George
New member
Can anyone tell me what 'moulded wood' construction is as apposed to normal wood construction, and is it lighter, stronger etc. In another words is it worth bothering with.
Moulded Wood? newby
- Thread starter George
- Start date
chrisbrown
New member
I think you may mean cold moulded wood, where a hull is made up with long thin strips of wood that are layed on to the frames, pined and glued ,then smoothed off. This was a comon method of producing motor boat hulls prior to glass re-enforced plastic. It is lighter and stronger by weight than plank construction but its still wood. Modern epoxy bonding agents have given a new lease of life to this idea, as you get a wooden boat that thinks its plastic! Many of the traditional glues have a definite life span, after which one needs to enquire as to what is holding the hull together.
George
New member
Re: Moulded Wood
The yacht I am interested in is a 1970 Iroquois cat, which is simply described as being made of moulded wood. The advert says she was extensively refitted in 96-97 and the hull was professionally repainted. Is this hull likely to be past its useby date and should a survey be able to tell me such information.
The yacht I am interested in is a 1970 Iroquois cat, which is simply described as being made of moulded wood. The advert says she was extensively refitted in 96-97 and the hull was professionally repainted. Is this hull likely to be past its useby date and should a survey be able to tell me such information.
jamesjermain
Active member
This is an odd one.
I hope someone on the board can throw some light on this boat because she sounds very interesting.
As far as I know, all the Iroquois cats were moulded in GRP by Sail Craft, who ceased trading some time ago. She was fhe first (1965) in an excellent series of fast cruising cats by Rod McAlpine-Downie which included the Comanche at 32ft and the Apache at 40 and later 45ft. I have no knowledge of the company building in cold moulded wood.
It may be that she is a one-off prototype. There were a few early Iroquois which were used for front line racing and she may be one of those built to special order.
Whatever the answer, a could moulded boat from 1970 will need a very careful survey by an expert in the field to establish its soundness. There is every chance that it will have begun to delaminate and if rot has got into the inner skins, you could befaced with a very large repair bill.
JJ
I hope someone on the board can throw some light on this boat because she sounds very interesting.
As far as I know, all the Iroquois cats were moulded in GRP by Sail Craft, who ceased trading some time ago. She was fhe first (1965) in an excellent series of fast cruising cats by Rod McAlpine-Downie which included the Comanche at 32ft and the Apache at 40 and later 45ft. I have no knowledge of the company building in cold moulded wood.
It may be that she is a one-off prototype. There were a few early Iroquois which were used for front line racing and she may be one of those built to special order.
Whatever the answer, a could moulded boat from 1970 will need a very careful survey by an expert in the field to establish its soundness. There is every chance that it will have begun to delaminate and if rot has got into the inner skins, you could befaced with a very large repair bill.
JJ
George
New member
Re: Indeed it is.
I'm off to see it tomorrow hopefully, maybe I'll find out a bit more about her. At the moment she is in the water and the agent reported that their is a little water in one of the cabins, so I guess there will be some rot there probably. I am reasonably skilled in D.I.Y, is it something I could look at taking on myself or do you think it would require a specialist, they said I should be able to have it put on dry land while I worked on it. Any web sites that might be usefull?
I'm off to see it tomorrow hopefully, maybe I'll find out a bit more about her. At the moment she is in the water and the agent reported that their is a little water in one of the cabins, so I guess there will be some rot there probably. I am reasonably skilled in D.I.Y, is it something I could look at taking on myself or do you think it would require a specialist, they said I should be able to have it put on dry land while I worked on it. Any web sites that might be usefull?
chrisbrown
New member
Re: Indeed it is.
Pay for the survey, speak to WESTS marine epoxy system suppliers about the cost of materials to repair and stablise the hull, you need fully dry and warm working conditions to succeed due to the demands of the materials. If you want a hobby and can pay these costs you could sort it out. There are no cheap boats.
Pay for the survey, speak to WESTS marine epoxy system suppliers about the cost of materials to repair and stablise the hull, you need fully dry and warm working conditions to succeed due to the demands of the materials. If you want a hobby and can pay these costs you could sort it out. There are no cheap boats.
andy_wilson
New member
Research
If you are on or near the South Coast, have a trip to the Agamemnon yard at Bucklers Hard. There was a real beauty there a few weeks ago - next to the loo's. It had miles of rot routed out throughout the underwater sections, and fair amount of fresh water inflicted rot arount the toe-rails too.
The repairs were at various stages, and I'm sure they still are! Should give you a few ideas.
There was a gorgeous Nic 35 too, in mid refit, had some history behind it apparently.
If you are on or near the South Coast, have a trip to the Agamemnon yard at Bucklers Hard. There was a real beauty there a few weeks ago - next to the loo's. It had miles of rot routed out throughout the underwater sections, and fair amount of fresh water inflicted rot arount the toe-rails too.
The repairs were at various stages, and I'm sure they still are! Should give you a few ideas.
There was a gorgeous Nic 35 too, in mid refit, had some history behind it apparently.
George
New member
Re: Seen the yacht
Went to see the yacht yesterday. The agents gave me a report from 1994, she was constructed in 1974 by an amatuer from a design by McAlpine Dowie, it is described as an Iroquois type, shes been left in the water for two or three years and has some water in the hulls. In fact the report said she is moulded wood sheathed in fibreglass. If I were to buy it I intend to get a quote for having the hulls brought back to good repair to consider as part of the total cost, the rest of the boat is not in too bad a nick and needs a bit of tlc. It says in the report she is clearly designed as a coastal cruising yacht, presumably this means she is less suited to ocean going.
Went to see the yacht yesterday. The agents gave me a report from 1994, she was constructed in 1974 by an amatuer from a design by McAlpine Dowie, it is described as an Iroquois type, shes been left in the water for two or three years and has some water in the hulls. In fact the report said she is moulded wood sheathed in fibreglass. If I were to buy it I intend to get a quote for having the hulls brought back to good repair to consider as part of the total cost, the rest of the boat is not in too bad a nick and needs a bit of tlc. It says in the report she is clearly designed as a coastal cruising yacht, presumably this means she is less suited to ocean going.
