My
boat is a
wood 1942, former USCG
cutter. Is was rebuilt in the 70's to a Monk design. It sat for several years before I bought it and probably hadn't see any quality
maintenance in 20 years. Its' saving grace is a copper bottom and a life in
salt water. I had a lot to do to get the main
cabin,
hull and decks in shape. And I used some of the most expensive products.
Where I go down to
wood I prepare the surface and I use a top primer done how the manufacturer recommends. Then a top finish
paint. All with the number of coats and other actions called for by the manufacturer. On wood boats I also vent all the bilges with low volume fans. The air enters inside near the top for the ribs and is drawn down the sides behind paneling and fixtures and into the
bilge. Then out thru collectors. Sometimes turned off in really cold
weather. It takes the "boat" smell out.
I also was a shipwright and
commercial fished a 50 year old wood
boat in the
North Pacific.
The point of this blabbering is: if you do a proper job and use excellent materials
maintenance is spread over many more years. I expect to spend $2-3000 a year in maintenance. Much of that for unnecessary haulouts so a
surveyor can look at the zincs and copper bottom. Unless a plank were to come loose and push the copper out, there's nothing to look at.
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