Is this Boat Worth Saving ?

[clifford sloan]

You need an old boat like you need an old girlfriend. "At Sea" is right on the money with his advice. Personal experience leads me to say wait till you are free before even looking. If it's meant to be, it will still be there for you but spend a lot of time just inspecting.

[zoombats]

Good Luck Bud. If you need any extra help or opinion ask as I am sure there is a wealth of information out there and here on this forum. I would love to know more about the pedigree of the boat and the history as to designer and yard where built. You might get a diamond in the rough.

[lorenzo b]

Be cautious buying into anything in Costa Rica, spend some time there and talk to people that have moved there and tried to do something. Panama or Mexico are much better bets.

[IceDog]

Thanks again for the continued advice. I will take notes and keep your points in mind. We live in Costa Rica (all right, my wife lives there and I get to visit every six months...) I hope to be full time there by the end of the year. Between Antarctica and Iraq, I have been away from home for over three years already. We also run a small business there (a restaurant & cabinas on the beach in Playa Zancudo) so we know how things work in Costa Rica. I plan to learn a lot about sailing and related costs when I am there next week. The current boat owner is currently preparing the boat to put in the water so it doesn't dry out more. I told the broker not to do that on my account but he is doing it to protect the boat. The photos in the link I posted were from just a couple of days ago btw.

[TOPGALLANT32]

my advice ? For what its worth. (RUN ) the other way no mater how much it hurts. long distance boat ownership does not work,especially a wood boat. This is experience talking

[hellosailor]

icedog, it may be a treasure. But speaking as a cynic, I'd suggest you get a surveyor who the broker doesn't know or recommend, one with the best credentials and reccomendations you can find, and then hope he really does know wood boats. There are issues with wood rotting (wet rot and dry rot) and incompatible fasteners (no iron, arguably not even galvanize or stainless) and while there may be a certain zen into replacing every piece of a wood boat...You've heard about George Washinton's hatchet? The one he chopped down the cherry tree with?
Yeah, I've got the original hatchet. The handle's been replaced five times and the head six more, but it's the original hatchet. Honest.

If you don't personally know wood and wood boats--your choice of surveyor is going to determine whether you have a good time, or years of "zen" working on that boat. There's a reason why wood boats fell out of favor, because they are maintenance intensive at best. Make haste slowly with this.

[skipmac]

I would check the fasteners, especially below the water line. If they need replacing just the cost of the bronze screws could run a few thousand, and that's not counting the time, plugs, paint, etc.

Owned one wood boat and that was enough for me. If you live on it full time and keep it up it may be practical. To keep a wood boat in the tropics, leave it for long periods and use it intermittently will end up spending all your time home doing repairs or spend a lot of money to boat yards.

[IceDog]

Thanks for the replies, good words to ponder and I have some idea of the scope of work involved in the maintenance of a boat like this. If I buy this boat, I may look back and think why didnt I listen to these guys. I hope that I will not be working overseas after this year. My plan is to stay in Costa Rica (though I may work six months of the year in Antarctica, I would at that point have full time use of it for six months of the year) I found out a little more information on the boat. It was built at the Wistock Boat Yard in England. The engine was installed two years ago and the boat was originally named Allan II. No word on the designer. I am leaving today to make my way to Costa Rica and may have limited internet access for a couple of days. I will update when I am on the ground there...

[SabreKai]

Originally Posted by ncarter

You MUST inspect the frame ends,the keel bolts,the planking fasteners...prior to a purchase or even a commitment to a free boat. The longer she`s on the hard the worse shape she`ll be in...But Hey, I`ve owned a fleet of un-surveyed wooden vessels.

What he said. Plus, I've never seen a Yanmar that was red. I also question the age of the engine because if it was only 2 years old, I doubt very much that you would see the level of corrosion on the inside of the main crank pulley. These engines are very well painted, and I can't see any reason for any corrosion in there let alone the amount shown.

If you do go an buy her, when you get ready to launch, see if they can launch at the end of the day Friday and leave her hanging in the slings til Monday. If not, lots of bilge pumps, with a guaranteed power source, and tie her to the pier or piling such that she will sit on the bottom at low tide with the water pretty much at her normal waterline.

One thing I noticed, it appears someone has tried to glass the bottom in spots, you will certainly want to find out why.


Sabre

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I would check the fasteners, especially below the water line. If they need replacing just the cost of the bronze screws could run a few thousand, and that's not counting the time, plugs, paint, etc.

Or you could refasten it traditional style.... split plugs and wedges... with todays adhesives etc it'd work better than back then... save the money for that new curved frame or whatever....

[bljones]

As a wooden boat owner/restorer/builder, woodenboat ownership, especially a woodenboat that has been on the hard for more than a season, is not a hobby- it is a career. Do you want to sail? buy a production boat- there are enough cheap ones out there. Do you want to be the custodian of a high maintenance potential showpiece that, given enough work and money, will earn compliments from all who gaze upon her splendour? Then by all means, buy a wooden boat.
A neglected fiberglass boat is usually only a couple of weekends of hard work and a crapload of compound and polish away from being presentable. if you get behind the maintenance curve on a fiberglass boat it is usually not the end of the world- it just means more work. A traditional wooden boat is a whole different kettle of fish- deferred maintenance will always, ALWAYS bite you in the ass.

Now that the caveats and disclaimers and warning are out of the way, the upside of a woodenboat is that if you take care of her, she'll pay you back tenfold. Your grins will be wider, your stories hairier, the women you attract hornier and the drinks stronger when you are captain of a woodenboat.

[Wand]

Originally Posted by bljones

...the upside of a woodenboat is that if you take care of her, she'll pay you back tenfold. Your grins will be wider, your stories hairier, the women you attract hornier and the drinks stronger when you are captain of a woodenboat.

This man tells the truth. Right on bro!

[atoll]

yes its true;
had a wooden boat once and it true the women are hairier,the drinks make you hornier and the stories are not for the weak!!!

[IceDog]

After all of your advice and discussions with cruising family and friends, I decided not to take the time to look at the boat on this trip. I will look at it in the summer when I come back to Costa Rica again. If anyone has any interest, feel free to contact the agent on the link in the earlier posts. As a sidenote, I had a fantastic sailing trip here and expect to do another one on my next trip. Sailing is fun We went to Isla del Cano and Drake Bay.

[hellosailor]

"I will look at it in the summer when I come back to Costa Rica again."
Icedog, rule of thumb, sometimes wrong, is that if something is on the market for more than 90 days, six months TOPS, it ain't worth looking at. When or if something sits around that long, unless it was forgotten in the back of someone's barn, there's something very wrong with either the price or the goods.
In this day and age, if it sits around for a year that's because no one was fool enough to buy it. Or sell it.

On the bright side, there's always more boats!