Oh Boy I am in Love

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I've seen this yacht (I can't call it a boat) out in Lake Union. It is beautiful.
 
A very nice piece of boating history there. Thanks for the video.
 
Ah, wood boat disease... I have it, too!
 
I have a wood Egg Harbor 37 and it is a lot of maintenance. Most people wont want to be involved with wood and boats hence the lower price, but they like wood houses!

When boats were made by hand from wood, that took a lot of dedication and craftsmanship to make it right and to keep them going. And most of them are long gone, the boats and the craftsmanship of skilled wood boat workers. But people can learn new things, if they love wood, they will love wood boats too.
 
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Love our wood boat.
 
sdowney717 said:
I have a wood Egg Harbor 37 and it is a lot of maintenance. Most people wont want to be involved with wood and boats hence the lower price, but they like wood houses!

When boats were made by hand from wood, that took a lot of dedication and craftsmanship to make it right and to keep them going. And most of them are long gone, the boats and the craftsmanship of skilled wood boat workers. But people can learn new things, if they love wood, they will love wood boats too.
Click to expand...

jjorgenson3 said:
Love our wood boat.
Click to expand...


Everyone says how much wooden boat coast to maintain but no one actually puts a price.

2000k a month? 1000k a month? We still have wooden boat guys down here because the old oyster luggers still going strong.
 
Regarding maintenance costs, I looked at a 42 foot wood trawler with a Gardner engine. Not at all in the same league as the Boing yacht, but lovely in pictures and I have a soft spot for that engine. Professionally converted in 1990. I saw some of the recent maintenance invoices. My eyes started watering. $75k for hull, topside and bottom paint. Scheduled to be done every 2 years or sooner. And when I looked at her, the hull was already again bleeding rust stains at most fasteners. You have to be a wood connoisseur with deep pockets. The yacht above would easily consume several hundreds of thousands of dollars every year just for basic upkeep.
 
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Tete Dure said:
Everyone says how much wooden boat coast to maintain but no one actually puts a price.

2000k a month? 1000k a month? We still have wooden boat guys down here because the old oyster luggers still going strong.
Click to expand...

That all depends on how much work you do yourself. For me, I do everything, including heavy duty frame repair, which I find interesting by necessity.

I don't spend really any extra per month if I can help it. I might spend less than $ 50 per month in various repairs. Mostly I find the boat needs painting and refinishing too frequently, IMO. My lower hull I have very little paint issues with, hull can look good for 10 yrs after a paint job. It is my upper hull where I battle some cracking joints keeping them sealed. And some peeling spots or paint bubbling develop. Cracks let in water and then it rots. A mixture of 90% rubbing alcohol mixed with roach powder (boric acid) painted and sprayed inside and around the boat kills rot and keeps it from growing. Or you can use green antifreeze mixed with boric acid.

I am looking at a spring haul 2019 and I need to have a prop shaft checked and the prop, I can't do that myself. I will replace the cutlass bushings, and the trim tabs myself, and paint the hull. I did an in water frame section repair last month, the floor (joist) on top of a frame (rib) section on the end rotted 20 inches worth of floor wood and 10 inches of frame and the screws need to be replaced for that. My hull is sealed mostly watertite by various rubber products that create a membrane on the outside. So I was able to excise the rot right down to the planking even cutting the bronze screws clear off and it was watertite. You have to be ingenious to scarf in sections of wood. To replace the floor section (it fits between a fir stringer and the frame), I had to divide it into thirds to get it to move into position. Then glue and clamp it. I could not get my jig saw in there, a chisel and hammer worked fine to remove the rot and create the scarf. I used a piece of paper board to make a pattern and then had to painstakingly grind and cut it to an exact fit. Thankfully glues like epoxy or PL Premium do take up all the little spaces you can't get perfect. It is glues and screws holding the boat together.

Since the outside is entirely sealed in rubber, I have no issues with hull needing to swell or worms or gribbles.

Last year I completely rebuilt the aft deck upper transom area, removed all those teak covering boards, redid with all new supports and plywood, used all PT wood. And I improved on the original construction strength. Did that in the water.

Working on a wood boat is like repairing a fine piece of antique furniture.
 
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gsholz said:
Regarding maintenance costs, I looked at a 42 foot wood trawler with a Gardner engine. Not at all in the same league as the Boing yacht, but lovely in pictures and I have a soft spot for that engine. Professionally converted in 1990. I saw some of the recent maintenance invoices. My eyes started watering. $75k for hull, topside and bottom paint. Scheduled to be done every 2 years or sooner. And when I looked at her, the hull was already again bleeding rust stains at most fasteners. You have to be a wood connoisseur with deep pockets. The yacht above would easily consume several hundreds of thousands of dollars every year just for basic upkeep.
Click to expand...


Oh boy that is expensive. To further expand on your knowledge of wooden boats. Are all fasteners built the same? Are there some fasteners better than others?

Before I proceed, I just want to say, I don't doubt what you told me but I still see the old wooden luggers being used by oyster fisherman. I know those guys aren't spending that kind of money on keeping their boats up.

1) Do they do their own maintenance (I'm going to ask my family still living in South Lafourche)? If so, how hard is changing fasteners and painting and how much money would one save?

2) Is the price a regional? We all know buying a 68 Porsche prices will be the same through the country but a house in Baton Rouge is way cheaper than San Fransisco.

I surely can't afford 75k a year in upkeep.

Thanks for helping out.
 
Tete Dure said:
Oh boy that is expensive. To further expand on your knowledge of wooden boats. Are all fasteners built the same? Are there some fasteners better than others?

Before I proceed, I just want to say, I don't doubt what you told me but I still see the old wooden luggers being used by oyster fisherman. I know those guys aren't spending that kind of money on keeping their boats up.

1) Do they do their own maintenance (I'm going to ask my family still living in South Lafourche)? If so, how hard is changing fasteners and painting and how much money would one save?

2) Is the price a regional? We all know buying a 68 Porsche prices will be the same through the country but a house in Baton Rouge is way cheaper than San Fransisco.

I surely can't afford 75k a year in upkeep.

Thanks for helping out.
Click to expand...

Bleeding fasteners? Must be iron. My boat is all bronze screw fastened. Back in 2006, I refastened the lower hull with 4000 #12 1 3/4" long screws. Replaced many rotten and broken frames. Then I sealed the entire underwater hull in rubber. Something like I did need not be done again for decades, maybe never. we will see. I saw no evidence anyone had rescrewd the hull before me, so the first screw job lasted many decades. In 2014, I pulled out some screws and they were still like new. But some frames I did not replace were going soft. They are not in an important spot seriously. My boat is built like this, 1 inch mahogany planks, then 2.25 by 1.25" ribs. On top of most ribs are these huge heavy oak frames that run from side to side the entire width of the hull. They are spaced about 9 inches apart. In the center is an almost full length keel about 8 inches
wide. And under the keel is a large skeg keel bronze bolted to the center keel. When I glued together all the underwater planks and sealed the hull it formed a more unitary structure, which strengthened the entire boat.

A wood hull is better than a steel hull, IMO. And a fiberglass hull is better than a wood hull. But a wood hull feels more like your in tune with the natural world.
 
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sdowney717 said:
That all depends on how much work you do yourself. For me, I do everything, including heavy duty frame repair, which I find interesting by necessity.

I don't spend really any extra per month if I can help it. I might spend less than $ 50 per month in various repairs. Mostly I find the boat needs painting and refinishing too frequently, IMO. My lower hull I have very little paint issues with, hull can look good for 10 yrs after a paint job. It is my upper hull where I battle some cracking joints keeping them sealed. And some peeling spots or paint bubbling develop. Cracks let in water and then it rots. A mixture of 90% rubbing alcohol mixed with roach powder (boric acid) painted and sprayed inside and around the boat kills rot and keeps it from growing. Or you can use green antifreeze mixed with boric acid.

I am looking at a spring haul 2019 and I need to have a prop shaft checked and the prop, I can't do that myself. I will replace the cutlass bushings, and the trim tabs myself, and paint the hull. I did an in water frame section repair last month, the floor (joist) on top of a frame (rib) section on the end rotted 20 inches worth of floor wood and 10 inches of frame and the screws need to be replaced for that. My hull is sealed mostly watertite by various rubber products that create a membrane on the outside. So I was able to excise the rot right down to the planking even cutting the bronze screws clear off and it was watertite. You have to be ingenious to scarf in sections of wood. To replace the floor section (it fits between a fir stringer and the frame), I had to divide it into thirds to get it to move into position. Then glue and clamp it. I could not get my jig saw in there, a chisel and hammer worked fine to remove the rot and create the scarf. I used a piece of paper board to make a pattern and then had to painstakingly grind and cut it to an exact fit. Thankfully glues like epoxy or PL Premium do take up all the little spaces you can't get perfect. It is glues and screws holding the boat together.

Since the outside is entirely sealed in rubber, I have no issues with hull needing to swell or worms or gribbles.

Last year I completely rebuilt the aft deck upper transom area, removed all those teak covering boards, redid with all new supports and plywood, used all PT wood. And I improved on the original construction strength. Did that in the water.

Working on a wood boat is like repairing a fine piece of antique furniture.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info. It will help me make a good decision on the feasibility of owning a wood boat.
 
Gorgeous boat!

It’s pointless to discuss a wood boat on a plastic toy boat forum.
 
sdowney717 said:
Working on a wood boat is like repairing a fine piece of antique furniture.
Click to expand...

That's one way to look at it


Tete Dure said:
but I still see the old wooden luggers being used by oyster fisherman. I know those guys aren't spending that kind of money on keeping their boats up.
.
Click to expand...

And that's the other way.

There are timber working trawlers and ferries still being used over here as well and I can assure you, fine pieces of antique furniture they are not but that doesn't mean they are not sound boats doing what they were made to do.
 
I'm not a wooden boat expert but I have been intrigued by them on occasion. I understand wooden boats rot from the inside out. Freshwater and rain invite rot. The best thing you can do is store them in a boat house or under cover.

Marinas have been burned with owners abandoning wooden boats. Many of them are now reluctant to lease space to wooden boat owners. To make things more difficult, many travel lift owners will not lift wooden boat for fear of them breaking apart on the lift. Lifting them on a marine rail way is gentler but does not allow for long-term storage/repairs. Wooden boat ownership is a labor of love. You either do everything yourself or you have deep pockets and access to good shipwrights.
 
gsholz said:
I'm not a wooden boat expert but I have been intrigued by them on occasion. I understand wooden boats rot from the inside out. Freshwater and rain invite rot. The best thing you can do is store them in a boat house or under cover. .
Click to expand...
I'm not a wooden boat expert either
The best thing you can do is actually fix any fresh water leaks.
Here in Australia and most of the world there is no such thing as covered boat houses yet timber boats have been here for hundreds of years.

Marinas have been burned with owners abandoning wooden boats. Many of them are now reluctant to lease space to wooden boat owners. To make things more difficult, many travel lift owners will not lift wooden boat for fear of them breaking apart on the lift. .
Click to expand...
Marinas get burned down when any boat catches fire

Travel lift operators who won't lift are simply not using the right gear, we could come out on a 2 strap 75 tonner (a sister ship does) but instead use the 300tonne 8 strapper which provides as much if not more support than the nearby slipway.(marine railway)

. Lifting them on a marine rail way is gentler but does not allow for long-term storage/repairs
Click to expand...

Mate, its a timber boat.
You don't want to be out for any more than two weeks anyway as she'll start to dry out.
Long term storage will probably see them never go back in.

And plenty of slipways do have side rails where they can shift boats around still on cradle and put another cradle down for the next lift.

Wooden boat ownership is a labor of love. You either do everything yourself or you have deep pockets and access to good shipwrights
Click to expand...
And that's the same for any vessel.
 
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Greetings,
Mr. 60. "Marinas have been burned with owners abandoning wooden boats." I think Mr. g meant the marinas get stuck with the bill for disposing abandoned wooden boats ie: "burned".
 
RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Mr. 60. "Marinas have been burned with owners abandoning wooden boats." I think Mr. g meant the marinas get stuck with the bill for disposing abandoned wooden boats ie: "burned".
Click to expand...


There's that to and can happen with any boat regardless of construction material
 
Simi 60 said:
That's one way to look at it




And that's the other way.

There are timber working trawlers and ferries still being used over here as well and I can assure you, fine pieces of antique furniture they are not but that doesn't mean they are not sound boats doing what they were made to do.
Click to expand...

Simi 60 said:
I'm not a wooden boat expert either
The best thing you can do is actually fix any fresh water leaks.
Here in Australia and most of the world there is no such thing as covered boat houses yet timber boats have been here for hundreds of years.


Marinas get burned down when any boat catches fire

Travel lift operators who won't lift are simply not using the right gear, we could come out on a 2 strap 75 tonner (a sister ship does) but instead use the 300tonne 8 strapper which provides as much if not more support than the nearby slipway.(marine railway)



Mate, its a timber boat.
You don't want to be out for any more than two weeks anyway as she'll start to dry out.
Long term storage will probably see them never go back in.

And plenty of slipways do have side rails where they can shift boats around still on cradle and put another cradle down for the next lift.


And that's the same for any vessel.
Click to expand...

Simi 60 said:
There's that to and can happen with any boat regardless of construction material
Click to expand...


I found an old wooden boat restorer and builder in Alabama and will contact him tomorrow to get some general info. They originally built the Biloxi trawlers out of wood. They have some for sale that I am tempted to buy and convert into a cruising boat. The have a hug back deck and are perfect for the Gulf Coast.

But getting back to wooden boats. I've always heard to stay away from them but I've unloaded many of shrimp and oysters from old wooden boats in the 80's. I cannot fathom a shrimper or oyster fisherman spending 75k every year to keep the boat running. Most didn't make that kind of money.

There are a bunch of local shipyards that have the rail system all along Bayou Lafourche and the surrounding areas. I don't know if anyone still does wooden boats but I have a phone list.

Thanks!
 
I never have hauled out using a rail system. Always hauled out using a travelift.
If you have trouble finding a place to haul out use a marina where they have working waterman. What is bad about the rail system, I found they want a lot of money and your tieing up their rail while your out. Much better to be travel lifted and put up with stands. If your wood boat can not survive being lifted by a travelift, then it is in bad shape not fit for use on the water! Frankly, it is a good test of your hull integrity.

Here locally in Hampton Virginia, Belle Isle and Marina Cove will haul your wood boat using their travel lift. Perhaps Yacht Haven in Poquoson.

Dandy Haven, York River Yacht Haven have refused to haul my wood boat even though they have wood boats at their marina.

Here is my haul out in 2014
 

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For some years there was a yacht similar to that in Bayou Lafourche at Larose near the ICW crossing, maybe belonged to one of the Chouest family? A very nice classic yacht maybe 50'. I didn't see it recently but wasn't looking for it either. I think the name was UTAH. If I find more about it I'll let you know.
 
Ours coming out on the 300tonne 8 strapper
All nicely supported
 

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Tete - the Sirius is a 100' mahogany hull built in Turkey in the early 90s. It was in need of (apparently) significant hull work when it got on this side of the pond. Work was done in south AL - maybe by the same person you've located.

Adam Fagan is Sirius' contract skipper - 228-596-1670. He can probably give you some info on resources.
 

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