Wood boat for winter cruising the PNW, BC, and SE Alaska?

[kevin_j]

Sorry for a late reply, we’ve been downsizing and moving aboard ourselves. Sounds like you landed on a solid prospect. Surround yourself with positive like minded people and go for it!?

Sale is in progress!!! She needs a ton of work but I'm looking forward to the work! Can't wait to share her pics with you all.

Trawlercap, I'm thinking about harbor hopping this winter in Puget Sound. If this all works we'll have to do a work boat meetup! I have to move the boat to Campbell River for haul out. I was thinking it would be more fun to go south and get to know the boat better over winter versus spending another 3 months in the camper roaming.

 

[Slowmo]

I spent most of my life on a heavy wood boat and more recently moved to FG (Tollycraft). Both wood and glass have advantages. If you're aboard on the winter I'd say wood may be more comfortable, it is quieter and doesn't 'sweat'. However there is more ongoing maintenance. The good thing is that being there it isn't so hard to just keep up with it. There are may heavy old trawlers in the PNW, some are converted commercial or government boats.
A few things to look for if you go wood:
1) what is it planked with. In this area Yellow Cedar (Alaskan or Port Orford) are excellent, fir is less preferred as it is more rot prone. Production boats like Grand Banks used mahogany. Also important is the reputation of the yard that constructed it.
2) What conditions are the fastenings in and what are they made of. You should have this checked in a survey. If the boat is 50 years old or more it may have been re-fastened, at least below the water line. Boats can be fastened with silicon-bronze, galvanized, or plain iron. Silicon bronze is the best but none last forever and need replacing.
3) most important is how was the maintenance. A wood boat cannot be neglected like a FG hull This is the downside, but the upside is that wood hulls can be have planks replaced and the repair is literally good as new, not so with FG.
4) Beyond the hull make sure to check the superstructure for leaks and rot. Some superstructures are fiberglass covered but you need to check around openings where water may intrude.
5) If you buy wood, make sure you hire a surveyor who really is expert in wood boats. Port Townsend is a good place to look for one.

One other thing to consider is that boats that were originally fish boats or government boats will likely be heavily built. However boats built for yacht usage generally have better accommodations. Coming back to the FG vs wood question. It comes down to how much you want to work. I can't deny that wood adds more work. Yet wood is an easy material to work with. Maintenance and painting is very straight forward. FG can be 'neglected' with less risk of major damage but transmits noise and is colder.

 

[JWellington]

Slomow, for sure wood can be a great hull material with those advantages you cited. And indeed , there also are conversions to old wooden fishing ang gov boats.

 

[kevin_j]

And the adventure begins.......

I have a signed deal! I'd like to introduce you to Ocean Tigress!

Here's her listing

She's a 1980, Wahl built troller. In fact she's one of the last ones built on the BC coast. She's built like tank with double planking at her waterline and massive timbers in scantlings. She's also very livable! There is a ton of work that needs to be done. Decking repairs, some ply replacement on the fly bridge, some fasteners rusting through, and of course a ton of painting All things I'm excited to handle. I've decided that I'm going to try and document a lot of this work in a blog and with youtube videos. I'm also starting a thread on her over at the Wooden Boat Forum that will be more specific about her repairs.

I've decided that she's staying in BC. She's got a lot of history in this area and I just can't bring myself to move her South over the border. She will be U.S. Documented however and will make trips to Port Townsend and Puget Sound in general....but not during ski season...hahahaha!

Due to all this work, I'm going to hold off chasing ski lines in the Inlet's this winter but 2022/23 season is going to be awesome!

Here's some pics that I've taken.

Thanks again for all the help, advice, and encouragement!

 

[HTurner]

Congratulations! She's a beauty. Enjoy.

 

[ofer]

Nice! welcome to the 32V world

 

[ofer]

. I'm also starting a thread on her over at the Wooden Boat Forum that will be more specific about her repairs.

if you want a lot of attention ask them if you should wrap her in fiberglass

 

[rsn48]

A lot of money has gone into this boat for sure and in amazing shape. Looks great.

 

[kevin_j]

if you want a lot of attention ask them if you should wrap her in fiberglass

Hahahaha! Its funny how many folks over there have FG deck replacements. I'm actually really happy the fly bridge on Tigress is glass. I was thinking about doing the decks FG over ply with smaller thickness planks, but I've decided to stay with the original design. My first project is replacing a bunch of planks on her aft. She also needs a bunch of frame heads replaced. All fun wood working projects!

 

[bowball]

Photos? Where?

 

[Simi 60]

How could you not

 

[CharlieO.]

Nice, I like the looks of that boat. I'm interested in the work that you found that needs to be done to her. I haven't ruled out wood boats so am interested when I see someone start on one.

 

[JWellington]

A big congrats. Should be a good boat. Un feed, de recently had a huge thread about how converting fish boats to pressure botas is 'doable'. Practicaly everybody agreed.

 

[Max Simmons]

Beauty. Wahl has a good rep around here

 

[JWellington]

Beauty. Wahl has a good rep around here

Is it the same as the Fred Wahl company in the states?

 

[OldDan1943]

Congratulations! She's a beauty. Enjoy.

+1

 

[Alaskaflyer]

Congratulations, I was watching her for possible west coast adventures too but she wasn’t perfect for us. She’s much bigger in your photos than in the listing ones

 

[kevin_j]

Congratulations, I was watching her for possible west coast adventures too but she wasn’t perfect for us. She’s much bigger in your photos than in the listing ones

She is quite large! Gonna be a lot of fun learning to single hand her. I've been working up systems. For now though it's really just about learning her. Shes complex. I'm actually sitting in her saloon as I write this, Dickenson going, eating pizza I made in the oil stove last night. Nice and dry on a wet North Island day. Pretty rad!

 

[kevin_j]

Well the deal fell through. It's actually ok. She was a little larger in length and draft than I was really looking for. So the search continues! Think I'm gonna head back to the states in the next few weeks. Have a couple of more boats to look at up here on the way however. Might just have to wait another year until the right one appears Thanks for all the kind words everyone! It's great being part of such a supportive forum!

--Kevin

 

[kevin_j]

On a completely unrelated topic.... started watching season one of "Alone" on Discovery. First episode I was like, "Wait a minute... I know that plane!". Turns out it was filmed right up the Quatsino Sound from where Ocean Tigress is moored! North Vancouver Island is really a wild place! So cool!

 

[kevin_j]

Is it the same as the Fred Wahl company in the states?

Not that I'm aware of, although may be related? If your interested in Wahl boats, one of the Grandsons wrote a book called "Legacy in Wood". Really good read, although I didn't finish it as the copy I was reading was aboard Tigress

 

[bowball]

Kevin, I hope you find your perfect boat soon. Your adventures sound amazing. I’m excited to read more about what you accomplish. Thanks for sharing