Wooden boats in or out for the winter?

[silverdawn]

Hi ,I own a wooden boat 24ft finesse and apart from coming out 2/3weeks for checking sea cocks /antifouling/etc i leave
it in the water.i thought this was generally the right thing to do.to prevent it drying out.
however i read on a previous post that it would be rare to find
a wooden boat in the water throughout the winter, apart from a few on the east coast, deben /orwell where they are more popular, i dissagree with this regardless of location i think wooden boats as a rule are kept in.
I would appreciate all comments please.

 

[Guest]

All comments.....OK.

Firstly, it is a she, secondly you are an I not an i!


Honestly, where did some of these people go to school?


/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[LittleShip]

Smiffy............. you missed the 2 ss in disagree! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I have a 32' wood boat and "she" comes out of the water every winter for 5/6 months. She is kept in a shed so will not suffer from wind drying.

You are correct that wood boats are better kept in the water but a well made boat cared for during the winter months out of the water, should come to no harm.

Many on here will say leave her in and if I wasn't in a shed and suffered from drying winds and winter sunshine I would probably do just that.

Tom

 

[silverdawn]

Reply to Smiffy, thanks for pointing out the errors in my post,
Iam sure your much more educated than me but you come over as a pompous unhelpful knowall.

 

[Guest]

I didn't want to be tooooooooo much of a pompous know all! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Guest]

Oh I reckon you will need a bit of a sense of humour if you are going to post much on here. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[pyrojames]

In or out makes little difference. I tend to take mine out, so that I can do all the work required in the few "dry" days there are!

 

[Coomkeen]

Yes I agree. Mine comes out every winter both because I don't want to leave it on the swinging mooring in the gales ( Like we don't get gales in the summer? Ha! ), and to get some work done on her.
And lets face it, if you've got a wooden boat there's always work to be done.

As to drying winds, they're not very drying down here in the SW of Ireland, but also I've got a couple of huge covers that come nearly down to the ground. Good value those, from McSalvors in Cornwall.

And being mahogany she takes up quickly when back in the water.

By the way Smiffy, there's only 2 'o's in too. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Work this winter includes a hole in the bottom to let the water out, and a beer engine on the bridgedeck.
Might fit one of those moisture meter things too so I can tell when I'm getting near water.

Ron

 

[Santana379]

[ QUOTE ]
i read on a previous post that it would be rare to find
a wooden boat in the water throughout the winter, apart from a few on the east coast, deben /orwell where they are more popular, i dissagree with this regardless of location i think wooden boats as a rule are kept in.
I would appreciate all comments please.

[/ QUOTE ]
We had a Finesse 24' for a couple of years in the late nineties. Lovely boat.

There are a good number of wooden boats that do stay in the water on the East Coast - equally there are a good number that come out.

Rightly or wrongly I have always believed that if you lift out reasonably late (end Oct?), and go back in reasonably early (start Apr?), then the boat is probably better off. The relative humidity is high, so significant drying out will not occur, you have far better access to inspect, maintain and repair the boat, and the risks of being afloat in poor weather are minimised.

There is a theory of course that to preserve the construction materials, you should never take a wooden boat out of the water, and never put a GRP one in it.

 

[ianc1200]

We've had SA for a good few years now, and after the damage done by the big freeze in 63' the boat (in our family, never been referred to as a "she", or even by name, simply "the boat") has alway come out for about 5 months. It has a ridge pole over with big plastic cover, on a fairly wet area, and doesn't seem to suffer too much.

IanC

 

[gary3029]

I have a finesse and she came out early November will go back in end of march. I am of the thinking that there are certian jobs which help to maintain her condition wich can only be done on the hard.... No problems so far!!

 

[MapisM]

[ QUOTE ]
you should never take a wooden boat out of the water, and never put a GRP one in it.

[/ QUOTE ]That's probably the most extreme theory I've ever heard about wooden and plastic boats...
...though having owned both, I can see some logic behind it!

I'm also of the opinion that keeping her out for some month in winter is fine, the only thing to really avoid is a heated shelter.
One with no heating and no concrete pavement is the best for wooden boats.
Keeping the boat covered is definitely a plus, anyway.
Most damages to wooden boats are made by rain finding his way into the deck and stagnating somewhere inside the boat!

 

[Guest]

"By the way Smiffy, there's only 2 'o's in too. "

Quite correct! Sooooooooo sorry /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[EASLOOP]

I have a wooden sloop that lives on the east coast. She is afloat from early April to late October. In betwen times she is ashore under covers. This means I can more easily continue with fitting out her interior but also gives me the opportunity to thoroughly inspect the hull and fittings - those bits normally under water. Once fitted out I will look for a drying berth in the mud at our club.

I have always use the title 'she' when referring to my boat. I never call her a yacht. So, 'she' is my 'boat'. I am reading a book called 'Erik the Red', about a self build china rigged boat sailing across the Atlantic. The author calls his boat 'he'. I suppose with a name like Erik, one has to call it - her - he?

 

[EASLOOP]

Oops, forgot. There are several wooden boats in our clubd and they all come out over winter. Like their boats mine has too take up a little when she goes back in but is usually complete withing 12 hours.

 

[oldfrank]

Out by November 1st - unless you enjoy scraping down acres of varnish. Stored undercover in damp conditions. OF

 

[tillergirl]

Doesn't it depend? My current boat is 32ft carvel and most winters is in a mud berth from which it can only escape on Springs though it will float in its wallow on a Neap. Every four years or so, I lift her out for the winter, usually to ensure the bottom remains smooth since fit out otherwise is 'on the beach'. Mast is down and an all over cover protects her from the weather and fresh water. Every locker is open, floor boards and cockpit floor up and the bilges dried. The cover is open either end to promote ventilation but in a way that stops rain entering. I think the cover and inside plan is essential if remaining afloat. I am rewarded by the absence of any movement in the planking

My previous boat was clinker and came out each year. As I was working then, I never made by early April deadline and it was May before launch and sometimes late May. It was clear, she was fine until April and then the spring sunshine and drying winds took their toll. One year I was especially late, it had been a very warm dry spring and she was parked over concrete (as MapisM says) and we had great trouble keeping her afloat until the tide left and the water inside promoted quick take up. She was ok the next tide - just - and 24 hours later she had taken up. The rapid expansion that must have taken place in itself can't be good for the fabric and fastenings and over the 12 years I had her, I was conscious that late launch really seemed to age her.

So for my penny's worth, it doesn't matter which you chose provided you do what you choose right.

 

[Gordonmc]

My 30' carvel hulled boat was on her mooring all last winter with sails off for three months. The main problem arises when the temperature drops (West Scotland sea-loch) and the condensation forms. All ports and hatches are left open with anti-mink flower pots and dorada boxes over to increase ventillation.
It works well enough for me to be able to leave sleeping kit on board.
The plan will be to bring her closer to home and haul her for a few weeks to get some maintenance done... the sort of work I can't do on the mooring. Then it will be back in the briny ASAP.
That's more to do with keeping costs down and that the only damage I have ever had to the hull was when the boat was on a on a marina pontoon.

 

[MBII]

I follow the same routine as Littleship. It protects the varnish especially the masts and avoids damage from winter weather.

James

 

[silverdawn]

Hi, many thanks for all your tips and advice,I now know with
confidence that I can take her out if I choose .