Boats may be built from nearly anything, even so, historically, most boats happen to be built of wood. Wood brings together strength and resilience in a light-weight, very easily worked form. In a lot of respects wood is perfect boat building material, because of its excellent stiffness. Classic wooden boats benefit from wood’s outstanding structural qualities, but traditionally built hulls can’t take complete advantage of the qualities of wood due in part to the trouble in efficiently fastening each of the different pieces with each other
Old wooden boats also soak up much more moisture than is ideal; a lot of woods are two and even 3 times more powerful when dry than they may be when saturated with moisture. These drawbacks do not make conventional construction a poor option; they just imply that this kind of craft will probably be somewhat heavier than the usual laminated hull of the same strength.
When looking at old wood boats for sale, take a notebook along, and once you uncover what you think is really a suitable prospect, you ought to start to make a checklist of what needs to be done before you make the purchase. Start initially with all the significant and most expensive things which, of course, will probably be the engines and generator if it has one.
There will probably be a limit to what you are able to economically or physically take care of when it comes to things like deteriorated deck cores, or deteriorated structural hull components including stringers and bulkheads. Any antique wooden boat that you take into account that has deterioration of significant structures could substantially change your decision on the purchase. The price to repair as well as the labor might be outside of one’s spending budget or ability. You should take into account this problem really cautiously prior to tackling this kind of a venture.
Take into account the outside finish. Is the gel coat in good enough condition that it may be machine polished and restored to very good condition? Can the vintage wooden boat be painted for a reasonable price? This question is best answered by how difficult the surfaces are, and just how much hardware there is that has to be either removed or painted around.
As classic wooden boats grow old and go through one owner after another, the electrical systems tend to be worked and reworked with substandard wiring and additions that the fundamental electrical system is no longer trustworthy. Watch out for that rat’s nest of tangled wiring and wiring with many splices in line. If these troubles exist, chances are that the boat needs to be rewired.
A couple of final things to think about on old wood boats will be the gas tank, steering and controls. Foamed aluminum gas tanks are often suspect when put in beneath the deck in the bilge. The price of changing gas tanks is not great so long as the deck features a removable deck plate. In the event the deck must be cut out, and after that rebuilt, the price is going to be too high. Also check the gas lines, filters, and fill hose to the tank and vent hoses and fittings. If these are aged and cracking, they will have to be replaced also.
Despite the fact that it might be difficult to find a surveyor to look at wooden boats it’s best to obtain one, if you want a turn-key antique wooden boat. Should you know and therefore are prepared to do some repairs or restoration acquiring a surveyor is not really as vital.
For more information about owning a classic wooden boat, contact our Sales Center @ 866.525.3232 or via email pauln@hagadonemarine.com. For restoration services contact the Resort Boat Shop @ 208-667-5099 or via email eobrien@hagadonemarine.com. You can also visit us on the web @ www(dot)hagadonemarine(dot)com