Wooden Boats?

Question

What should I be looking for in way of problems when buying a wooden boat?

Answer 1

Never buy a wooden boat that is freshly painted. Someone trying to hide something. Just remember "Wooden boats always leak and rust never sleeps!" Oh, make sure it is afloat. I bought 1939 50' Alden Schooner on the bottom. Got a great deal and had lots of fun. Used "Glad trash bags" to re float it. It is now sailing in Europe.

Answer 2

rot, termite infestation,, cracked planks and beams, the caulking between the planks will usually need to be replaced, the transom

could have weak spots and might also need to be replaced  ($$$$ ) if it is a inboard like a old criscraft the rails ( wood ) will usually be saturated with gas/ oil, and will also be soft or need to be replaced too, outboards cause alot of stress to the transom , have a good boat mechanic go with you,

Answer 3

Dry rot to begin with.  Check the bilge and places where the  wood joints are.  The mechanics are the easy part, the hull can cause all kinds of headaches.

Answer 4

Dry rot, and wood seperation if it is a lapstrake.

Answer 5

Let me start off with saying:  I love wooden boats! I have owned several (all too large to trailer)... all beautiful, all a real pain and mucho money to keep beautiful... but just the same as with the women in my life... I am indeed a sucker for natural beauty... lol  

     My current vessel (and I live aboard and cruise) is wood... and I can tell you without fail... if you take care  of it... it will take care of you... It is that simple.  The key is (like so much in life - "prevention is the best medicine"... It is easier to prevent the problem, then fix it after it becomes one.

     You don't mention the size... age... or kind of "wooden boat"... I wish you had so I could be much more specific.

     If the boat in question is small... ie: canoe, skiff, dinghy, etc... just take a "unsharpened" number 2 pencil... and firmly poke around with firm taps... not so hard to damage the pencil... but almost... with the eraser end toward boat.

Tap on just about every sq. in. of wood on the vessel... all the hull, and especially close around the corners and joints... and if you don't poke a hole clean thru the hull, or knock off a fairly good chuck anywhere, you are most likely "good to go".

However... if the boat is bigger, and costing you thousands, vs hundreds...  Get a Marine Survey... and require an "in the water demo".

    If you are spending real dollars for this boat, I can almost with certainty, guarantee you that you will regret it if you don't get a survey and in the water demo ...

Have an older (my age = 60) very reputable professional provide a complete "marine survey" on the boat - before you buy...

    This guy will check out "everything"!  Wood, interior, exterior, and everything in between... They even do "ulta-sounds" to detect wood damage from rot, insects, worms, etc.  They also check motor, transmission, props, linkage, hydraulics, plumbing, everything! And they will give you a written report on all of it... They will do a better job then you (or I ) ever could... They know what to look for, and where to look... Their report will tell you things that broke, not working, and about things that need work now... and things that will need work in the near future... Even if everything on your boat checks out fine... this survey will be a very valuable reference...

     Most sellers of larger vessels, and most boat brokers, know that a "knowledgeable" or "smart" buyer is going to demand a "survey"... So, you should ask them to see a copy... and if they don't have one... ask them to get you one.

And, usually, they won't want to spend the money... so if you want... you can "entice" them to pay for it, by signing a contract to buy the vessel - based on "your satisfactory results" of a marine survey.

If you change the word "a" in your question - to "this"...      Nothing short of a Marine Survey will answer your question - specific to your vessel.

  

Happy & Safe Boating!

Answer 6

Rot is the biggest problem in wooden boats.

Check for soft boards. Check the hull inside and out, the stringers, and the deck boards.

Now that doesn't mean rule the boat out, it just simply gives you an idea of buying price and refurb price. If you walk away from every wooden boat you see with soft boards you will never buy one. There are very few boats that are 100pt boats, and even fewer being built today.

I own six wooden boats and every single one of them has a board or two (or twelve) that have to be replaced.

Edit1: Dry rot is a misnomer, rot is caused by high moisture content.

Edit2: with all due respect to Capt. John there are wooden boat experts of all ages. I consider myself one, and I am 20 yrs. younger than the captain.

Edit3: what are you looking for? I have several CC's that could be sold to an interested party.

Answer 7

The main thing to look for is wood that is rotted.