Wooden boat repair / maintenance

[tillergirl]

I love this! How much time do you ACTUALLY spend working on your wooden boat during the winter?

Just give me a rough idea - to the nearest 50 hours.

On the boat @ 4/5 hours a day (inc the talking) min 3 days a week. 4/5 hours one day a week in the workshop at home. Of the six months, four weeks are lost on the boat - two weeks for Christmas, two weeks for holiday. Simples.

 

[chinita]

Interesting. Some people must live very close to their boats. Perhaps a four hour round trip might make a difference - as I had to do for a couple of winters. Once I had got there, dragged the covers off, found some leccie, replaced the covers before dark I would be lucky to get a couple of hours in - weather permitting.

Whilst it is easy to imagine a few 'replacements or improvements' going on below decks, some maintenance jobs simply cannot be done in the winter - painting and varnishing as an example. One year I waited until April before painting, only to find that the first coat took about ten days to go off. Not funny.

Perhaps my yard is unusual, whenever I go there I seem to be the only person around. Certainly no 'big winter work' going on.

 

[tillergirl]

The pleasure of retirement - Summer mooring down the road, winter berth 9 miles away (could be closer but I owe the yard I started with over 30+ years). I enjoy a small community (and the yard owner) in the winter. We help each other, certainly sharing experience, the odd tool etc. Today? I must confess that of the 5 hours, 3 were spent in talking.

 

[pyrojames]

I love this! How much time do you ACTUALLY spend working on your wooden boat during the winter?

Just give me a rough idea - to the nearest 50 hours.

Every other winter she comes home to a barn near the house. So I do 3-4 a week night, and 8-10 hours a weekend day for around 4 months. OK, so I d have some time with the family so it probably averages 3 out of 4 weeks in all, but that is still around 400 hours every 2 years. My wife will probably say it's more than that...

The hours go up a lot if the boat is still in the barn in May or June, then I am working every waking hour that I am not at 'proper' work.

See here https://www.flickr.com/photos/glidergoth/sets/72157623868718841 for the full horror!

 

[chinita]

Every other winter she comes home to a barn near the house. So I do 3-4 a week night, and 8-10 hours a weekend day for around 4 months. OK, so I d have some time with the family so it probably averages 3 out of 4 weeks in all, but that is still around 400 hours every 2 years. My wife will probably say it's more than that...

The hours go up a lot if the boat is still in the barn in May or June, then I am working every waking hour that I am not at 'proper' work.

See here https://www.flickr.com/photos/glidergoth/sets/72157623868718841 for the full horror!

Well, Chapeau!

But I think you have proved my point, very little of your excellent work would be achievable between November and April in an East coast boatyard.

 

[pyrojames]

Well, Chapeau!

But I think you have proved my point, very little of your excellent work would be achievable between November and April in an East coast boatyard.

I'd agree 100%. I simply couldn't manage to run the boat I have on any level, without a friendly farmer with a barn.

 

[waynes world]

I'd agree 100%. I simply couldn't manage to run the boat I have on any level, without a friendly farmer with a barn.

I am sure you are greatful of the help from the farmer,


That boat is amazing.

 

[jamie N]

I'm around an hour, maybe half of that most days, of productive work. The mooring's 10 minutes walk away, as is the winter storage at Chanonry Sailing Club. Of the wooden bits that I'm able to remove, hatch covers and the like, I remove them and bring them home, the wooden mast and boom also. The engine's also in the garage for a few mods, and is ready to go back in once the temps are above zero. I've 'achieved' stuff in the cabin, that has required a few days of internal woodwork, such as making a locker with shelving, (terribly proud of this), and table stowage!
Probably, it'll be around about 200-250 hours once the boat's ready to go back in, which is hopefully going to be the final big amount of work to be done, in that after this I'm hoping that it'll be 'merely' regular varnishing work, which with the hull being fully varnished, is more than on most boats around, but not too onerous an amount as she's a Folkboat, which aren't the largest of craft. When we bought the boat, we knew that with a boat such as this, you've got to buy into the idea of the boat requiring more time than, let's say a similar GRP boat, such as a Contessa 26', which I find to be much of the pleasure.