Wooden Boats

Old thread ......and not sure modern composite construction with wood in it is wooden boat construction either .....to many here or even newer boaters.

Be afraid, be very afraid of wooden boats. They have lasted longer and has stood the test of time and the sea than most of the folks on here.

This is a 1958 hull, built with frames and solid mahogany. Its still going strong. There is many more on the water that's withstood a lot more than many of the cocktail type cruisers built in the same era.

Buddy Davis?

These are Rybovich. But Buddy Davis built the strip planked versions of similar sportfishers and were put to the test on a daily diet. Therer is an entire fleet of similar hulls fishing year round along the banks.

I worked on wood boats in boatyards and at new boat builder; as well as played aboard and worked aboard many sorts of wood boats in all my younger years. Man, that was a lesson in life... fun too!

By mid 1970's I was sold on the fact that well built fiberglass boats are the thing to have.

Several years ago I was offered [basically for free] a 42' wood Grand Banks. Was an estate sale and the family just wanted it gone. I looked that boat over very carefully. Had to turn the offer down. My previous years of wood boat experience told me to not waste my time and money trying to restore a wood boat that was past her prime.

Well constructed wood boats are a work of art. Art that needs to be treated as such by not having expenses of time or capital spared!

Good on ya - that take care of wood boats!

Taking care of my wood boat. She’s a real pleasure.

Fish53 said:

I place them with Harley Davidson motorcycles, which I call motorized jewelry. Nice to look at when someone else owns it.

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I resemble that remark. Wooden boat and a Harley.

If one dosn’t put FG on a wood boat and maintains them they will last forever.
Just fix things that go south as fast as they go south. Just like an engine. Bad part ..... replace it. But all this that I’m talking bout assumes the wood boat owner dosn’t have 56 things aboard that are just getting by.

But making a wood boat “good as new” is stupid. And there’s no black and white. But the things not good as new should have a very very low probability of failing.

Soo-Valley said:

I resemble that remark. Wooden boat and a Harley.

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Well we all have different tastes don't we? I owned and raced British bikes years ago, even owned a couple of Harleys, a 1953 K and a 1939 UL. Had a few wood boats too, lobster boats though. Today neither Harleys nor wooden boats fit my lifestyle. Best of luck with both of yours.

Fish53,
Yup I even had an (ugh) Harley ..50 panhead and a 34 VL parade bike.
The latter was much more fun to ride. 4.00X18” wheels and tires both ends.

Our aussie members are shaking their heads. Sooo many timber boats in use there. No big deal, not Brooklin boatyard museum pieces. Real boats, out there on the coast doing all kinds of fun cruising . Some are converted fish boats, some purpose built yachts

Nomad Willy said:

Fish53,
Yup I even had an (ugh) Harley ..50 panhead and a 34 VL parade bike.
The latter was much more fun to ride. 4.00X18” wheels and tires both ends.

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My UL had the sidecar transmission 3 forward and a reverse, no sidecar though. I got pretty good at backing it into parking spots. I owned both of those Harleys after I had sold my BSA A10 and I never really connected with them. I sold them both and bought a Vincent series D, 1954 which like an idiot I sold in 2001. In between I mostly stayed on BSA's, Triumph, and a an odd Norton and AJS stuck in here and there. Rode mile and half mile on a BSA Hornet until I started motocross, and boats.... Ah to be young and foolish again instead of just foolish.

Hi I'm a wood boat inthosyse. I am selling a custom built boat built at NYC south street seaport back in 1982. The name of the boat was the Herbert l stone. Built to pull camera platform for the 1982 world cup sail boat race.
The boat is fitted with twin 4 cl diesel motors that works great. My user name is machine12

John, I spent some serious time and effort talking with a few custom builders about a One-Off design I sketched up for a twenty something electric boat built of wood. For me it was to try something different and wood appeals to me but in the end the costs were much higher than the boat would be worth. As for a full-size trawler built of wood, I believe there are few folks out there who can afford and appreciate what a wood boat offers. When I look at all the boat builders in the Northeast I see more than an handful offering all wood boats granted most are Downeast lobster style, but some are of significant length. I personally don't see a large market for an all-wood full-size trawler but the one-offs are out there.

John T. - Nordhavn 4050. 4061, 3522 and Helmsman 38E - Former Owner

Hi I'm a wooden boat owner with the only one of it's kind. 25 foot twin 4 cl diesel motors. Let's talk.

Instead of building how about buying.im thinking about,selling and getting out of the game. Let's talk.