Restoration Motivation: Your Story?

[joliette]

It seems to me that far more hours, days, weeks, months and years are spent restoring and maintaining classic wooden boats than we’re ever likely to spend sailing them. A mate of mine says “it’s all part of it”. And, when you do it all yourself, he’s right!

If you’re currently restoring a classic wooden boat then I would like to hear from you, as I’m interested in putting together a book and / or a web site recording projects in progress. The idea is to get right under the skin of the wooden boat culture, showing what inspires people to start a project, solve all the problems, do the back breaking hard work and keep going towards that goal.

If you’d like to contribute your story then please get in touch.

 

[JesseLoynes]

What a fantastic idea. I'm currently only getting to restore other peoples boats, but I'm hoping that will change in the next year and I'm starting to keep an eye out. I think hearing a few of other peoples inspirations could be very useful on those wet afternoons when you can't tell if it's really worth it.. Hope it goes well..

 

[NLOM1]

My story:

I'm new to this game...only been 'at it' for 6 months..but it now feels part of my life. It didn't start like that; I've desparately wanted aboat since I was a kid, a sail boat where i could have self-sufficient little adventures. Life conspired against this until very recently when I 'down-sized' and moved to the coast, broke, but kind of relieved. I initially started restoring, ( maybe renovating is more accurate), for 2 reasons. One, I simply love old gaff rigged boats for aesthetic reasons and just can't see myself in what I regard as a characterless white boat. Two, in reality, it was the only way I could felt I could afford to get on the water without what for me would be serious initial outlay. I was spurned on by a new friend (cirrus)who took me sailing on his wonderful 40 footer. I found myself spending alot of time just stroking the acres of varnished wood!

Someone said boats find their owners. After looking at a handful of potential projects, I was unexpectedly offered a hull for free, I had 2 days to extricate it from its location or it would be chopped up. Too pretty to pass by, I've taken her on. No idea what she is.. (see previous posts). 6 months later, she's stripped out, interior stripped back to bare wood, keel bolts are out ( finally), most fastenings replaced with silicon bronze, now making new floors and sorting out some rot in the transom. Despite having a young child, I'm managing to spend all day Saturdays working on her and at least expect to have the hull in the water next summer.

What I find unexpectedly interesting is how important to me she has become, not just for her potential but in terms of process. The hours I do spend at the yard are all encompassing, all other 'pressures' evaporate to be relaced by the 'simple' frustrations of the next little problem that has to be solved...in that sense, I'm finding it unexpectedly relaxing... call it a zen thing if you like... and so, extremely valuable. Other expected pleasures are sensual, feeling the smoothness of well sanded planks, the smell of resin when drilling pitch pine.... feeling the weight of bronze screws even.......the reward of small gains, eg new screws all along the garboard. I'm also starting to enjoy an ethos which says 'keep it simple, basic, minimal, dare I say....pure. ( You see, I really am lost !!). I'm also beginning to enjoy the benefits of association and ownership, every weekend somebody'll come along with a comment like.."phew, you've got your work cut out there, mate", always followed by "but I can see why you're doing it...she is going to be wonderful!" So, I think I'm very lucky...I'm not burned up with a need to get her on the water "tomorrow", although my partner might have something to say about that. I also am very fortunate to have a mentor, ( Cirrus), without whom I probably would have had the confidence to start.

I spent 3 weeks on holiday this summer in Brittany. a good deal of the time was spent investigating traditional Breton boats on dried out moorings. Many of these boats were still working with rotten top planks etc which gave me great solace ...... "it's only a boat you're dealing with..."

Only a boat... you must be joking!!

 

[DRW]

Motivation?

Drat, I new there was something I had forgotten to take to the boat the other day.

Never mind, it was nice chatting with the signets that have been growing up next to the mooring this year. And the sun was out. Couldn't have been better really. Quite the perfect day. Ahhh, yes I remember motivation now..... (Bloody awful day for getting things done though.)

But more seriously, my boat is still usable (ish) while I do the work she needs, otherwise I would lose the plot. I take my hat off to the chaps that do a complete rebuild in a shed for such a long time. My motivation is driven by getting the boat usable and using her, getting her looking good, and preserving a bit of history. (And I quite like her aswell).

Good luck with the project.

 

[Wansworth]

When I was restoring a boat I found it handy to leave a job unfinished so the next day I had a definate starting point;getting started especially singlehanded with so many jobs to do ended up in lots of coffee and ponderingon many occassions!

 

[Victorious]

It took me almost 7 years to get Victorious afloat....
"Finished" is still a long way off.

Obsession played a big role in keeping going

I am still pondering the problem of how to collate the vast files containing Diarys, Notes and pictures
Any pointers would be greatfully recieved.

 

[Mirelle]

I\'ve never restored anything!

Just kept the old girl going, a process which is rather like painting the Forth Bridge, with annual maintenance plus a major "going over", involving a season out of commission, once in each decade.

Still, over the past 21 years this has included taking every stick of cabin furniture out, bulkheads and all, and rebuilding the lot, starting with bulkheads and cabin sole and including new plumbing and tanks, electrics, etc.

And an awful lot of boat, from floors to bitts, has been "put back, a little bit stronger".

 

[dur]

This, I think could be very interesting. Is the inspiration the boat, the project, the individual tasks or just the well deserved smug feeling if you make it to the end. I keep thinking I would like to have a go at an old working boat of some sort. Like NLOM it has to be a gaffer, preferably a Solent boat. But then the head takes over and remeinds me how much time it takes just getting my little grp gaffer in to shape. I looked at a boat recently. It would fit the bill but then I start to wonder if it would mean giving up sailing! And then there's abandoning the family to work on the boat which is not ideal. Then I look at the pictures again and think about the restored boat on summers day in a sea breeze. As Victorius says "obssession" but doesn't she look fanatstic now she's on the water. For me, I just need one of these guys to give me a push!!

 

[Victorious]

You can buy a restored classic...... The joy of sailing may well be worth the price.
But you cant BUY the feeling i get sailing Victorious.
I have cut, shaped, tended or refurbished every single face of every single piece of timber.

Whilst theres no doubt money is required... That feeling cannot be bought.


P.S.
I do advise that people DONT take on an old gaffer of about 40 - 45ft . . . with good headroom. . . . Just let me know where and what she is....I will endevour to save you all from such folly!

 

[PCUK]

My motivation was simple. Only way I could afford a boat so I worked my way up the ladder in stages. My first project was a 1910 ex naval pinnace that I converted into a cruiser. My second was not so classic, a Senior 31 with a rotten superstructure. My present boat for the last 20 years is the De-Groot 40 built from a set of plates. I think she is a classic, but probably not in the same way as the traditional perception of a classic boat.

 

[keryl]

Check out a series called Boatyard, screening from 23rd November on Discovery channel. My boat `keryl` and myself were subjects of the documentary and from what i have seen of the footage so far you will certainly see the motivation and lifestyle around all the projects filmed.

If i can help further with your project of gathering information please let me know, as Keryl will be out of the water again early next year for new garboards, planking, stern post, shaft, log, etc. etc.