Finding A No Wood Boat

[MarcStAug]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Hi Marc,

Your preference for mostly white interior is actually in line with a lot of traditional, wood boats where the bulkheads and much of the interior was of course wood but painted white. You are not alone in your love of that look. Problem is when boats went to mostly fiberglass it seems at the same time the style went to more unpainted wood, interior and exterior.

Trying to find a boat today with no wood interior will severely limit your choices. Maybe a better option is to find a boat that you like otherwise and paint the bulkheads and cabinets to suite your preferences. There are plenty of older boats with the interior wood finish that is scratched, faded and otherwise visually damaged but structurally perfect that would probably sell under market due to the TLC needed. Could be the ideal opportunity for you.

You nailed it. A friend who is looking with me keeps ruling out boats because of the upholstery! I keep saying that it's not important, it can be changed and I guess I am applying that to my preference as well.

99% of the boats I've been looking at are going to be the same boats that are vilified by the blue water, open ocean, buy-this-not-that enthusiasts. In the end, the only one who has to be happy about it is me. Well, unless there are contributions to a kitty to pay for my living accommodations, then we can talk.

I knew the pesky villagers would surface sooner or later. The choice of a light interior isn't criteria for BUYING a boat as one respondent suggested I rethink. It is just a PREFERENCE for an interior.

I likely won't be able to afford a new Adventure 40, but the story about it is fascinating. And after reading the particulars, especially about the INTERIOR it sounds like something so well thought out it could be something that one would stretch the budget and go a little overboard to attain. Or not.

Boy, I am glad I didn't talk about my fascination with in-mast furling.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Spam, spam, spam spam - wonderful spam, wonderful spam.......

Wife: Have you got anything without spam?


Waitress: Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.


Wife: I don't want ANY spam!


Man: Why can't she have egg bacon spam and sausage?


Wife: THAT'S got spam in it!

[MarcStAug]

Originally Posted by crazyoldboatguy

Spam,....

I think you are likely confusing SPAM with TROLL, neither of which were my intent. Maybe you should ignore my posts so they don't bother you so much that you waste your energy, or anyone else's. That'd be a great idea.

[ruby tuesday]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

What follows is written in a friendly tone of voice, with the sole intent to help you.

Why are you looking for a boat with NO wood inside (interior trim etc.)??


What age (years) are you looking?

What price range (asking price)?
_______________

Interior wood needs little care on most boats. Mostly just an occasional wipedown (cleaning) or if it is teak some oil and rarely varnish.

__________________

Some boats are known as "clorox bottles" because they used so much plastic in the inside (in addition to the hull).

MacGregor 65, for example.

Of course that is longer than your stated goal LOA. But it is a good example of a boat with a "plastic" and "formica" and "smoked acrylic" looking interior.

Some boats have a veneer bulkhead and trim, with a more "white plastic" looking liner look inside. I don't follow those models, but I have gotten that impression by seeing some of them in the past.

Outside of your LOA range, some of the Deerfoot and Dashew designed boats have a light colored interior (some may have light wood) and can look "almost white" inside for hard surfaces.

__________________

My favorite look is White bulkheads and lockers (cabinets) with some small wood trim (in warm oiled teak finish).

While I generally like quality wood interiors (not fake wood), the least appealing to me is "dark teak" on all surfaces (floor to ceiling, walls, furniture, tables, etc.). There has been one rare exception (a Baba 40 as I recall) that had an exceptional interior finish.

___________

If you are buying an OLD boat, there may be little loss in painting the wood if you don't like the finish.

I will post a couple of photos showing a Before and After (these were posted in this forum last year by a member who did the paint job), which shows how an inexpensive looking interior from a boat (about 1970 model as I recall) was "updated" with paint. You might not like the colors used, but it does show how the atmosphere can be changed by lightening the surfaces and adding color. I think it made a big improvement.

how big is the boat in the piccies ????? cos that's bigger than my house !!!!!

[swpeterson]

I share your view about wood on boats. It is just my personal preference. I like it light and bright. My very annoying to some motto is "No wood is good wood".


So when we decided to move onto a larger boat, I started looking at every boat that I could find. What I learned is there is basically (for what I wanted) a 3 year window when boat manufacturers lightened up on the interior wood in the price range I was shopping.


So I focused on the years 1995 to 1998. We selected a 1995 Sea Ray Sedan Bridge/Sport Fish 550. Although the carpets (which we ripped out) was beige as was the upholstery. The floors are now natural bamboo, the modular couch is a stressless Eickorn (sp?) in white leather with 3 reclining chairs and a freestanding stressless recliner in Navy blue leather. The blinds are in butter yellow for the windows and in Royal blue for the slider. The Lucite rotating stools have been recovered with new seats in yellow and the dinette settee has been done in royal blue as well. I couldn't be happier with my new to me boat. We enclosed the bridge and installed air conditioning up there as well. The cockpit now has a stamoid top over it and a complete white enclosure to screen for no-see-ums which can be a problem here in Florida. Once the 'projects' are done, we are installing an Aquaponics 'garden' in the cockpit area with the projection to use the bait box as an integral part of the garden filled with gold fish. Solar panels and a Tesla storage unit will complete the greening of the Sea Ray. We are also putting a parasail on board to assist with moving the boat as well. We are looking at Prius batteries to add on but right now, I am still looking at Tesla to see what they do with their new batteries. It's going to take a least another year to finish it, but when we are done, it will be just the way we want it to be. Enjoy your journey and get what you want.

[ruby tuesday]

Originally Posted by Jack Verschuur

The other solution may be to look for a race boat and make it habitable.

Best,

Jack.

you can get a ten year old Corby / Ker or a Farr within your budget and most if not all will have been stripped out if it was raced under the IRM system -- if it was raced under IRC then it'll have full "live in" interior

[crazyoldboatguy]

Originally Posted by MarcStAug

I think you are likely confusing SPAM with TROLL, neither of which were my intent. Maybe you should ignore my posts so they don't bother you so much that you waste your energy, or anyone else's. That'd be a great idea.

Wow, dude, a bit touchy are we?

It was a joke - you know, humor - ha ha.

But, I'll note your name and ignore any inquiries you may post. I certainly don't want to offend a person.

[MarcStAug]

Originally Posted by crazyoldboatguy

Wow, dude, a bit touchy are we?

It was a joke - you know, humor - ha ha.

But, I'll note your name and ignore any inquiries you may post. I certainly don't want to offend a person.

Gosh thanks! I think the humor thing works bidirectionally.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by MarcStAug

I know the villagers with torches and pitchforks will likely come out of the woodwork (pun intended) to burn this heretic, but I've looked and looked and just am curious if there are boats out there between say 38' and 45' that are not loaded with wood inside? I've searched "no wood", "woodless", etc... to no avail.

I see a good many with no discernible wood on the exterior, neither deck nor cockpit, but are there any you know of without the wood loaded interior?

Endeavour cats come close to that. Throw away the varnish.

[Cheechako]

I like wood interiors but also like the mostly white look. There are boats out there. Hallberg Rassy don't have a huge amount of wood. Some Kelly Peterson 44's were built with a lot of white interior. Of course there are Morgan Out Islands that have a lot of carpet on the hull interior etc,etc.
Another thing to keep in mind is you can paint/have painted a lot of wood bulkheads. Which is a lot of the interior . I like the look of a creamy white. Some sailboats feel like "caves" and dark wood enhances that feeling. Others have more natural light which is nice.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Marc,

Cheechako mentioned the Morgan Out Islands. I agree. You should look at those on Yachtworld, and Sailboat Listings (dot com) and "Sail Texas" (another FSBO site).

Why?
If I recall correctly, you are looking for a coastal cruiser/liveaboard and want to do some ICW cruising too (like Hudson Force does). He has a Morgan OI 41 and is very happy with it (he has owned it for 30 years).

[MarcStAug]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I like wood interiors but also like the mostly white look. There are boats out there. Hallberg Rassy don't have a huge amount of wood. Some Kelly Peterson 44's were built with a lot of white interior. Of course there are Morgan Out Islands that have a lot of carpet on the hull interior etc,etc.
Another thing to keep in mind is you can paint/have painted a lot of wood bulkheads. Which is a lot of the interior . I like the look of a creamy white. Some sailboats feel like "caves" and dark wood enhances that feeling. Others have more natural light which is nice.

Nice to know I am not a party of one. I'll check them out. I didn't delve deeply into the Halberg's as most of the ones I've seen were over budget, but this is a non life threatening endeavor so maybe something could cross the path I am on. I agree vis-a-vis the cave thing. I saw a 2007 Hanse 400 the other day that piqued my interest; not wood free but pretty nice below deck.

[Zach]

The old Tartan 30's always had a nice bright interior by my eye.

Zach

[Nicholson58]

[QUOTE=Steady Hand;1865999]What follows is written in a friendly tone of voice, with the sole intent to help you.

Why are you looking for a boat with NO wood inside (interior trim etc.)??

Interior wood needs little care on most boats. Mostly just an occasional wipedown (cleaning) or if it is teak some oil and rarely varnish. QUOTE]

Our Camper & Nicholson is1984. The interior is nearly as nice as new including the original teak & holly sole. Cabin sides are teak strips. Cabinets & bulkheads are mahogany. The headliners are plywood with hide of the White Nauga. I agree that wood on the outside is a pain & looks much better on someone else's yacht. Interior wood is pretty much zero maintenance.

Our friend's Island Packet is a nice looking, mostly wood accent. You might look at a few.

[goat]

Originally Posted by MarcStAug

I think you are likely confusing SPAM with TROLL, neither of which were my intent. Maybe you should ignore my posts so they don't bother you so much that you waste your energy, or anyone else's. That'd be a great idea.

I think crazyoldboatguy was implying every boat comes with wood (spam) and if you ask for a boat with no wood they'll build you one with less wood. My interpetation, but then I am also a notsooldcrazyboatguy so I could be wrong.
Who doesn't love a Monty Python reference?

goat