and rebuild this one by sheathing the hull.

You could save yourself a lot of grief by getting John Lilley (post#8) to do a survey for you. He is hugely experienced in wooden boats and will give you an impartial opinion on what is possible - or not.

 

[Rudyraff]

Thank you for your in depth reply, I guess it was a stupidity on my behalf to have bought the wrong boat.ill try and get her on the water as soon as possible.
Many thanks.

 

[slowboat]

The bravest thing was posting your purchase on here, I would have kept quiet and kept it between you and your surveyors.

 

[Wansworth]

Could always be a houseboat in a mud berth

 

[Bajansailor]

@Rudyraff Tranona has offered very good advice above - but please do post some photos of your boat, including the bilges, showing the condition of the steel frames and the timber planking.

 

[DoubleEnder]

It is almost never “worth” spending money on a boat. That applies at pretty much every level of the market from the eight/nine figure super yachts to the £100 dinghy. But lots of people do it, anyway. I think this is a good thing. Loads of good stuff is worthless: music, flower arranging, circus performance, ballet, cricket ………The point is it brings pleasure, satisfaction, pride, to both the person doing it and to others who see it.

Your boat is probably at the extreme end of viable restoration projects as the method of construction is particularly problematic. But it could be done, at very considerable time & expense. In a way this is only marginally relevant, as a large number of much less challenging restoration projects never get anywhere near completion. This is neither surprising nor is it to be condemned. I knew a number of people working on restorations & rebuilds that were clearly never going sailing again under their current ownership. They kept owners’ dreams alive, provided a little support for marine and local businesses, and created an interesting and positive vibe in the yard. Very few of these boats were relaunched, but maybe that wasn’t their point.

Or you can accept that your yacht’s lifetime is limited, do the bare minimum to keep her afloat and enjoy some limited sailing, while you can. Be realistic about what is achievable, invest in a VHF, a nice big bilge pump and a decent dinghy, and don’t go offshore. Have fun.

She’s a very pretty yacht. You can enjoy being on board and we can enjoy seeing her out there (not too far out there).

Good luck and good on you