Wooden hull for long term cruising

[lord at sea]

best response I've seen so far, and there's one other thing about wood, you can make parts for it just about anywhere, try that with other matrials.

[roland stockham]

I suggest you look at who has actually got experience with wooden boats whether as a builder, surveyor or owner. Most people who have never dealt with wooden boats will tell you how much work they require, most people who OWN them will tell you how little they have to do. But it absolutely depends on the boat, a poorly build and badly maintained wooden boat may well be un-salvageable. A similarly neglected GRP one may well be repairable but probably still not worth it!!! Remember only about 25% of the value of a boat is in the hull so an older wooden boat with some issues with the hull such as needing re-caulking but with good sails, machinery and equipment could be better value than a sound GRP hull that needs rewiring, new engine, instrument upgrades and sails. You have to look at the whole package.
When it comes down to it most of us buy boats that appeal to us emotionally. If we though about it logically we would buy a house!!!

[roland stockham]

Just thinking about the practicalities! Generally a good sound wooden boat will cost about half the price of an equally sound boat in any other hull type because most buyers think they take too much work to keep up so they are only a few buyers. BUT the BIG problem is finding a good sound one! Very few traditional wooden boats are now built in the industrialized world so most of the ones for sale are either going to be built in 'third world' countries to who knows what standard or are going to be more than 60yrs old. The other catogary are 'big name designs' like Herchoff which are very much sought after vintage things with a price to match. You do see composite wooden hulls using plywood, cedar strip and other systems combined with epoxy glass encapsulation of one sort or another but essentially they are all wood encapsulation systems and suffer all the problems of wood cored decks and are no where near as long lived as a good carvel planked hull.

[Poche]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

and are no where near as long lived as a good carvel planked hull.

Not a very good argument. Are you saying that fiberglass deteriorates faster than wood? I don't think that is the case.
I think we already know that fiberglass has outlasted and will outlast expectations from the early days.
But, we consumers guessed this back in the 60s.

[KP44]

Originally Posted by geoleo

would YOU RATHER HAVE A HULL MADE OF ONE IECE- OR A HULL MADE O HUNDREDS MAYBE THOUSAND PIECES?? bOATS DO FAIL PIEC BY PEIECE,

Boats fail from lack of fundamental care; maintenance.

[roland stockham]

Originally Posted by Poche

Not a very good argument. Are you saying that fiberglass deteriorates faster than wood? I don't think that is the case.
I think we already know that fiberglass has outlasted and will outlast expectations from the early days.
But, we consumers guessed this back in the 60s.

Definietly not, solid GRP and durable foam core construction has proved extreamly durable. However balsa cored decks and plywood or ceader cored GRP can suffer rot out if the sheathing is breached. Same applies to cold molding. If a wood structure is built in a way that prevents miostur escaping it can be a sevear problem so composite wood construction may not be the same as traditional build.

[roland stockham]

If the OP would like to post details of a specific boat they are cosidering we could maybe give better advice that just generalities?

[RUSTYNAIL]

I used to survey commercial passenger boats in California, where the water wasn't too warm. On commercial vessels, its required to randomly pull keel bolts. You'd cry if you saw some of the six foot keel bolts. Between the stacked boards in the keel, water enters over time, and some of the bolts were a fourth the diameter caused by corrosion, or broke while pullling them, requiring all of the remaining bolts removed and inspected. Now, finding people qualified to repair wood boats can be a challenge in some areas. If you have lots of money, go for it. Wood boats are absolutely beautiful.

[Poche]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

Same applies to cold molding. If a wood structure is built in a way that prevents miostur escaping it can be a sevear problem so composite wood construction may not be the same as traditional build.

I see what you are saying and agree.

[Jim Cate]

FWIW:
Our strip planked composite hulled boat is now nearly 30 years and around 125,000 miles of age.

No blisters. No rot, No stress cracks. No corrosion. Tight keel. Very low maintenance requirements. Very stiff hull and deck. No creaks, groans or other disturbing noises in a
seaway.

I kinda like her...

Jim

[Davo1404]

Originally Posted by the dude abides

Destination wise is also something to consider. You will be quarantined if allowed at all in Australia with a wooden hull. So international cruising may be restricted.

Please elaborate more on the "you will be quarantined". All vessels are subject to quarantine when entering Australia.

[double u]

Yardbuilt probably more aluminium than steel frenchies, true, but I meant amateur built

[Pelagic]

https://youtu.be/-ryp0Vl1Hxo

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by NicBeeee

Interesting with the copper plating, would it not be possible to copper plate each individual plank as opposed to sheeting over larger sections.

Problem is wood boats rely on the wood swelling once wet to close up the gaps between the planks. (often see wood boats left in the hoist slinks overnight after launching as they will leak like a sieve until the wood swells.

If you wrap the copper around each plank, it's now a copper on copper gap. While anything is possible, I suspect getting those to seal would be difficult.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by lord at sea

best response I've seen so far, and there's one other thing about wood, you can make parts for it just about anywhere, try that with other matrials.

With a bit of knowledge, not hard to make fiberglass parts just about anywhere. I bet I can find a gallon of resin and fiberglass cloth more easily than quality boat building wood in most places.

All boats have maintenance but oil changes and checking the rigging apply to any boat. We are talking primarily about the hull in this discussion.

About the worst that can happen from neglect on a solid hull fiberglass boat is you get a bad case of blisters. Unsightly, expensive to fix and hurts resale value...but otherwise, largely cosmetic unless you let it go for decades and most newer boats use better materials to avoid it in the first place. I can't recall ever hearing of blisters taking a boat to the bottom.

The next worse thing is rot in a cored deck. A bit of wet core while better to fix, again is unlikely to cause a major problem if you aren't meticulous about maintenance. Typically, you can pick your time to repair it and unless it's bad, it isn't that hard to do.