wooden trawler

hello found this on craigslist thought someone here might want it dont know anything about it FREE https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/boa/d/newport-beach-wood-trawler-free/6900208946.html

They are not giving away a free boat. They are asking for someone to dispose of the boat for them for free.

There is absolutely positively no such thing as a free boat. The ones that say free are typically the most expensive and the least enjoyable.

It can't be all bad. It's floating, on a mooring, meaning floating with little supervision. It has a Detroit that unless blown, can easily be started. It could be a chance for some one with skills or the ability to learn to have a good time on the water.
I bought one similar at auction in 1961 in worse appearance. I sold it 7 years later, then in great condition, when I went into the military and made a ton of money.

Lepke said:

I bought one similar at auction in 1961 in worse appearance. I sold it 7 years later, then in great condition, when I went into the military and made a ton of money.

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Unless your boat was built in 1889, we're talking apples and oranges. This is a 72 year old wooden boat. You can tell by looking at it, and the cost, it will cost many more times what it is worth to get it worthy.

I know a guy who bought a sunken marine trader for $100 at auction. After rebuilding, he sold it for $66K. He's an aircraft mechanic though and rebuilt the lehman from scratch, but things can be done in the hands of the right person.

No thanks, you could easily put 20 or 30K into it and it would still be worth the $1 asking price. It would be difficult to get it insured. Also to find a marina that will take it.

Gasoline and a match. Easy.

toocoys said:

I know a guy who bought a sunken marine trader for $100 at auction. After rebuilding, he sold it for $66K. He's an aircraft mechanic though and rebuilt the lehman from scratch, but things can be done in the hands of the right person.

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Was it a wooden boat, or a fiberglass boat?

You're inferring he made a $65,900 profit on the venture. Even with sweat equity, how much money and how many hours did he invest in the project?

These stories are like the ones from hardcore gamblers. I've never met a gambling addict who admits to loosing money. They ALWAYS leave the casino ahead.

See plenty of worse looking boats than this cruising the waterways fulltime.
They might look rough but at least they are on the water doing it.

Clean her out, give everything a sand, use white house paint liberally with some strategic timber trim bought from the hardware store and she'd look pretty good.
Don't fall for the mistake of trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear,
You're just trying to squeeze more years out of a basically free boat

A wooden boat is worse than a bad marriage. Both cost a fortune.

Lepke said:

It can't be all bad. It's floating, on a mooring, meaning floating with little supervision. It has a Detroit that unless blown, can easily be started. It could be a chance for some one with skills or the ability to learn to have a good time on the water.

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Those that can do
Those that can't stay at work and give away years in their quest for something turnkey and shiney.

Irish Rambler said:

A wooden boat is worse than a bad marriage. Both cost a fortune.

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Hurray, I must be far more wealthy than I thought I was.

The usual hassle with wood is repairs take many skills to learn..

Glassing over a leaky plywood deck is just labor , few skills,
But replacing a stem requires lots of talent and skill.

What no one knows is the condition of the hull--There may be Teredo marine borer worms, there may be broken frames, there may be extensive dry rot. Even an in the water survey will not till you enough to estimate what the materials alone are going to cost to make the boat sea worthy.

The next question is do you have the skills to rebuild the boat to a point where it is seaworthy.

Then all of the other questions come along--mooring, place to work on the boat out of water, the patience to sit aboard the boat after she is put back in the water to allow the planks to swell back up--as you pump the bilge....

My advice, having grown up on, worked on, and owned wooden boats is to run away....

Steward may be a better term than owner. It takes dedication.


Wood boat stays in the water and you have to be there for it.


You must be there to haul it for repairs and make sure it goes back in the water on time. If you want it to sit on hard for any length of time, get fiberglass or metal.


If you don't already know of a good yard for wood boat repair, you're not ready. Get involved with some wood boat owners first.

I always thought an old boat like that parked on nice secluded lot someplace would make a nice little cottage. Ya don’t have to be floating to be happy.

Properly maintained wood boat is just as seaworthy as any other boat.

Most people neither have the time or the money when they're young to buy a boat. As we get older we acquire both and various other skills.
A wooden boat 'well maintained' is certainly seaworthy and a thing of beauty, the 'well maintained' is the part where time, skills and money are endlessly hoovered up.
On our trip from Ireland to France covered in the blog 'Ireland to the Mediterranean Part 1' we visited Lord Nelsons wooden flagship 'Victory'. The British government has not spared any money in keeping this iconic wooden boat 'well maintained' and the museum staff we spoke to estimated that there's probably only 35% of the original ship still there as all the rest had been replaced to keep it 'well maintained'.
I'm the first to agree that see'ing the wooden 'Tall Ships' under sail at sea is a thing of utmost beauty and joy.

Wooden BOATS

The only reason they they made wooden boats was they didn't have FIBERGLASS TREES.
Wood was the best material at the time ( WAS ). You better deep pockets or lots of serious Talent and Time and Desire.