WW2 boat restoration project

[woodypup59]

Here's a little weekend project and a half.

It is major potential.

https://youtu.be/MczJ6iYEZNo

[Simpo Two]

There's another HDML rather further along in NZ: https://www.facebook.com/savingkuparu

[Steve_D]

Only problem is they have no plans to restore it to any sort of military spec. so it will always remain a 'houseboat' for want of any better description.

Steve

[aeytr5]

Have been following the 'Ship Happens' YouTube journey... can't help but think it will never be finished. An abandoned wooden hull of that size is not a cheap or friendly project... and the couple who've bought it are campervan designers whose boat experience adds up to doing-up a little Riva sized thing a few years back! Hope it all works out, but that would be a scary project for the most seasoned restorers.

[bucksmanuk]

As above – I honestly don’t think they have the requisite skills to make that project work. I bet £250K isn’t even touching the sides on that.

Or do they have a huge bunch of friends that can help them? If they are friends now, will they be in 12 months after yet another cold damp weekend working on the boat?

Would you really want to do the work that’s required on that boat in that location?

I hope they can prove me wrong – but I doubt it.

[Tempest_5]

I used to work in Portsmouth. I had a colleague who's life outside work was basically sailing. He wasn't a yachtie, just a person with a passion for sailing. He was/is also blunt.

I fancied a small yacht project to do with/for the children. I would present possible candidates on ebay to my sailing colleague. Any wooden boats needing extensive restoration would get the response "it's only good for a bonfire". After a while this became shortened to "Bonfire!!".

I realised any decent yacht was going to be at least £4,000 to buy or restore, so built a 16 foot open plywood canoe instead. That was hard enough work to build from fresh, new plywood and maintain over the last 7 years. I now understand where he was coming from wrt old neglected wooden boats. My canoe is now partially sheathed with fibreglass.

I would love to see this piece of history a successful project but I fear it will just become a moneypit. You only need to look at restorations of similar boats on the net and Youtube to get an idea of the colossal amount of work required.

Having said that, if I had a shed load of lottery winnings in the bank I'd have a crack at it, though restoration would be to original military configuration.

Anyway if you like this sort of thing, this is a good link,

http://www.bmpt.org.uk/index.htm

[Ayahuasca]

The boat is terrible, the location is terrible, the filming, the camera work and dialogue are terrible, I would rather (insert horribly unpleasant activity) than watch this.

[dudleybloke]

It's not bonfire material, it's too damp to burn!
I wish them the best but it looks like a total money pit.