Visit our Popular Forums

**reiner** · 22-11-2010, 13:29

I just love the look of old wooden boats and I found this one

australiawide : boats for sale in Australia

Everybody tells me how much work it is to keep them going and look good.
I am at a point in my life where I work no more than 3 days a week so I do have a bit of time to do upkeep and don't mind doing it.
How much work is it really?
Cheers
Reiner

perchance · 22-11-2010, 13:40

IMHO wood has no business on the outside of a boat. Do you want to sail or scrape,sand and refinish then do it all over again?

**hummingway** · 22-11-2010, 13:57

That is spectacular. You know, lots of people wouldn't own them but lots of people do and have done since we stopped using hides for hulls.

simonmd · 22-11-2010, 13:59

The boat you showed is a beauty and has obviously been well looked after. Sure, there is a bit more to do but it's not like you'll be stripping it back and re varnishing every week. Like with most things, a bit of small regular maintainance will keep it looking fine.

A lot of people get just as much pleasure maintaining their boat as they do sailing them.

Gongal · 22-11-2010, 13:59

Perchance is right on target! I had a wood hull long ago and would not own another. I was proud of the results of many many hours of labor but I did very little sailing during that period (note: women are not impressed with a good sanding and varnish job as much as an easy sail at sunset!). It was a choice I would not change but if you want to sail, stay away from a wood hull. If you want to restore and you enjoy the wood working go for it. Just remember there is no such thing as a low maintance wood boat.

bljones · 22-11-2010, 14:01

The upkeep a woodenboat requires is directly proportional to the upkeep provided by previous owners and the corners cut, and your level of expectation.

If you are okay with a "workboat" finish, then cover everything with several coats of white paint and touch up as required. if you use cheap paint, you're gonna be doing it every other year. better quality paint gets better results. in which case, the boat linked isn't for you.

if you like natural looking wood but aren't maintenance oriented you could slather the boat with cetol every year or two, that's fine. But the boat linked isn't for you.

However if you understand that woodenboat ownership is a custodial position, that you are maintaining the legacy to pass on to future generations, if you understand that a proper varnish schedule has no shortcuts and always at least 8 coats, if you understand that future generations will judge the work you have done by the legacy you pass on, or don't, then this may be the right boat for you.

**zeehag** · 22-11-2010, 14:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by perchance

IMHO wood has no business on the outside of a boat. Do you want to sail or scrape,sand and refinish then do it all over again?

if one actually uses the wood boat ,it lasts a lot longer than a dock queen will. sitting in a marina is actually harmful to boats. i learned to sail on wood boat--neither we as family/crew/slave labor nor the owner, momma s apple farming uncle spent much time scraping and painting as one imagines. work wqas done over winter and during season , she sailed a lot. winter she was in the yard in catskill creek.only time there was a problem was when a jerk in a power boar rammed the bow-- didnt even see the 36 ft sail boat in front of him- in broad daylight-- his bow was so high in the air, he went into eleanor high, and uncle did a patch--other than that, not a problem.
every material of which boats are constructed has positive and negative aspects. what were the boats made of at time of revolution?? mostly wood.
civil war-- mostly wood.
LOL
they still have some floating and sailing today. go figger.

btw--the crash my uncle and his wood gaff rigged sloop survived would have sunk a fiberglass boat
LOL.yes mine is fiberglass hull with some lotta wood topsides--my wood has glass on some of it. wood has a traditional place on boats. some folks actually like it.

perchance · 22-11-2010, 14:47

Zeehag are you sure it was his bow and not his nose that was so high in the air?

**zeehag** · 22-11-2010, 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by perchance

Zeehag are you sure it was his bow and not his nose that was so high in the air?

rofl--you are good--mighta been more blood on eleanor had there been too much nose and less boat bow--coulda been both, tho--LOL i like that!! is a goood one...

SurferShane · 22-11-2010, 14:56

I am slowly falling in love with traditional wood boats and that is one beautiful ship. It is also a really nice manageable size. The real tip with wood – or for that matter any other boat – is to live onboard and make the maintenance part of your lifestyle. For encouragement have a look at the following authors philosophy, http://www.landlpardey.com/self-sufficient-sailor.html

Well I am off now to pick a mate up and head down the timber recyclers to see if I can get some Oregon for my spreaders. Fair enough they have eventually rotted, but you try fixing aluminium with hand tools!

I note my yacht’s hull is steel. However, I have worked on wood fishing boats and they were not any more problem than other forms of construction.

**boatman61** · 22-11-2010, 15:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by bljones

However if you understand that woodenboat ownership is a custodial position, that you are maintaining the legacy to pass on to future generations, if you understand that a proper varnish schedule has no shortcuts and always at least 8 coats, if you understand that future generations will judge the work you have done by the legacy you pass on, or don't, then this may be the right boat for you.

Wow... what an exceptionally good post.... TY

**zeehag** · 22-11-2010, 15:28

i looked at the pix--i didnt wanna--i KNEW i would fall in love---wow---she is an impressive beauty.

if one does the wood properly, one doesnt HAVE to mess with it for 4- 5 yrs. if the hull is hauled every year, there is no chance of developing bad spots, as maintenance is done,then, yearly , instead of whenever she sinks. big difference in price of repairs.
many areas folks haul every year anyway-- so is a good time to check that hull and make sure all is well. now, what makes that different from any other boat made of any other material on this earth?

bruce smith · 22-11-2010, 15:43

A good wood boat is good ,a bad one bad.
That Gauntlet is no ordinary boat. It is composit built with the best pre-war Scottish iron(floors and various knees)copper rivets and Dade county Yellow Pine ( 70lbs /cube)!
Here is one I saw in Antigua last spring. Chap won his racing class and other awards. Singlehanded it from the UK and back. He was all over Classic Boat magazine. G

auntlet is a great boat!!

**zeehag** · 22-11-2010, 15:51

wow!!another beauty!!!!

**boatman61** · 22-11-2010, 16:04

Aha
You've met my mate Roy and Guiding Light... sadly he hit trouble on his way back and the boats back in Antigua on the hard...
He headed back to Liverpool to sit it out till 'Sailing Time' comes round again...
She's one nice boat and he's an extraordinary dude..... he's nearly as old as the boat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruce smith

A good wood boat is good ,a bad one bad.
That Gauntlet is no ordinary boat. It is composit built with the best pre-war Scottish iron(floors and various knees)copper rivets and Dade county Yellow Pine ( 70lbs /cube)!
Here is one I saw in Antigua last spring. Chap won his racing class and other awards. Singlehanded it from the UK and back. He was all over Classic Boat magazine. G

auntlet is a great boat!!