Hi,

I have a series of questions that could possibly be served by a chat
with a decent Yacht surveyor but I would like some real life feedback
before starting to engage professionals. Consider me to be
researching.

To set the picture I am based in the UK & I have a hankering for a
wooden Classic, say a 30 to 35 foot yacht for my girlfriend & I to
enjoy for weekend cruising and channel hopping. Old fibre glass yachts
in the same price ranges that friends have or have had don't really
appeal. I am not averse to getting my hands dirty having gutted &
refitted my house myself and I have friends who are carpenters and am
reasonably capable with wood myself.

However, I am not experienced in steaming or fixing frames and more
intricate pieces of wood work I would expect to find during a restore
and have never worked on a wooden yacht.

So, if I were to purchase a wooden yacht of around 30 - 35 foot range
for an initial outlay of say £10 - 20k what kind of pitfalls can I
expect? Please be assured a survey would be undertaken for assesement.

o Can anyone provide an example of costs refitting decks to a similar
wooden vessel? Self-fitted marine-ply + teak or alt. vs a yard fitting
cost? Of course I'm assuming deck supports and knee's to be good.

o Can anyone provide an indication of costs to strip, recaulk and
prime/paint the exterior? Time is a factor here, is it even vaguely
sensible to consider machine use (ie: sandblasting may be an damaging
sacriledge)

o Any rough cost descriptions for replacement of a 15 or 20hp engine?
Assuming a yard to refit here, only estimate I have are engine unit in
the region of 2k. Has anyone good experience in a complete engine
rebuild for significantly less.

o Rough cost descriptions for standing rigging replacement on a cutter
for example, 30 or 35 foot?

o Rough costs for sails for a 35 footer for example? (exampling
cutter, gaff etc if vastly different)

o Rough costs for having keel bolts pulled and replaced?

Of course the inital assumption may be flawed to assume working on a
£15K boat. It may be there are real life examples where that is simply
a false economy. House restoration has taught me that removing layers
reveals more problems but I have no experience in costs in the Classic
wooden yacht world.
Should a basket case be expected for that much or is it a reasonable
figure?

Perhaps someone can example worst case scenarios with real life
pricing guestimates.

Worst case scenario if keel wood/backbone turns out to be soft once
stripped and serious work is required? (ie: hull split and keel and
deadwood replacement)
Worst case if a survey highlighted multiple ribs to be removed and
replaced? Say 50%.
Worst case costs if the floor or parts of the floor must be renewed to
secure ribs to keel?
Worst case costs of the ruddern or attachment points are rotten?

These costs may be capable of being absorbed but equally may just make
it pointless if the end value is less than the sum total of vessel +
repair.

All and any other experiences are valid, I am ignoring the cost of
storage as land is available for long term working but long term
drying raises questions. Is there an opinion on long term land based
storage of a classic while work is carried out? Planks splittings from
drying effect, warping etc once removed from constant immersion.

I'm not sure if I have brain dumped too much so all and any feedback
is gratefully recieved.

Thanks.