wooden boats again

Hi John, Just in the process of sorting out the boat for the season. As you probably know I have fully rebuilt a 1898 Alfred Mylne 1 rater. It was yellow pine on oak but well in the past. Why don't you came for a sail with us for one or more days in the season. I am over at DBSC and Strathglass will be on a swinging mooring.
If you fancy that I will PM once the boat is relaunched for the season.
 
Tranona said:
Agreed. But there is a world of difference between a no expense spared RNLI build that is subject to constant maintenance compared with a typical DD MOBO that was put together to a price and has suffered decades of ever changing owners who move it on when the jobs get too big.
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I'm sure you're right.

But, do we know whether the boat NovaChris is thinking of buying is 'a typical DD MOBO that was put together to a price'?

He says she has teak planking, which suggests that she may not be.
 
Eyore said:
On the first point you are probably right, on the second you are talking ball cocks. Yes there are plenty of neglected old wooden boats, but there are also lots of beautifully cared for and maintained old wooden boats. Old+wood does not = disaster.
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I guess it all boils down to whether or not one wants to spend the majority of one's leisure time using the boat or maintaining it.
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pvb said:
I guess it all boils down to whether or not one wants to spend the majority of one's leisure time using the boat or maintaining it.
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With modern paints and varnishes that is a misconception. Yes there is more maintenance than other boats but for those of us who actually own wooden boats there are plenty of compensations for the extra effort. Oddly enough I seem to do far more sailing that any of the plastic boats in or marina.
 
Eyore said:
With modern paints and varnishes that is a misconception. Yes there is more maintenance than other boats but for those of us who actually own wooden boats there are plenty of compensations for the extra effort. Oddly enough I seem to do far more sailing that any of the plastic boats in or marina.
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Excellent! I'll mention that to my mates who have wooden boats which spend most of their time ashore.
 
Possibly more a reflection of your mates rather than their boats.

If they were silly enough to buy basket cases of course they will be suffering,

If you are clever, like me, and buy an all teak Vertue, built in Hong Kong by skilled craftsmen, at the heyday of post-war boatbuilding, with a detailed provenance and history of excellent maintenance through a series of knowledgable custodians then you wont go far wrong.
 
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chinita said:
Possibly more a reflection of your mates rather than their boats.

If they were silly enough to buy basket cases of course they will be suffering,

If you are clever, like me, and buy an all teak Vertue, built in Hong Kong by skilled craftsmen, at the heyday of post-war boatbuilding, with a detailed provenance and history of excellent maintenance through a series of knowledgable custodians then you wont go far wrong.
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+1 Mine isnt as posh as that. 9 ton Hillyard. But i totally agree. There are bad wooden boats and bad plastic ones. Dont know why people seem to get so angry over it
 
rosewood said:
+1 Mine isnt as posh as that. 9 ton Hillyard. But i totally agree. There are bad wooden boats and bad plastic ones. Dont know why people seem to get so angry over it
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This is what I am trying to find out,how to I spot a bad wooden boat,that on the surface looks well found and cared for,but has more water in her bilge than I would expect, or is about a foot depth of seawater what I should expect?
 
Novachris said:
This is what I am trying to find out,how to I spot a bad wooden boat,that on the surface looks well found and cared for,but has more water in her bilge than I would expect, or is about a foot depth of seawater what I should expect?
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Sounds as if you need a surveyor, unless you are well up on timber construction. As mentioned above a well cared for timber boat is a joy and easy to maintain,whereas a neglected one is probably going to be a labour of love and a money pit to boot.
 
To be honest there is always a bit (drop) of water in mine. its a concoction of seawater, rainwater and diesel. But if there was a foot of water i would be concerned. i rareley take my boat out of the water, just once a year to paint the hull and antifoul, she is usually out for a couple of weeks. i took her out for six months once and she leaked like a seive when i put her back in. but she took up fairly quickly. if i was buying another wooden boat i would go with a proven design, where there are a lot of them still around. thats why i like the hillyard. good class association, loads of boats and know how around. lots of people know thier weaknesses which makes it easier to address them. john lilley who replied earlier did my survey and he was a star
 
Novachris said:
This is what I am trying to find out,how to I spot a bad wooden boat,that on the surface looks well found and cared for,but has more water in her bilge than I would expect, or is about a foot depth of seawater what I should expect?
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No. A foot of seawater (unless the bilge is very deep and narrow) would ring alarm bells. That suggests a continuous leak and perhaps the boat should be fitted with an automatic bilge pump to keep the level under control. Then find the source and determine whether a repair can reduce the flow.
 
A foot of seawater in the bilge would concern me but I'd be wondering how long it took to get there.
My boat (36ft Sparkman & Stephens) leaks a little and I've never managed to trace the source. When she was moored closer to home I just did a hand pumping when I got on board and quickly got used to how many strokes it took to empty her in relation to the number of days she'd been left. Now she's further away I have an electric bilgepump and I reckon it runs once a day very briefly (battery topped up by very small PV panel). Without pumping she may well accumulate a lot of water and eventually sink but it is perfectly controllable. My previous wooden boat (a folkboat) was entirely dry.
With regard to it being seawater in the bilge ..... my general thoughts are that leaks from the top down (fresh water) are very bad, leaks from the bottom up are less worrying as far as rot is concerned. You may have a combination hence the water being salty. worth looking into. worth asking the owner how often the bilges fill.

Garboard leaks can be fixed in simple planked construction although John Lilley's comments on structural stability are apposite. I've never dealt with double diagonal repairs before but have always worried that once it starts to fail there a huge job looming - repairing a small area may mean work extending across a much bigger part of the hull. And although some modern tools and materials help they may not be appropriate for the job - I certainly tend to repair like for like albiet with upgrades to modern adhesives, caulk, varnish etc..

As far as general maintenance and restoration are concerned then any boat in poor condition can consume much more time and money than she's worth. Buying into a classic wooden boat in poor condition could be seen as madness but it depends on your point of view. From an economic perspective it is very unlikley to make much sense. But, of course, there's more to life than money - if you have the funds and time to restore her to her full glory it can be extremely satisfying - more of a 'heart' rather than 'head' choice but there's nothing wrong with that.

M
 
Most of the comments so far have been eminently sensible. There's about as much maintenance required to keep a fg boat in good order as there is a wooden hull.

BUT -- you're asking your questions on the wrong forum. Go to WoodenBoat Forums, register if necessary, and ask the same question on the Building/Repair Forum.

Mike
 
pvb said:
I'll suggest that my friends read that book, rather than spending their time in the boatshed working on their wooden treasures.
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Couldent you help and encourage them with their chores, as a fiberglass boat owner ,with lots of spare time and absolutely no maintenance requirements on your own boat?
 
GOOD wooden boats change hands rather rarely, and usually between people who know what they are doing.

By way of illustration I sold mine after 29 years - clean bill of health on survey - and within 24 hours I bought another wooden boat that a friend had owned for 22 years - she needed some half dozen hood end screws replacing.

For years I used to paint my teak topsides whilst my yard neighbour with a similar sized boat polished his GRP topsides. It took him the same amount of time. Every other job is the same.
 
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