Wooden boats - big mistake?

[Petrus1983]

I’ve increasingly enjoyed being on the water to the point I’d happily be atleast 50:50 on a liveaboard. I’m quite picky with the aesthetics of yacht but have found something I really like - but it’s wooden - a1968 build. Am I making a massive mistake?

Broker notes - Hull: Yellow Cedar wood planks on oak frames
Deck: Yellow Cedar Deck Beams, Plywood and Fibreglass (Fully Replaced 2015)
Full survey 2014

[normalbloke]

Yes. Next?

[Petrus1983]

normalbloke said:

Yes. Next?

Reasons?

[MB140]

Petrus1983 said:

normalbloke said:

Yes. Next?

Reasons?

Because what every you think a GRP/fibreglass/metal/concrete boat cost to maintain x10 and your still not there.

[Huntsman]

Glassed over deck rings alarm bells.

How is it fastened?

When was a keel bolt last pulled? What material is the ballast and the bolts?

What material are the floors?

Who designed it? Who build it? Who has been maintaining it?

When was it last surveyed, by who and what did it say?

(20 years a wooden boat owner and published a book on the subject)

[w1bbles]

William Garden 41? Fugly. If you’re going to buy a wooden boat at least buy a beautiful one.

Ex-wooden boat owner here. Now own a 1971 GRP beauty that looks wooden and is frequently mistaken for being wooden. I am an enthusiastic maintainer and replaced big chunks of deck on my wooden boat myself. Never again... it’s GRP for me all the way.

If you do buy a beautiful wooden boat (not that minger, if that’s what you’re looking at) you’ll need deep pockets if you’re not going to maintain it yourself.

Sorry for being judgemental if I’ve guessed correctly but row-away factor is a significant element of the joy of owning a wooden boat.

https://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/1969/william-ga...

Petrus1983 said:

I’ve increasingly enjoyed being on the water to the point I’d happily be atleast 50:50 on a liveaboard. I’m quite picky with the aesthetics of yacht but have found something I really like - but it’s wooden - a1968 build. Am I making a massive mistake?

Broker notes - Hull: Yellow Cedar wood planks on oak frames
Deck: Yellow Cedar Deck Beams, Plywood and Fibreglass (Fully Replaced 2015)
Full survey 2014

[w1bbles]

BTW, the planking in that looks a bit tired.

[Petrus1983]

w1bbles said:

William Garden 41? Fugly. If you’re going to buy a wooden boat at least buy a beautiful one.

Ex-wooden boat owner here. Now own a 1971 GRP beauty that looks wooden and is frequently mistaken for being wooden. I am an enthusiastic maintainer and replaced big chunks of deck on my wooden boat myself. Never again... it’s GRP for me all the way.

If you do buy a beautiful wooden boat (not that minger, if that’s what you’re looking at) you’ll need deep pockets if you’re not going to maintain it yourself.

Sorry for being judgemental if I’ve guessed correctly but row-away factor is a significant element of the joy of owning a wooden boat.

https://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/1969/william-ga...

Petrus1983 said:

I’ve increasingly enjoyed being on the water to the point I’d happily be atleast 50:50 on a liveaboard. I’m quite picky with the aesthetics of yacht but have found something I really like - but it’s wooden - a1968 build. Am I making a massive mistake?

Broker notes - Hull: Yellow Cedar wood planks on oak frames
Deck: Yellow Cedar Deck Beams, Plywood and Fibreglass (Fully Replaced 2015)
Full survey 2014

Good job w1bbles with the google search and for all the extra info.

Thanks for all the input - I’ve totally binned the thought! At the moment I’ve got access to a very up together Victoria 34 that I’ll stick with for now!

[Huntsman]

Petrus1983 said:

Victoria 34

Nice. Make the most of it.

The William Garden job is apparently cheap for a reason (a lot of reasons!)

Durability of the Yellow Cedar is very good, might just be worth a look with eyes wide open. Seems to be suffering from Old Man Syndrome, neds young blood to fire some effort into it.

Edited by Huntsman on Monday 2nd September 13:01

[Huntsman]

Just to add.

There's a big difference between a soggy heap of iron fastened larch and teak on sawn oak, bronze fastened with a lead keel.

[Phud]

I've a heap of wood too, love it.

[mickrick]

Huntsman said:

Glassed over deck rings alarm bells.

How is it fastened?

When was a keel bolt last pulled? What material is the ballast and the bolts?

What material are the floors?

Who designed it? Who build it? Who has been maintaining it?

When was it last surveyed, by who and what did it say?

(20 years a wooden boat owner and published a book on the subject)

Link to your book please Sir?

[J3JCV]

Phud said:

I've a heap of wood too, love it.

She's looking great out there at the moment.

[Petrus1983]

Huntsman said:

Petrus1983 said:

Victoria 34

Nice. Make the most of it.

The William Garden job is apparently cheap for a reason (a lot of reasons!)

Durability of the Yellow Cedar is very good, might just be worth a look with eyes wide open. Seems to be suffering from Old Man Syndrome, neds young blood to fire some effort into it.

Edited by Huntsman on Monday 2nd September 13:01

Do you think I should just go for it and hope for it and hope for the best? Doing man maths what can actually go wrong?

[Steve_D]

Petrus1983 said:

Do you think I should just go for it and hope for it and hope for the best? Doing man maths what can actually go wrong?

A proper survey will tell you most of what you need to know. You then need the brains to believe the survey and walk away (make that run) if it comes back with bad news.
Then you need lots of time, effort and money to go forwards if the survey is favourable.

There are plenty out there who bite the bullet and go for it but it takes balls.
Find Sampson Boat Company on youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg-_lYeV8hBnDSay7...

Steve

[Condi]

Steve_D said:

There are plenty out there who bite the bullet and go for it but it takes balls.
Find Sampson Boat Company on youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg-_lYeV8hBnDSay7...

Steve

His videos are good, but its hardly a 'rebuild' rather an 'new build'. There amount of original material in the finished boat will be almost 0.


EDIT - As for the Garden 41, I quite like the lines, but you could spend the purchase price again (if not more) bringing it up to a decent spec. The comment about it having had 'old man syndrome' is probably not far wrong; nothing wrong with it per say, but just needs a lot of love.

Edited by Condi on Monday 2nd September 22:20

[hidetheelephants]

Wooden boat = lots of maintenance to avoid it becoming a nice home for squid and nudibranchs, which means you either need to have a lot of money you don't need any more to pay nice people to maintain it for you or enough spare time and a practical aptitude for learning the myriad skills needed to DIY, individually none terribly difficult but knowing which to use and when is. That doghouse is minging though, it wants a chainsaw through it.

[w1bbles]

Sorry Petrus - I've been feeling guilty about that post all day but the Victoria 34 is a much better bet. If you want to chat about boats - both wooden and GRP - give me a shout by PM and we can have a phone call. I've owned GRP and wooden boats since I was 9 and have learned a few tough lessons on the way. I've had a 'plastic classic' Nicholson 43 for 10 years and suspect she'll be my last sailing boat... and I'm only in my 40s. You need to ask yourself a few questions about how you'll use your boat. For instance, I never thought I'd race mine but I've raced her for the last 6 years and have done three 'big' races this year. Likewise, you want to ask yourself what happens when you find yourself caught out by horrific conditions - do you trust an old wooden boat? You can, but only if you're fully confident in the condition of the fastenings and the frames. Are you handy enough to fix things that are structurally significant, or can you afford to pay a decent boatbuilder? Having seen some of your other posts I think you might have deep pockets but you'll need them.

And if you want to live aboard for significant chunks of time then the Victoria 34 - brilliant though it is - may drive you nuts with its very limited interior volume.

Cheers,
w1bbles

Petrus1983 said:

Good job w1bbles with the google search and for all the extra info.

Thanks for all the input - I’ve totally binned the thought! At the moment I’ve got access to a very up together Victoria 34 that I’ll stick with for now!

[hidetheelephants]

w1bbles said:

I've had a 'plastic classic' Nicholson 43 for 10 years and suspect she'll be my last sailing boat... and I'm only in my 40s. You need to ask yourself a few questions about how you'll use your boat. For instance, I never thought I'd race mine but I've raced her for the last 6 years and have done three 'big' races this year.

Honorary wooden status is accorded to things like Nic 43s; you didn't do West Highland Week two years ago by any chance? We were plagued by one that had a bandit handicap and an 'interesting' rig.

[w1bbles]

No, but I know the owners. They are passionate about creating something classic with a modern twist and the attention to detail they have put into her is incredible. We were very envious when we had a look round this year!

hidetheelephants said:

Honorary wooden status is accorded to things like Nic 43s; you didn't do West Highland Week two years ago by any chance? We were plagued by one that had a bandit handicap and an 'interesting' rig.