Wooden motor boats

[Sailorsam101]

A quick question.

I'm looking at buying a wooden motor cruiser...nothing too big about 35'

But as i'm used to plastic boats i need to know what i am letting myself in for.


So any buyign advice would be nice..what do i look for and yes i will have a survey but any tips would be nice.

And what's the annual work like as well.

Taa in advance

Sam

 

[SP2]

Hi Sam

Spectrum Too is 33 feet LOA and built of wood. She is double diagonal planked mahogany on the sides and triple planked on the bottom. The transom is marine ply. She is mainly cascover sheathed but the transom is epoxied.

The topsides are mahogany and ply.

Yes she does need more maintenance than a plastic boat. When I got her she needed a total repaint but we spent time on the preparation and the hull paint will be fine for 4 seasons at least.

You will get more leaks that require attention, but you get used to it! epoxy fillers are a wonderful thing /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Okay so we spend a bit on paint etc. but it is a marginal cost.

You will be told all sorts of horror stories. My view is that we spend the season on the water doing running repairs and maintenance and perhaps a month in the winter when the serious work is done. This may be when the rest of the marina are tucked up at home.

What to look for when buying? Make sure the expensive bits work - i.e. the engines. Provided the hull is sound there is not much that can't be fixed and subject to construction, areas or rot which will occur can be repaired.

If you need anything specific then PM me.

 

[miket]

I used to look after my father's Bates Starcraft 33 feet, double diagonal teak hull and mahogany superstructure. Never any problem with the teak but mahogany superstructure had small areas of rot removed on a couple of occasions.
If you want to keep a beautifully varnished super' looking good an lightweight overall cover will pay back very quickly.
Great to own, but remember, everyone loves a "real boat" in lovely condition but a tatty one is just an old boat.
Don't take too much notice of asking prices and unless you are very keen and able to do lots of restoration buy the best you can afford.

Good luck.

 

[Mirelle]

I am a sailing boat person, but I do have friends with wooden motor yachts.

From what I have heard, the biggest problem area is likely to be the superstructure - there is a lot more of it than there is on a sailing boat, the joinery is more complex (very complex indeed, in some cases) and the hull of a power boat is rather more flexible than that of a sailing boat, so tiny bits of movement occur.

And, of course, it's all finished bright...

I absolutely agree with the advice that the first investment you make must be a really good winter cover!

Beyond that, "all depends", since the choice is so wide.

One of my powerboating friends has a Fairey hot moulded planing boat and the other has a James Silver carvel teak displacement boat. Both lovely but very different!

 

[SwedishLass]

The nice thing about wood is that it converts a 6 month hobby into a 12 month hobby. A well kept boat is a delight to all and if you can get access to a barn for the winter it is relatively easy to bring up the standard every year. As you become known there are a few dry yacht clubs with like minded people covered in paint and dust. Beware of areas where fresh water gathers as it can spell the end of a beautiful friendship. Do not be tempted to do too much the first season. Get it seaworthy and tidy and enjoy it. Then plan a rolling programme of improvements. Motor or sail do not be afraid of modern fixes (bodging) 'poxy is wunderful. My coachroofs shine as they are coated and the varnish is there to act as a UV barrier.

 

[burgundyben]

Think it very much depends on the type of construction, the fairey boats are built with a hot moulded hull, I reckon my 28 takes about 100 hrs a year to maintain, 2 hrs a week, plus probably a major refit once every 15 or so years, worth looking at the long term rather than short and buying the best maintained boat you can and trying to keep on top of it rather than trying to bring back one thats been let go.

Swordsman 33 offers good accomodation and excellent sea keeping, quite a few on the market, see Gavin Poole Website and fairey owners club website.

Hope this helps.

 

[dragoon]

Hi Sam,
I struggled with the same question, but opted for Dragoon which is a Storebro 34. The key motivation was that whilst she appears to be predominantly mahogany, the hull is actually grp which turns out to be quite a pleasant trade-off.
It doesn't elininate the need for the usual upkeep of a boat with plenty of wood on her, especially as she's now 25 years old, but the bit that's immersed in water is fairly easy to keep.

Whilst not an expert varninsher, I manage to keep on top of her by slowly working around the wooden pieces throughout the summer. The other slightly time consuming piece is the wooden deck which I've recaulked in places over the past few years at any point where the seams haven't appeared up to scratch.

The interior hasn't taken any special up-keep (although all mahogany) and the rest of her I believe to be the same maintenance as you would expect from a reasonably well built and maintained vessel for her age.

How many hours a year? I dread to think, but then I'm pretty fussy and I'm not counting ;o)

I hope this helps. Good luck with your search for a classic vessel.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[rich]

Hermees is 32 ft,and 42 years old, It takes me no longer then my neighbor, with a 33 ft Aquastar, to get her painted and ready for summer, he makes polishing look like hardwork, and it dosn't look any better. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Lorita]

Hi Lorita is a 35ft Thornycroft built in 1923 of carvel teak on oak frames.
Teak for the hull is the Rolls Royce material, Lorita has not had a new plank since new and I dont expect her to have one soon. Oak frames split and rot and a few have been sistered, again nothing to worry about. Expect to have a 12 month season 6 on the water 6 messing about painting varnishing etc. Engines propshafts etc can be a problem remember they will be fairly old, just be carefull and adjust the price accordingly. there is nothing nicer than a well maintained wooden boat, far superior to any plastc one. But be prepared for the upkeep.

cheers

Brian