Are wooden hull boats a viable option or should I steer clear?

[KadeyKrogen38]

Run like hell from any wooden boat in warm water. Rot and worms can be continuous especially if not sailed in salt water regularly. Frequent fresh rain promotes rot.

You will constantly replacing some piece or part.

[Clivevon]

" but there is one I keep seeing on Craigslist and various boat broker sites. It is a wooden hulled boat."
So you keep seeing it. So it hasnt sold. Maybe its just waiting there for you ??

Honestly, why do this to yourself - buy a glassfibre boat (like almost everyone else) & go sailing. Buy one you can afford which is about ready to go - if your family is now interested, that is a very important consideration. Do NOT put them off now by buying a project boat. Remember if you buy a smaller boat you will get 90%+ of the fun for a much smaller percentage of the money & a lot less hassle.

Sometime in the future you will know a lot more about all sorts of things than you do now (like - are your family still keen ?) & you can buy your next boat then with much more confidence. IMHO. FWIW. Good luck. Happy boating.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Surfdoc23

I am new to sailing anything bigger than an old sunfish. I finally got my wife and son into it and we are looking at buying our first boat. Most boats I looked at are fiberglass but there is one I keep seeing on Craigslist and various boat broker sites. It is a wooden hulled boat. I have seen it at its mooring as I sailed passed during lessons. I cannot see anything obviously wrong with it but I don’t really know much about what to look for other than a if it had a recent survey and the general condition. My first question is aside from the obvious building material differences, are there any significant differences in maintenance or soundness of the hull itself?

2nd. I live in Hawaii and have heard that the climate here is hard on wooden hulls. One marina will not allow a wooden hull boat without a survey in the previous year when applying for a slip.

Lastly, is it worth considering a wooden hull boat if you are not well versed in carpentry?

Your last sentence answer, no. Find a good GRP boat.

[scallowayuk]

my ferro oyster dredger has a wooden rudder, it got eaten away by worm in the caribbean the next one i epoxy sheaved.if you know nothing about wood be very careful.like steel there can be nasty surprises. ive had both.

[TrentePieds]

One of the first maxims I came across when I came to this forum was this: "Wooden boats are on life support from the moment they are launched at their builder's yard. Fibreglass boats have to be ASSASSINATED!" I suggest that you make that aphorism yoursw as I have made it mine :-)!

You will know that "fiberglass" is the American expression for what the Poms call GRP - "glass reinforced plastic". Jim Cate sails a boat that is "strip planked" i.e. it is, in effect, a "wood reinforced plastic" boat. The boat was designed by one of the premiere designers working in the modern ideom and with modern techniques. Jim has forty years of seafaring and boat maintenance behind him. It is not likely, since you've asked the question you have, that you are in his league, so stay clear even of strip planking :-)

The are innumerable "frozen snot" boats - "fiberglass" boats - still happily chunking along after forty years afloat without having had a tittle or a jot of work required by that part of the boat that keeps the water out - the basic hull. Why would a novice argue with that, and why whould a novice forfeit the financial benefits of that?

I can assure you that you'll have plenty to do without those hassles! Think ahead: How long before you have to restitch (or renew) your sails? Is the propane supply to the boat's cook stove still viable or does it, for safety's sake, need replacing? The list is endless.

As a little welcome present to the forum I give you a reference to a quite wonderful introduction to Marine Surveying posted by one of our members who is a professional surveyor.

Marine Survey 101, pre-survey inspection

A careful reading of this document will give you a good grounding in what to look for, and at, as you go shopping for a boat.

All the best,

TrentePieds

[Scout 30]

A lot of the response here have nothing to do with the boat the OP is considering which is cold molded. Cold molded boats are sheathed in fiberglass.

http://sixrivermarine.com/Cold%20molding%20QA.htm

[oleman]

I was never much for wooden boats until I watched the overhaul of a wooden 50' sail boat in a long series of u-tube videos. She was named Susanna, made in Italy in 1958 ish. Overhaul was done in Santa Barbara. Ca by numerous contractors over a 5 year or more period. Everything conventional, from mahogany planking to teak decks. If I could have any vessel I wanted it would have to be the Sister ship of that magnificent and gracefully designed sailing vessel. In all fairness I would consider a boat like this to be a "rich Family toy" and I ain't rich!

[Surfdoc23]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Anyhow, for Surfdoc, that boat could be anything from trashed to quite refit-worthy. A link to a description would be of interest. Farr has designed lots of boats, most of which were pretty fast but not necessarily good candidates for conversion to cruising. So, more info might help us help you.

You might be interested to know that a similar Farr design in cold molded hull, Sweet Okole just won her division in the Transpac. I occasionally raced against her back in San Francisco in the mid 80s, and she wasn't new then, so longevity is surely possible with this construction.

Jim

Here is the link:
https://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/boa/d/honolulu-42-sailboat-moving-must-sell/6932592898.html

Honestly it looks like a lot of work before anything beyond a day sail. I am likely going to buy a smaller boat just to keep building experience. There are a few 25 to 30 ft options that are in decent condition that might be good starter boats.

[lvictorlucas]

To keep it simple and short buy wood if you want to work on it a lot and fiberglass if you want to sail and not maintain it.

[roverhi]

Cold molded really isn’t ‘wood’ boat construction in the usual sense. It’s thin layers of wood Epoxy laminated with fiberglass sheathing on the outside. Until carbon fibers it was about the lightest and strongest way to build a boat and easiest for one off construction. Because of the fiberglass sheathing, no problem with worms or other things that attack wood in salt water and none of the leaks of traditional wood construction. The epoxy lamination makes rot almost a non issue. The wood component dampens noise and has some insulating value so they are more enjoyable to ‘live’ in. Sweet Okole got T boned a number of years and had substantial hull damage and was repaired so that’s not an issue should something happen. Sweet Okole has proven that the construction method has longevity. She probably has more ocean racing miles than any other boat out there and may hold the record for TransPac racing and certainly finishing on the podium. Amazingly she is still competitive after more than 30 years and at least three different rating rules.

[Siberian Sea]

My first boat was wood. I loved that boat. But...... there were nights spend aboard I swear I could hear the worms eating my hull......

[duckpond49]

I've helped restore and cruise a 40' 1948 Nova Scotia ketch and helped sell a 1920's 28' yawl.
My general thoughts are that a wood hull is not a good first boat unless you are willing to accept that whatever your goals are, it will take you four times longer and cost five times more than your best estimate. But you will learn multiple times as much than if you start with a conventional GRP hull.
Also, only a masochist should own a wooden boat south of 40 degrees Latitude.

[Cadence]

Does anyone believe a person stating he doesn't have carpentry skills, an aging wooden boat is a good idea, in this day and age. That said, a boat builder can be a carpenter but a carpenter cannot necessarily be a boat builder.

[jmschmidt]

I live in Hawaii too and everything, everyplace is hard on boats.

Yes, you need insurance in almost all marinas and even to clear into the waters of many countries in the world (like the US). You didn't mention the age of the wooden boat but unless its in par excellence, Concours d'Elegance, Bristol mint condition forget getting insurance, especially in Hawaii. Maybe in Pebble Beach or Carmel where they appreciate such things.

PM me, I'll take a look at it.

[goodoldwoody]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Sorry I have no pictures, but we had delamination on our rudder. Noticed it in Southport, Qld. Sailed to Sydney and had it fixed there, it's about a 3 day sail, if you go straight through. Don't know when the delamination occurred, but we'd already had toredo intrusion. They eventually came out into the hot sun, looking for water, and dried up, and then we repaired things. But the point is, once the barrier is gone, like Lepke said, the good bottom paint, then wood is very vulnerable.

Ann

Hi Ann,
Our double diagonal NZ Kauri yacht was launched in 1980 so it’s been mostly in the water almost 40 yrs. It’s never had a problem except when damaged after a collision with a submerged rock and was repaired immediately. It’s sheathed and remains dry. It’s never had worm or any delamination. I carefully maintain it in top condition. Maintaining a perfect seal on deck hardware is probably one of the most important items to keep an eye on, but that’s the case with all boats. It’s still winning races. Being a bit of a classic Alan Mummery design and beautifully built in NZ by John Hamilton. I think that being pleasing to the eye, the boat will remain many years after I’ve gone. She’s just got to find the right owner. (PS No osmosis either).

I’m wondering how the worm got into your rudder? I expect it would have been sheathed and for them to pop out through the skin. Or is my imagination going wild? I didn’t think they could get in under the sheathing. Unless the result of prior damage. Or I’m not getting a clear understanding?
I don’t think a wooden boat is a good first boat. Yet for a Shipwright I think it’s an ideal buy.

Cheers Woody