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#11
posted to rec.boats.building
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hesitant buyer of wooden boat
You know, I daydream about these "fussy" skills. My mind often wanders
to speculations of the processes - the shaped and fitted plank, the steamed and hurriedly bent oaken rib, and perfect, waterproof seams, all varnished reflective amber - by a brilliant and efficient craftsman, namely me, the Master Boat-Builder. (Surely I'll need to buy an adze and some tall boots!) But then into my dozing revery barges the truth of my limitations, escorted by my wonderful wife who likes her reality served cold, and her escapisms tainted with practicality,(Yes, I probably owe her a great deal.) and an old wooden boat romancing me from a cow pasture toward untold adventure and unprecedented self congratulation suddenly morphs into an horrific pain-in-the-ass, rotting eyesore embarrassment that I can't look at anymore so I avoid the back yard and the neighbours have used as a catalist with which to lower their opinion about my judgement and my kids are all grown and moved away by now anyway and are waterskiing behind a nicer boat that they like to point out has never been weed-eaten around - ever...(sigh) ....and that is my real dilemma |
#12
posted to rec.boats.building
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hesitant buyer of wooden boat
if you want to work on boats you can do that with any boat, they all need
work. skills can be learned while doing and there is the modern invention of epoxy that will do a fine job of covering the mistakes, ok, perhaps with a bit of paint too. The boat you mention could be a fabulous learning experience in renovation--- from the keel up. As a part time project you could easily work on it for the remainder of your life until dementia sets in (some would say that considering an old wooden boat meets all the criteria for that anyway) and as others have said all of your available excess funds, non excess funds, and funds you don't yet have will go into the boat. You would come away from the project with untold skills, creative cursing would not be the least of them, and then, except for the above mentioned dementia, you would be qualified to do boat renovation for a living and let someone else rid themselves of their excess funds. If you check sites like www.yachtworld.com you will find many boats that are inexpensive and perhaps need to be repowered or need extensive cosmetic work. These boats are still projects and you will still learn skills with them. The best part is that these boats are projects that you don't have to kill yourself or your pocket book (at least in the short term, as all boats will kill it in the long term) to make them fit into your fantasy. And with tlc you may find that you will get the self congratulations that you seek just as much and you will have a boat in the water. Good luck in your search for a boat to love. They are out there to be had but remember that any boat you can see the rot will have at least twice as much that you can't see but will find once you start work. Any boat with a hogged backbone will need most everything from the keel to the deck replaced and very likely the deck and above will also have problems needing replaced. And finally, reality and boats do not belong in the same sentence (ok so I broke that rule, you know what I mean). When you find the boat for you it is likely that you will forget all of what has been said, you won't find someone to look it over for you or have it surveyed, and you will just go for it because it has its own water ski. Brian |
#13
posted to rec.boats.building
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hesitant buyer of wooden boat
What hasn't been mentioned is buying it, stripping off the goodies, and
having a nice bonfire. I'm eyeballing boats in my neighborhood with the idea that it might be a cheap way to get a trailer. Roger http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm "floydo" wrote in message ups.com... Hello, I have recently found an old (1960's?) Penn Yan boat, I think about 21 ft. Under the false floor I can see that the ribs are rotting as there is 1/2" of standing water in the boat. It looks to me like the work to restore this and actually float it would be endless, though it is a real beauty. I've done some rough carpentry before, but never anything of this magnitude, and would not know where to start. I would like to know where I might get some comprehensive expertise on what this sort of restoration would entail, including the replacement of ribs and cedar stripping, and other possible alternatives for making the hull sound. I haven't bought the boat yet and am now leaning toward walking away, as the work seems pretty overwhelming. Thanks for any and all suggestions. Floydo. |
#14
posted to rec.boats.building
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hesitant buyer of wooden boat
On 20 Aug 2006 18:29:31 -0700, "floydo" wrote:
Hello, I have recently found an old (1960's?) Penn Yan boat, I think about 21 ft. Under the false floor I can see that the ribs are rotting as there is 1/2" of standing water in the boat. It looks to me like the work to restore this and actually float it would be endless, though it is a real beauty. I've done some rough carpentry before, but never anything of this magnitude, and would not know where to start. I would like to know where I might get some comprehensive expertise on what this sort of restoration would entail, including the replacement of ribs and cedar stripping, and other possible alternatives for making the hull sound. I haven't bought the boat yet and am now leaning toward walking away, as the work seems pretty overwhelming. Thanks for any and all suggestions. Floydo. I restore boats like the one you are looking at professionally. I've done speedboat repair for 30 years. Many of the answers you have received are bs. 1. Get someone that is knowledgable to look at the boat. Pay him if you have to. 2. Make a list of the items that need to be done. 3. Decide if you want to do the project. Steam-bent frames can be replace fairly easily, but deck planking has to be removed. My guess that it needs to be replaced anyway. It's great to have a good looking wooden boat. If you don't want one you can always buy a nasty plastic boat like the nay sayers have. |
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