Wooden hulls: How long do they last?

[andygc]

Mine was built during the war - in fits and starts - in a Dutch yard of Dutch oak. The construction was relatively light compared with some of the cruising boats of the time because she was built to race offshore (in the days when a 27-footer was considered a good size for offshore racing). She was rebuilt in the 1970s because she was beginning to fall apart, planked mostly in oak, although a couple of planks of iroko crept in from somewhere (probably from Stores as the work was done by a Chf Tech boatwright at RAF Mountbatten). All of that planking remains generally sound apart from the planks stoved in when she was stranded near Lyme Regis 20 years ago. There have been some problems at the hood ends, but a few graving pieces have sorted them out.

The replacement planks following the stranding are of good oak, but not of the same quality. One developed a patch of rot, and on reflection the yard think they used a piece from too near the sapwood. As far as I can make out the keel, deadwood and stem are original. Part of the stem has needed replacement recently, and there is a patch in the aft deadwood that will cost me quite a lot of money in the near future.

So, from personal knowledge, if you plank in oak and it's good oak it will last perfectly well for at least 40 years.

 

[SAWDOC]

like any boat, timber or GRP, rain water can do more damage in a short time than Sea Water

To illustrate the above, a boat left with rain water in the bilges will result in the timbers rotting from the inside. Inspecting the boat externally all may look grand but in one particular case with which I am familiar the hull planking was seriously weakened internally.

 

[Forbsie]

The original (Teak) hull of my c.1907 Pinnace is pretty much perfect apart from 1ft section that was under a rubbing strake and another 1ft section that was under an anode. All the other planks were fine. Probably in the '50s, the decks would have been raised to give more headroom and these planks (probably pine) I had to replace in the past 7 years with larch. This work will certainly see me out.

 

[pyrojames]

Current boat with original planks, 65 years old but teak, previous boat with original planks 47 years old, and oregan pine. Dads old boat 78 years old, original planks but renewed frames, larch and oak respectively. Anyone got a GRP boat that old?

 

[nmeyrick]

I guess a wooden boat can be kept alive indefinitely, given adequate time and money - just look at HMS Victory! You do of course run into the philosophical question of whether at some point it stops being the same boat, like Trigger's broom - for example what of Slocum's Spray which he rebuilt from the keel keeping the name and registration?

By contrast think about how many of the cells or atoms in your body are the same as they were 20 or 50 years ago? Many sources quote that all atoms are replaced every 7 years although this seems contentious, but even so there is a pretty high level of turnover.

 

[Colvic Watson]

In the main, salt water will "pickle" wood, and will act as preserver, rain water is the enemy. There is no straight answer, because it all depends on preparation, protection and constant looking after of the wood.

I was surprised to learn via the PBO magazine (feature on rot about 18 months ago) that this is completely untrue - it's a sort of nautical urban myth. Wood 'pickled' in salt water is about 5% less susceptible to rot. Being on the East Coast I can testify to how many old dead boats are rotted away in the creeks and salting’s and how many rot just as fast or slow in the boatyards!

 

[prv]

Current boat with original planks, 65 years old but teak, previous boat with original planks 47 years old, and oregan pine. Dads old boat 78 years old, original planks but renewed frames, larch and oak respectively. Anyone got a GRP boat that old?

Dylan, very nearly

Your previous boat, if my sums are correct, was 1965? The Slug's Part One registration (amazing anyone bothered!) says it was built in 1967.

Pete