Wooden Boats

Hi its a Verl 790, Lovely seaworthy boat, very well built, sails beautifully, well balanced. I cant fault her but the layout below decks is not ideal for me personally...plus there is no heating and I would like to put solid fuel heating on a boat. I think she would be a great boat for a young couple, perhaps for someone just starting out. I'm thinking of putting her on the market early next year.
 
paella said:
Hi its a Verl 790, Lovely seaworthy boat, very well built, sails beautifully, well balanced. I cant fault her but the layout below decks is not ideal for me personally...plus there is no heating and I would like to put solid fuel heating on a boat. I think she would be a great boat for a young couple, perhaps for someone just starting out. I'm thinking of putting her on the market early next year.
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I very nearly bought one many yrs ago. we live not far from Verls Factory & i knew many who worked there.
 
That's interesting, what do you sail and where? Regarding my Verl I don't know how much she's worth..but I would hope somewhere around the £5k mark?. Inboard diesel good condition if you know anyone who's interested...!!
 
Probably stating the obvious but you MUST get a proper wooden boat surveyor before you buy. What ever you think your skills are they will be clouded by the probable fact that you have completely fallen in love with your chosen boat.

You need an objective, almost brutal, professional who is not afraid of digging his spike into those areas which you would not dream of!

The other thing is, the better the build quality - certainly in terms of material - the less likely you are to have massive headaches in the future. If you are lucky, you will find a gem which takes little more annual maintenance than GRP (and is much more satisfying IMO).

Good luck.
 
chinita said:
Probably stating the obvious but you MUST get a proper wooden boat surveyor before you buy. What ever you think your skills are they will be clouded by the probable fact that you have completely fallen in love with your chosen boat.

You need an objective, almost brutal, professional who is not afraid of digging his spike into those areas which you would not dream of!

The other thing is, the better the build quality - certainly in terms of material - the less likely you are to have massive headaches in the future. If you are lucky, you will find a gem which takes little more annual maintenance than GRP (and is much more satisfying IMO).

Good luck.
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Good advice, and yes such old wooden boats do exist, I recently bought one built in 1970 and its absolutely perfect with a survey that was perfect. Ideally look for a boat that has been in a very long term ownership which is likely to have been far better maintained than one which has passed through multiple owners.
 
Opinions/prejudices

Stellas - beautiful to sail. Lightly built for speed. Their owners will disagree with me, but they are not built to be tough boats. They go faster than me unless it's beating into a nasty sea.
Peter Duck 29 - This and the Hillyard are the most livable on your list. You've got a classic and a lot of boat for your money here. Performance is not the strong point, but nice.
Holman 26 - lovely but you can get more.
Twister - This is a really nice. Same genre as Stella and Folkboat but enough more boat to be livable.
Folkboats - beautiful. The originals are sleek and it's more like camping than living on a boat. In my opinion the bloated out later ones create their space at huge aesthetic cost.
Hillyard - Lovely. Most Hillyard designs are double enders and I have an entirely irrational liking for a conventional back end. I think Nancy Blackett is a Hillyard with a flat back end??
Cheverton - obviously got an enthusiastic following - I know nothing about them. Looking at the pictures they range from beautiful to ugly.
Vertue - why did you drop it? Cracking wee go anywhere boats. I've never been aboard one, and I imagine it must be a bit tight but they are lovely to look at and the one I meet (Rosette) leaves me for dead if I get competitive.

Sorry - rambling ... I intended to ask simply "Why not the Vertue?" and got carried away.
 
Amulet said:
Sorry - rambling ... I intended to ask simply "Why not the Vertue?" and got carried away.
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A valid summary, and I suppose it depends on ones priorities, comfort, speed, seaworthiness, accommodation etc. Regarding the Vertue, the performance would be pretty pedestrian in common with the Peter Duck and Hilliard, however without the virtue (apologies) of any decent accommodation.
 
chinita said:
Probably stating the obvious but you MUST get a proper wooden boat surveyor before you buy. What ever you think your skills are they will be clouded by the probable fact that you have completely fallen in love with your chosen boat.

You need an objective, almost brutal, professional who is not afraid of digging his spike into those areas which you would not dream of!

The other thing is, the better the build quality - certainly in terms of material - the less likely you are to have massive headaches in the future. If you are lucky, you will find a gem which takes little more annual maintenance than GRP (and is much more satisfying IMO).

Good luck.
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Wasn't there a guy from Scandanvia posted about the most beautiful wooden boat he had bought which looked stunning. Then he spent months having most of the planking and keel replaced. Or was that on Classic Boats forum?
 
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Can't remember that one; but it does not surprise me.

I took two years out to do the Wooden Boatbuilding course at the IBTC.

It was only then that I realised how lucky I had been with mine.

Even after the benefit of that course, I would still hand pick the right wooden boat surveyor to carry out the job.
 
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