Would I regret buying a Wood hull?

[marujo.sortudo]

+1 to what Suijin said.

Cheap wood boats tend to be like cheap glass boats...expensive to get into good condition. Sometimes disastrously so. I spent a good bit to get a wood boat that was in excellent condition and had a very low maintenance exterior (i.e. paint over epoxy primer mostly.) For the price of a little bit of paint and sandpaper I have a boat that looks new every year and haven't had to do more to the hull than replace a couple dozen fasteners. She's been lower maintenance than many glass boats I know, but thats more about getting a boat in good condition than a type of hull. Get a good boat, learn how to maintain it yourself, and care for it well. If you want to maintain the hull yourself, pick a hull material that suits your skills and inclination.

Next, you'll probably notice that there are some wicked cheap ferrocement and steel boats out there

[Capt Phil]

Yes, you'll probably regret it, financially, but if you buy a sound boat the return in satisfaction if you enjoy sanding, varnishing and can do the hull maintenance and bottom painting your self, is priceless. Our last liveaboard was a wood hull and I still dream about her... Phil

[Geoduck]

Dont be misguided by what you read on this forum concerning the lack of maintenance/dryrot/deck repair/replacing planks, etc.
Ask anyone about how much fun it is to replace rotted cores in decks, bulkheads, engine stringers, cabin sides, hull to deck joints, not to mention the inevitable blisters, gell coat cracks, delamination, etc, etc, etc.
There is no perfect medium in boat building yet.
They all have there miseries, nightmares and methods of sucking every last dollar out of your pocket.
Personally, I have found a better value for the dollar in wood boats - SOME wood boats - few and far between these days for sure. If you are lucky, you might stumble onto a finely crafted wood hull that will last a 100 years that is in it's half life for 1/3 the cost of a comparable fiberglass boat. How much money to you want to spend to go sailing?
I bought my all teak, copper riveted, German designed, fine yacht for peanuts - sure, I've spent a few bucks fixing this and that but so what? The other two thirds of my money that I would have spent on a glass boat is still in my pocket. My old wooden wreck will out last me for sure - unless I sink it or burn it up. My yearly use tax bill is nothing compared to what most people pay for a 48' boat. My haul out is no different that anyone elses.
You just need to get some knowledge before you jump into the game.
One thing I hate about owning a cool old wooden yacht is that people on the dock are always complementing me and asking me questions and wanting to know the history and wanting to come on board to check out her layout,etc. - Drives me nuts! Seems I can never get all the horrible work done from all the interruptions!
To each his own - I also own a fiberglass trailer sailor and a 16' go fast aluminum boat -I finally sold my canoe - but I kept the paddle.

[Suijin]

I should have added that if the point of buying a boat for the OP is to go sailing and enjoy the romance ("class") of a wooden boat, then he should stick to finding a boat that is IN the water and has an extensive detailed maintenance log kept by a meticulous and knowledgeable owner.

Buying a decommissioned wooden boat is buying a project, and if you're not extremely knowledgeable about working on wooden boats then you have no way to even begin to measure the scope and expense of the project. You'd be buying a 35' long box of Cracker Jack.

[Geoduck]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I should have added that if the point of buying a boat for the OP is to go sailing and enjoy the romance ("class") of a wooden boat, then he should stick to finding a boat that is IN the water and has an extensive detailed maintenance log kept by a meticulous and knowledgeable owner.

Buying a decommissioned wooden boat is buying a project, and if you're not extremely knowledgeable about working on wooden boats then you have no way to even begin to measure the scope and expense of the project. You'd be buying a 35' long box of Cracker Jack.

Same goes for fiberglass, steel, aluminum, concrete, rubber, etc.

[Group9]

The only way I would consider buying a used boat, would be once I hit my permanent retirement age, providing I was still in good physical health, and looking for a major project.

And, even then, I would want to learn a lot more than I know now about repairing wooden boats, before I got started.

[GypsyHawk]

Cold molded and strip planking (glass/epoxied) both form durable, low maintenance hulls if well made. And they are still wooden boats.
My first fibreglass boat had delamination between the keel and hull discovered when the keel started to fall off - a potential catastrophe if this had happened at sea.
My current boat now 13 years old - hull perfect, (and no possibility of osmosis).
Alan SV Gypsy Hawk

[sailcruiser]

I would guess yes you'd regret it especially in the Great Lakes. A friend of mine had a pretty little wooden ketch on the 1920s vintage. He is retired and spends winters in Florida. He'd return in late April and work through May and well into June only to wait to launch last since he had to tie up the travel lift for days waiting on the wood to swell. Keep it in the water 6-8 weeks and do it all over again with maybe 3 daysails in that time. I watched this several years just shaking my head. He finally tired and bought a FG boat last year. Fresh water and soggy winter lay ups are hard on a wood boat.

A second friend I. Third generation owner of a 50s wooden powerboat. I haven't seen it in 2 years since it left for dry rot repair. I'd hate to guess the bill on that job!

I am a fan of classic plastic which has its own list of caveats but much more forgiving than wood.

SC

[David_Old_Jersey]

In OP's shoes I would use the g/f's father to get some hands on experiance of working on wooden boats. Other peoples boats! That way can walk away when the novelty and romance stops - or be way more informed when making a purchase.

My tuppence:-

1) Just because the boat is made of wood does not automatically make it a great design or well built (in ye olden days they also made sh#te )......but they can be both .

2) You need to enjoy the work of maintaining her, have the time to do so and be knowledgeable, As the keys are preventative maintanence and also how you use her (with a fibreglass boat it does not matter if you never look in the bilges!).

3) the biggest enemy of wooden boat owner is not wet (or dry!) rot or worms or late maintainence. It's the PO(s) . What you want (really really want) is a wooden boat that has been maintained up to snuff by a knowledgable owner (even if some or all! of the hands on work is done by others). What you can't afford is a wooden boat that has been in the ownership of folks with no money, no inclination and no idea .......unless you want a project. A boat building project . Otherwise you will slowly go insane (and broke) as you try and rectify past sins - and the effects of them . and you never will - because you will sell (at a loss) well before you reach the end.

FWIW, me has never owned a wooden boat. But me father had a couple when I was growing up - so I know why I don't own one (laziness ). And those caused at least one divorce........although that likely as much to do with the fact he fought a constant war in the bilges against.......dust (honestly!). He finally saw the light and went plastic - took him 20 odd years though!

[hellosailor]

What we call fiberglass boats are often more technically called "FRP" fiber reinforced plastic. The fibers are usually glass, these days sometimes graphite or carbon fiber but still "fiber".

If you have a wood boat that has been thoroughly impregnated and cold molded? Right, that was a wood boat, it is now an FRP boat. The fibers are just cellulose instead of glass now.

I supposed that's like arguing whether you have mac-and-cheese or cheese-and-mac, but an impregnated wood boat isn't what most of us call a WOOD boat.