"DSK" wrote in message
. ..
If you're talking about a wooden boat that is sound, and maintained
efficiently in decent working shape, and don't include long-term things
like ripping the seams & refastening, then it is no more work than to
maintain a fiberglass boat of similar size & style in high-gloss yachtie
condition.


Maxprop wrote:
It takes about two or three hours to buff the gelcoated topsides of a 36'
fiberglass boat. It takes no time at all if the boat is Awlgripped. The
same process of a wooden boat with topside paint (not linear
polyurethane, which is rare on wooden boats)

That's because it's unwise to put on an expensive finish with higher
hardness than the underlying surface.

Right, but it's done more often these days than one would expect.

..... is generally not necessary annually, but such boats will typically
need repainting about every 4 or 5 years to keep them looking bristol.

Depends on the environment, how it's cleaned, etc etc.

Up here in the GLs it probably isn't required as frequently as in the south,
but topside paint will dull or chalk with no care, and it will become very
thin if buffed annually. It also tends to crack or craze when applied over
wood.

... A sanding and painting, if properly done, will take well over 20
hours or preparation and another 4-6 hours of masking and painting. Glass
(4-5 years): up to 15 hours maximum, Wood (same period): 24 hours
minimum.


I disagree that wood will need repainting every 4 ~ 5 years.

It all depends upon how bristol you want your wooden boat to appear. If you
don't repaint at least twice every decade you don't stand a chance of having
topsides as glossy or smooth as those of a well-buffed glass boat.

Brightwork: most recent glass boats have none. Most wooden boats have
acres.

"Most"?? There is no need for a wooden boat to have any varnish. It's
optional. For a fair comparison, why not try a fiberglass boat like a
Tayana with a wooden boat like a skipjack?

I think we were talking about *average* boats. Certainly a skipjack is not
typical (unless you live on or near the Chesapeake), nor is a Tayana or Hans
Christian. More like wooden Cheoy Lee vs. Catalina.

Or, since wooden production boats averaged much smaller, why not compare a
40+ foot fiberglass production boat (average size) with a 26 ~ 30 foot
wooden boat?

Huh? Who said we were talking about wooden production boats? Most were
custom or semi-custom, especially in the medium to larger size ranges. And
before the mid-60s there were lots of them produced. Many aren't around any
more, but that doesn't disqualify them from the comparison, especially since
Joe was considering a larger boat than 30'.

Bottom: glass: reapplying antifouling annually, or not if well coated
with Teflon paint or ablative, wood: sanding and painting annually, and
an occasional need to repair small areas of defective caulking, if the
boat is carvel planked. If the boat is cold-molded, it may take no more
time than glass.


You're right that seams often need attention, but a wooden boat bottom
does not need to be sanded every year unless you're a fanatic. And I
stated at the outset that fanatacism should be excluded from this
comparison.

Hmm. I guess your definition of *fanatic* and mine differ. Both my wooden
boats required annual sanding to be relative smooth and free of fairly
severe paint irregularities. I will concede that many wooden boat owners
just slop on another coat of whatever paint happens to be sitting around in
cans in the garage. But those boats looked neglected topside as well, for
the most part. I guess I never thought I was fanatical about my boats. I
just wanted them to look good, if not perfect.



Deck and house: glass: virtually no work required, beyond a bath,

Really? No recaulking of ports & hatches? No rebedding of deck fittings?
No gel coat touch-up? No replacing crazed Lexan?

That falls under the heading of repairs, not routine maintenance. And those
same repairs occur with equal or increased frequency in wooden boats.


wood: similar, except when the Dynel or canvas needs to be replaced,
which is a multi-week job encompassing many hours. Then painting is
necessary. If the deck is wood (common with wooden boats, rare with
fiberglass) a certain minimum amount of maintenance is necessary
annually.


I dunno, we own a fiberglass boat that had a teak deck until quite
recently. Right now I'm hopefully about 3/5 thru replacing it with
fiberglass, including rebuilding a few sections with rotten core. How's
that for your comparison?

The point was that wood decks are fairly rare in glass boats, but ubiquitous
on wooden boats. Once again, the glass boats in this comparison are
generally high production boats, such as Catalinas, Hunters, Beneteaus,
Jenneaus, Pearsons, Ericsons, etc. Not a whole lot of wood decks among
those.



I generally say that maintaining a wooden boat is 10% more work than
fiberglass, and having owned several of each, feel confident this can
backed with figures. The difference is that the wooden boat will have
certain labor & skill intensive things done to it every ten years or so,
by which time you will probably have sold it to somebody else.


You can't simply dismiss those maintenance items.

I wasn't intending to dismiss them, just point out that the scary things
about wood boat ownership are not monthly occurences.

But when they do occur they can be very scary. At least the yard bills can
induce coronaries.

.... Amortized over a number of years, the labor time is greatly skewed
against the wooden boat.


I'd agree that it's skewed, but if the fiberglass boat is kept truly
Bristol, then I'd say it's not "greatly" skewed at all.

The biggest difference is that you can defer maintenance on the fiberglass
boat, and schedule tasks at a convenient time... very important, almost
sacrosanct, in this culture. A wooden boat sets it's own schedule, and if
you don't do the jobs that need to be done before they really need it,
then you've increased your work tremendously.

This is a foreign concept for modern Americans.

Which supports my original point. Pay me now, or pay me later is the mantra
of wooden boat ownership. A neglected fiberglass boat can be brought back
to a fairly clean and attractive level of condition with some buffing,
cleaning, and minimal repairs. A neglected wooden boat will require
immensely more time and money to accomplish the same task. Replacing a
rotting ply cabin sole in a Catalina is a far less arduous task than
replacing numerous floors, frames, and planks in a wooden boat.



... Most wooden boats are neglected

Most boats are neglected, period.

To some degree, perhaps, but most owners do the minimally-required
maintenance at least. The engines get their oil changed and their filters
replaced, the boats generally get bathed annually, if not weekly, leaks get
fixed, and broken or worn-out parts and electronics get replaced as needed.
More boats get some basic level of cosmetic maintenance than those that
don't, at least around here.

The annual Wooden Boat Show, sponsored by Wooden Boat magazine, was at South
Haven, MI, a few years back. I attended two seminars at that show--one
about dinghy building, and the other about wooden boat maintenance. The
instructor in the second one summed it up best when he opened his talk with,
"If you dislike working on boats, buy something made of plastic."

Max