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What a lot for your money

soldthehouse

By soldthehouse
in General Boating

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Starcoaster Veteran

Starcoaster

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At the best of times I have a bit of a thing for wooden boats that scares me slightly, and is disapproved of by most everyone here barring CarlT.

Fortunately(?) sense was duly slapped into me upon joining this forum as to wood probably not being the best material for a first time boater with very little money!

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Timleech Veteran II

Timleech

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At the best of times I have a bit of a thing for wooden boats that scares me slightly, and is disapproved of by most everyone here barring CarlT.

Fortunately(?) sense was duly slapped into me upon joining this forum as to wood probably not being the best material for a first time boater with very little money!

 

Wood is a much more suitable material for a sea boat than for a fresh water boat. The salt from the seawater to some extent 'pickles' the wood & helps it to last longer.

 

Even so, taking on a wooden boat of that size would represent a major challenge!

 

Tim

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DandV Rising Star

DandV

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Posted (edited)

Lots off 100plus year old wooden boats still active here in NZ, Only one 100plus year old steel boat (ship actually) but she has spent her entire life in freshwater.

No 100plus aluminium or composite boats though.

Lash out, Live your dream and buy her, she needs a loving owner. I would love to come out for a sail on her in exchange for some varnishing.

For a wonderful blog on cruising the world on a modern classic wooden boat I recommend Sunstone Link

 

They are lovely English couple, Tom and Vicky Jackson who took early retirement from the teaching profession in 1997 in the South of England to take their stunning varnished hull 1965 built Sparkman Stevens Sloop Sunstone on a world cruise. 170000 miles so far!

They are currently somewhere off the south coast of NZ participating in the short handed round NZ race that just got hit by a most ferocious storm fortunately without loss of life.

 

Kiwi Don

Edited by DandV
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Athy Veteran II

AthyDonate to Canal World

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I think it was in 1997, not 1967, that they retired, otherwise they would be way up in the vintage bracket by now!

For them to buy Sunstone, they must have been on a different teaching salary scale from the one I was on - though I see that Tom was headmaster of Portsmouth College, so he would have earned considerably more than us ordinary mortals.

She's a very graceful boat.

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DandV Rising Star

DandV

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I think it was in 1997, not 1967, that they retired, otherwise they would be way up in the vintage bracket by now!

 

A 9 is just a southern hemisphere 6!

time goes much faster when you are on a boat

 

Don

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bargemast Influencer

bargemast

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Lots off 100plus year old wooden boats still active here in NZ, Only one 100plus year old steel boat (ship actually) but she has spent her entire life in freshwater.

 

 

Kiwi Don

 

 

Hello Kiwi Don,

 

personally I love the looks of these beautiful old wooden boats, but your writing about their longer life (in general) compared to steel boats isn't very good. In NZ they made lots more wooden boats to start with, and also during the life of the wooden boats many planks may have been replaced, and there's maybe not all that much of 100 + years left.

 

Now, if you would have a look in Holland, where the change from wood to steel (iron) started much earlier, you will find masses of 100 + year old steel or iron working barges that are still going very strong, and are busy commercially trading, a whole bunch has been reconverted to sailing charter barges, every year a couple more.

 

Myself, amongst the barges I've owned was an what we call in Holland "Oostzee Tjalk" (East Sea Tjalk) barge that used to do the Baltic trade, between Holland and the Scandinavian countries, during the first about 25 years of her life that started in 1897.

 

When I bought her (no longer a sailing barge) in 1973, she didn't have a single patch on her hull anywhere, and that after a very hard working life, I sold her in 1983, but she's still going strong, and is trading now as hotel-barge in Italy, at the respectable age of 115 years, and I can warranty you that there are several hundreds, and maybe even thousends, of her age (and even older) left.

 

They are not all working now, as many are used as houseboats, but evenso they are still afloat and giving good service to their owners.

 

Peter.

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DandV Rising Star

DandV

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Hello Kiwi Don,

 

personally I love the looks of these beautiful old wooden boats, but your writing about their longer life (in general) compared to steel boats isn't very good. In NZ they made lots more wooden boats to start with, and also during the life of the wooden boats many planks may have been replaced, and there's maybe not all that much of 100 + years left.

 

 

Peter.

 

New Zealand boatbuilders did not do steel so there were none to survive!

We were blessed with the best boat building timber in the world, kauri Agathis Australis which is remarkably durable. Also Robert Logan bought out to NZ the moulded triple skin construction used to build lifeboats at Robert Steele and Co in Greenock where he was a foreman and built boats designed by GL Watson and William Fife who he kept in touch with. Hence the GL Watson designed boats in NZ and the strong similarity between Arch Logan designs and Fife designs.

 

The hulls are almost entirely original timbers, replacement planking generally limited only to repairing the odd collision damage. Most hulls have however been refastened and most have had to be redecked though to remove the "modern" deckhouses that they had acquired.

 

It is wonderful though that old boats regardless of construction material are being kept and maintained as active boats. I love them

 

 

Don

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bargemast Influencer

bargemast

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It is wonderful though that old boats regardless of construction material are being kept and maintained as active boats. I love them

 

 

Don

 

 

 

I agree for 100 % with that, and I love to see these old girls surviving, and being well looked after, as they deserve.

 

Peter.

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bizzard Veteran II

bizzard

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The way things are going with everyone installing horrendous great massively complicated electrical systems and huge domestic power consuming appliances and so getting there steel hulls pinged away to resemble steel lace through electrolosis,wooden boats will probably be the way to go.

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soldthehouse Influencer

soldthehouse

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Lash out, Live your dream and buy her, she needs a loving owner. I would love to come out for a sail on her in exchange for some varnishing.

 

 

Kiwi Don

Thanks for the contribution Don, youre on the list of potential stowaways! Sadly when I awake from this dream everyone will be dissapointed. :wacko:

 

A great looking boat, to be at a quiet anchorage at dusk sitting on her deck would be brilliant. Worth all the painting and scraping that would go with her.

My vision is virtually the same :(

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Doorman Veteran

Doorman

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Wood is a much more suitable material for a sea boat than for a fresh water boat. The salt from the seawater to some extent 'pickles' the wood & helps it to last longer.

Tim

 

Please excuse my ignorance, but didn't the wooden boat builders cover the hull with copper plate to protect it from the brine?

 

Mike

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Timleech Veteran II

Timleech

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Please excuse my ignorance, but didn't the wooden boat builders cover the hull with copper plate to protect it from the brine?

 

Mike

 

No, to protect it from wood-boring creatures, & as an alternative to anti-fouling.

 

Tim

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DandV Rising Star

DandV

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Please excuse my ignorance, but didn't the wooden boat builders cover the hull with copper plate to protect it from the brine?

 

Mike

Depends on the timber, Kauri built boats were only very rarely copper sheathed. They are resistant to worm attack even in tropical waters.

 

Don

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Doorman Veteran

Doorman

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A 9 is just a southern hemisphere 6!

time goes much faster when you are on a boat

 

Don

 

Clever answer! :clapping:

 

 

 

For a wonderful blog on cruising the world on a modern classic wooden boat I recommend Sunstone Link

 

Kiwi Don

 

Just had a peep at their blog. What an adventurous pair of sailors they are, totally admirable!

 

 

Mike

Edited by Doorman
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bizzard Veteran II

bizzard

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One of the worst wee beasties that bore holes in wooden boats is the Torredo worm,my spelling of it might not be correct.

There are boring worms in our non salt water too.

 

There's one really cleverly designed beastie called the ''Boring Swizzlpincercop''because of its similarity to the Swiss army knife.

Coloured red with a little cross on its back it has a host of tools protruding from its head which fold away when not in use,but when it spy's a wooden boat they shoot out,the first implement to be brought to bear on your pride and joy ressembles a pair of pliers with which it pulls out copper roves and nails and eats them,the holes left gives it entry and enables it to gorge on your wood until your boat suddenly opens up like Tulip and everyone falls through the bottom.I believe it also has a kind of ratchet screw driver to undo screws too. But that's the extent of my knowledge of it. :closedeyes: .

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