Here is the scenario; find an old wooden sailboat, circa 1955, and speak to
owner. He wants boat gone.

Boat is very cheap. It is a caravel planked boat. It has been taken cared
of but the last couple of years that has been by the local marina. Many
things have been done to the boat. New keel bolts, for example.

But, it still is a wood hull.

Question: is this boat worth investing time and energy in, how many more
years of life does the wooden hull have, will the boat need a complete
rebuild, etc...

Any and all thoughts.

Jasper

Both HMS Victory and USS Constitution are wooden and are over 200 years old.
It's just a question of maintenance.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Jasper Windvane" wrote in message
news:2Wuxf.2794$7l4.1644@trndny03...
Here is the scenario; find an old wooden sailboat, circa 1955, and speak
to owner. He wants boat gone.

Boat is very cheap. It is a caravel planked boat. It has been taken
cared of but the last couple of years that has been by the local marina.
Many things have been done to the boat. New keel bolts, for example.

But, it still is a wood hull.

Question: is this boat worth investing time and energy in, how many more
years of life does the wooden hull have, will the boat need a complete
rebuild, etc...

Any and all thoughts.

Jasper

The USS Constitution doesn't sail anymore and I don't know about the
Victory. I am talking a boat that actually goes out to SEA.


"derbyrm" wrote in message
news:76wxf.723959$xm3.538292@attbi_s21...
Both HMS Victory and USS Constitution are wooden and are over 200 years
old. It's just a question of maintenance.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Jasper Windvane" wrote in message
news:2Wuxf.2794$7l4.1644@trndny03...
Here is the scenario; find an old wooden sailboat, circa 1955, and speak
to owner. He wants boat gone.

Boat is very cheap. It is a caravel planked boat. It has been taken
cared of but the last couple of years that has been by the local marina.
Many things have been done to the boat. New keel bolts, for example.

But, it still is a wood hull.

Question: is this boat worth investing time and energy in, how many more
years of life does the wooden hull have, will the boat need a complete
rebuild, etc...

Any and all thoughts.

Jasper

Jasper Windvane wrote:

The USS Constitution doesn't sail anymore and I don't know about the
Victory. I am talking a boat that actually goes out to SEA.

Well, I am often sailing on Skibladner II, a 20 meter cargo ketch from
Copenhagen. She is built in 1897. There has been lots of maintenance, and a
few major overhauls - one under work as I write this. There is still some
original wood left in her, although it is getting less and less.

I don't see any reason why she would not sail another 50 or 100 years, given
enough maintenance, and barring serious accidents.

- Heikki

OK, it has been eight years since Constitution was sailed, but then it takes
a while and money to assemble and train a crew that size.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution

I'd be surprised if you could afford a boat that would handle the seas, and
cannon balls, that those ships have seen.

Also, given the plethora of lawyers and the thousands of tourists aboard
during a year, they are probably in pretty good shape.

My point, of course, is that wood is an excellent material for boat
building. Low tech, so maintenance is available anywhere in the world, and
well proven thru use.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Jasper Windvane" wrote in message
news:sawxf.2949$8J3.1774@trndny09...
The USS Constitution doesn't sail anymore and I don't know about the
Victory. I am talking a boat that actually goes out to SEA.


"derbyrm" wrote in message
news:76wxf.723959$xm3.538292@attbi_s21...
Both HMS Victory and USS Constitution are wooden and are over 200 years
old. It's just a question of maintenance.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Jasper Windvane" wrote in message
news:2Wuxf.2794$7l4.1644@trndny03...
Here is the scenario; find an old wooden sailboat, circa 1955, and
speak to owner. He wants boat gone.

Boat is very cheap. It is a caravel planked boat. It has been taken
cared of but the last couple of years that has been by the local marina.
Many things have been done to the boat. New keel bolts, for example.

But, it still is a wood hull.

Question: is this boat worth investing time and energy in, how many
more years of life does the wooden hull have, will the boat need a
complete rebuild, etc...

Any and all thoughts.

Jasper

derbrym,

You have a small problem there.

Victory was not afloat last time I saw her. she was in a concrete
cradle and the conservetor I spoke to said he did not think she would
float if they allowed the attempt. She has recorded four rebuilds (more
on that later)

Constitution has also been rebuilt four times. When I discussed this
with some of the people that worked on her most recently, (I knew a few
of them) the best guess then was that she was less than 5% original
wood. That would be the inner keel, lower fretlocks and floors.

The word rebuild is old navy. It seems that, in days of yore, a navy
was allowed just so many ships. When one good too rough to maintain,
they would "rebuild" it. This was a job where they would take the ship
into a drydock two ships long and then strip all the guns, rigging and
fittings of the old hull build a new hull infront of it. Since they
would pull the inner keel, lower fretlocks and floors out of the
original hull, that would pretty much lock them into the same ship they
just brought in. By the time the rebuild was done, there was no
original hull left, but there was a new Constitution ready for sea.

The Constellation was first built in 1797 as one of the American super
frigates. This was the catagory that would soon include the
Constitution. In 1855, she was rebuilt and came back out as a smaller
and lighter corvette. The name was never striken and the "ship" was not
decommissioned until 1945 or so - I leave taht for you to decide.

Matt Colie


derbyrm wrote:
Both HMS Victory and USS Constitution are wooden and are over 200 years old.
It's just a question of maintenance.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Jasper Windvane" wrote in message
news:2Wuxf.2794$7l4.1644@trndny03...

Here is the scenario; find an old wooden sailboat, circa 1955, and speak
to owner. He wants boat gone.

Boat is very cheap. It is a caravel planked boat. It has been taken
cared of but the last couple of years that has been by the local marina.
Many things have been done to the boat. New keel bolts, for example.

But, it still is a wood hull.

Question: is this boat worth investing time and energy in, how many more
years of life does the wooden hull have, will the boat need a complete
rebuild, etc...

Any and all thoughts.

Jasper

On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 19:03:17 -0500, Matt Colie
wrote:

derbrym,
///
The word rebuild is old navy. It seems that, in days of yore, a navy
was allowed just so many ships. When one good too rough to maintain,
they would "rebuild" it. This was a job where they would take the ship
into a drydock two ships long and then strip all the guns, rigging and
fittings of the old hull build a new hull infront of it. Since they
would pull the inner keel, lower fretlocks and floors out of the
original hull, that would pretty much lock them into the same ship they
just brought in. By the time the rebuild was done, there was no
original hull left, but there was a new Constitution ready for sea.

////
Matt Colie

Like the axe once owned by Washington: its been rehandled five times
and had three new heads?

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

I'm familiar with both the Constellation controversy and the practices of
government procurement offices. I've even taken delivery of empty equipment
cabinets on the last day of the year for billing purposes with "repair under
warranty" bringing them up to the level required for their acceptance tests.

Yes, Constellation was "rebuilt" in the sense you mean (take a piece of
timber from the old hull and build a new ship around it). Constitution was
not.

Neither was the Charles W. Morgan which I saw being replanked in the early
1960s (?). Built in 1841, in January 1974, she was hauled out on a lift
dock and her hull proved to be in remarkably good condition, with only a new
false keel, shoe and some planking being required.

All materials will require maintenance. I was just attempting to refute the
scorn expressed for "wooden" boats.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Matt Colie" wrote in message
...
derbrym,

You have a small problem there.

Victory was not afloat last time I saw her. she was in a concrete cradle
and the conservetor I spoke to said he did not think she would float if
they allowed the attempt. She has recorded four rebuilds (more on that
later)

Constitution has also been rebuilt four times. When I discussed this with
some of the people that worked on her most recently, (I knew a few of
them) the best guess then was that she was less than 5% original wood.
That would be the inner keel, lower fretlocks and floors.

The word rebuild is old navy. It seems that, in days of yore, a navy was
allowed just so many ships. When one good too rough to maintain, they
would "rebuild" it. This was a job where they would take the ship into a
drydock two ships long and then strip all the guns, rigging and fittings
of the old hull build a new hull infront of it. Since they would pull the
inner keel, lower fretlocks and floors out of the original hull, that
would pretty much lock them into the same ship they just brought in. By
the time the rebuild was done, there was no original hull left, but there
was a new Constitution ready for sea.

The Constellation was first built in 1797 as one of the American super
frigates. This was the catagory that would soon include the Constitution.
In 1855, she was rebuilt and came back out as a smaller and lighter
corvette. The name was never striken and the "ship" was not
decommissioned until 1945 or so - I leave taht for you to decide.

Matt Colie


derbyrm wrote:
Both HMS Victory and USS Constitution are wooden and are over 200 years
old. It's just a question of maintenance.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Jasper Windvane" wrote in message
news:2Wuxf.2794$7l4.1644@trndny03...

Here is the scenario; find an old wooden sailboat, circa 1955, and speak
to owner. He wants boat gone.

Boat is very cheap. It is a caravel planked boat. It has been taken
cared of but the last couple of years that has been by the local marina.
Many things have been done to the boat. New keel bolts, for example.

But, it still is a wood hull.

Question: is this boat worth investing time and energy in, how many more
years of life does the wooden hull have, will the boat need a complete
rebuild, etc...

Any and all thoughts.

Jasper

Jasper Windvane wrote:
Here is the scenario; find an old wooden sailboat, circa 1955, and
speak to owner. He wants boat gone.

Boat is very cheap. It is a caravel planked boat. It has been taken
cared of but the last couple of years that has been by the local
marina. Many things have been done to the boat. New keel bolts, for
example.

But, it still is a wood hull.

Question: is this boat worth investing time and energy in, how many
more years of life does the wooden hull have, will the boat need a
complete rebuild, etc...

IMO, wood is less a problem than the fastenings. If it is iron
fastened, I'd forget it.


--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Matt Colie wrote:
The Constellation was first built in 1797 as one of the American super
frigates. This was the catagory that would soon include the
Constitution. In 1855, she was rebuilt and came back out as a smaller
and lighter corvette.

Actually, that's not true. The USS Constellation frigate was
decommissioned & broken up in a differnt place, several
years before the USS Constellation that currently exists in
Baltimore was laid down. The U.S. Navy never considered them
the same ship at all, and the later ship is quite a bit
bigger than the original and carried a different rate.

It appears this bit of misdirection, that the Constellation
frigate was "rebuilt" into the Constellation sloop-of-war,
was originated by the owners of the Constellation tourist
concession. Not sure if it was to try and excite more public
interest, or to try to get gov't money. They even rebuilt
parts of the ship to try and make it look more like the
Continental frigate. Many considered this a vandalization at
the time, including Howard I. Chappelle.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King