Wood GB 33

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Woody5

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2022
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What to expect from a wood Grand Banks in 2023? Keeping in mind that it was well cared for lying covered in Florida waters with low hours on the old Leman diesel?
What is a reasonable purchase price for such an adventure given my limited skills ?
 
1969 Grand Banks 32’ wood boat with original Leman Ford diesel.
 
Depending on the accessories, genny, radar, tank condition, windows, tarps and mooring cover, upholstery, decks, hull, electronics, paint, batteries,etc.

If everything is there and everything works about $15,000 for the boat. Consider another $20,000 for immediate upgrades and repair. (The $15,000 is being generous)

pete
 
Make sure that you can get insurance and a place to dock it before you buy. It is getting more difficult to get them. Good luck.
 
You want to closely inspect that hull for worms in addition to the usual fasteners and planking. A wooden GB in good shape is a real nice boat.
 
What is a reasonable purchase price for such an adventure given my limited skills

I would say that you would need to be prepared to do a lot of maintenance and repair. I love my fiberglass 32 but I wouldn't own her if I couldn't do 99 percent of the work myself. I enjoy it. A wood boat would likely require more attention.
I'm not saying don't do it. I am saying (in my opinion) you would really need to love the boat and love working on her.
 
I have a lot of experience with wood boats up to 20’ but my mechanical experience is limited. Is an old Leman Ford 120 hp an engine that can be maintained and be reliable?
 
The Lehman 120 is a rock solid engine. Parts and support are available through American Diesel in Virginia.
 
My first boat was a 44' classic woodie, in the Caribbean.
Never again, bad mistake but I was 28 years old and didn't listen to warnings from
wiser men.
Wooden boats last for hundreds of years in cold climates if cared for, not so in warm waters.
Nuff said..:ermm:
 
Comodave said:
The Lehman 120 is a rock solid engine. Parts and support are available through American Diesel in Virginia.
Click to expand...

Is a 58 year old diesel a rock solid engine? Doubtful unless it has been stripped down and inspected carefully, rebuilt totally with new marinization parts installed.

Anything less keep it close to safe harbor and SEATOW. The engine has to come out anyway so wood planking, ribs, keel and stem can be rebuilt and replaced as required.

Do the overall engine, mechanicals and wood work rebuilds far inland to avoid storm damage if near hurricane waters. Once done (5years +) the vessel could be a center piece at wooden boat shows with lots of enjoyment amid like minded friends.
 
A well maintained Ford Lehman is as good as a newer one. Note that I say well maintained. That means regular oil changes, replacing worn or rusted parts, upgrading as needed.

The engine will basically last forever. The water pumps, alternator, heat exchangers, etc. are really consumables. They will last a long time but not as long as the engine. One mechanic told me "The engine does not know it is 50 years old".

Don't worry about the engine. Worry about the wood.

pete
 
Pete Meisinger said:
A well maintained Ford Lehman is as good as a newer one. Note that I say well maintained. That means regular oil changes, replacing worn or rusted parts, upgrading as needed.

The engine will basically last forever. The water pumps, alternator, heat exchangers, etc. are really consumables. They will last a long time but not as long as the engine. One mechanic told me "The engine does not know it is 50 years old".

Don't worry about the engine. Worry about the wood.

pete
Click to expand...
Agreed. My woodie GB36 had two of them.
Also the older woodies were well built, deck teak was applied old school. I never found a deck leak underneath unlike the newer boats that gave wood a bad rap.
 
My boat neighbor has a 1972 32' woody GB. About 5 years ago it was hauled, sanded and a layer of 3M-5200 troweled on. Then it was fiber glassed from just above the waterline down. The interior was left un-glassed.
He claims it is holding up just fine.
 
Like most responses, I have had wood boats and loved them. Would I have one today, no. If you really like spending time working on your boat and take pride in preserving a wood boat, by all means, go ahead. If you are looking for a cheap boat to use without much work, don't do it. I like many of you have seen some beautifully maintained wood boats that are flat out gorgeous, well maintained and a true effort of love to keep them floating. BTW, most marinas in our area will not rent a berth to a woody. Too many sink in the berth and are abandoned. This is not a trivial issue when getting a wood boat no matter how well maintained.
 
Cold Duck said:
Like most responses, I have had wood boats and loved them. Would I have one today, no. If you really like spending time working on your boat and take pride in preserving a wood boat, by all means, go ahead. If you are looking for a cheap boat to use without much work, don't do it. I like many of you have seen some beautifully maintained wood boats that are flat out gorgeous, well maintained and a true effort of love to keep them floating. BTW, most marinas in our area will not rent a berth to a woody. Too many sink in the berth and are abandoned. This is not a trivial issue when getting a wood boat no matter how well maintained.
Click to expand...

Is there a possibility that wood boats must be worked on to maintain a reasonable appearance. I too have had several wood boats and much more tupperware boats. Currently our Bayliner has a bit of teak which the previous and current owner will leave in natural state, clean and leave.

But there is a major job with glass boats that is ignored by many and that is waxing, cut polishing etc to keep the high gloss new look. Most boats show the age as that job appears to be optional to most owners, yet it provides as much work as does a wood boat that demands brightwork. IMO
 
No one said that plastic boats don't need maintenance, but not waxing your boat for 4 years or even 10 years will not sink your boat. Ignoring a rotten plank that needs replacing will. Anyone who has owned a wood boat for any length of time has replaced a plank. Big difference than waxing your boat. And bright work, in Fl you can't go 3 months without taking care of your bright work. Now all my wood is inside. Just gettin' old and tired of sanding and varnishing every 3 months. It did look good though.
 
With a handle of "woody5" the OP is not going to shy away from the woody. Maybe already his 5th.
Good on you Woody5! And good luck with your GB. I have seen several good wooden GBs, so keeping yours in great shape will not be difficult. The low hours only means the Lehman won't be worn out. A thorough inspection by a knowledgeable diesel mechanic will sort that out.
I can't help you with the price.
 
I agree with Keith. If you enjoy the routine of owning a wooden boat I can think of no better wooden boat to own. They were built to last.
As an aside I have a friend with a wooden Hinckley- Owens 41. Boat was re-planked with mahogany maybe 20 years ago. We can sand and paint that hull with less effort than waxing my plastic GB 36. Brightwork is brightwork regardless of what the hull was made of. Keeping any boat in nice shape requires lots of work and / or $$$
 
BTW, the best maintenance you can do for wood or plastic is a covered berth. Just sold a '74 Willard Vega that lived its life outside. Friend has same boat that has been in covered berth it's whole life. The covered boat looked like new. In the Delta where temps get over 110 in summer, the covered berth is worth lots of maintenance dollars. Unfortunately, I can only cover berth my 26fter, not the MS350.
 
Some of you older cruisers might remember "Uncle Bernie" cruising the west coast of Mexico in his 32GB woody. Later he switched to a 42GB Europa. A real Md, he was a fixture in the Mexican cruising world in the '70s and '80s
 
1971 GB36, in 2021 before I had a notion to get a bigger boat the bottom was sanded to the bare wood hull. 50 years of bottom paint removed. There was no hint of delamination, the inside is dry except for wen it rains and the lazarette lets some in the pump will run for 15 seconds every other week.
Good for another 50 years with new paint. The GB wood hull is as good as a glass hull, back when hulls were made thicker. I am confident not all wood hull boats were built the same.
Carvel planked Philippine mahogany attached to Yacal ribs. The teak decks are bedded on Thiokol over marine plywood. On my GB36 there were no leaks found under the teak deck.
Survey found a solid hull and deck.
Brightwork of rails does take a lot of work, and most have opted for none in future boats.
The marine plywood house demands a lot of TLC maintenance when regular painting is not done.
I compared the current boat and see many hours each year in attending to the polish of the hull, deck and house. But first a bigger job of cut polishing the many years of oxidization. Just a water wash produced a milky water.

I get tired of hearing wood boats are more work.
 
I was thinking about this subject and comparing my old steel hull boat (with a mediocre paint job) to my fiberglass fishing boat. The annual effort for waxing/polishing exceeds the bi-annual painting with enamel on the steel hull.
 
SteveK; I get tired of hearing wood boats are more work.[/QUOTE said:
Steve
Some of us older folks remember wood boats well. In fact some of us even owned them. To keep a woodie in very nice shape was indeed an effort.

A walk through our marina will find wood boats and tired older owners. Very few young people today are willing to tackle an old woodie. Yes they are a labor of love even when pristine as compared to an equivalent sized FRP vessel.

As always it just depends on where we choose to spend our time and sweat equity. We had a get time taking care of our last woodie. Last being nearly 40 years ago when young and energetic.

In this case the OP appears to be young and ready to tackle the job. Provided he has the time, desire and funds to do it right it should be a great and fulfilling endeavor.
Click to expand...
 
As a veteran owner of several wooden boats including one notable GB 32 (Ebbtide) and a current owner of my first fiberglass boat (Puffin) I can say without a doubt that I much prefer a woody. If Puffin was a wooden hull she would be my perfect boat. Just my opinion for what it's worth.

:popcorn::popcorn:
 
As we get older what we remember was the work we did back then and it is always exaggerated as those wood boats were much younger too.

Being a DIY guy, I have found wood/glass sail/power all require your attention.
The 32 Woodie Chris Craft was about 20, now would be 60 and did not need as much attention as the 50 year old GB. But that was 40 or so years ago, when I was 40 years younger, so unfair comparison.
 
The real trick to keeping a woody happy is defer nothing, ever. If the hull you are looking at is sound then you will have a great starting point.

Check the keel in the bilge where the stuffing box connects. If that spot is soft you’ll have a real project on your hands.
 
Correlation is not causation.

Wooden boats will tend to be older than FG ones. Are their maintenance requirements due to age or material?

Wooden hulls don’t rot, wooden under-decks and houses do and FG boats of a certain era have plenty of those.
 
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Wood boats are beautiful. Lines and looks better than any other

That said, they are a labor if love and not the best investment (strictly from a money perspective)

Most folks would sell them super cheap just to see them go to someone who will continue to care for them. .

I say 8k most everything working.
 
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