How insane is it

Worse if you don't get it surveyed ( a marine pre nup)

Remember lots of prevenative maintaning. Make sure you choose a surveyor with experience on wood hulls, PM me if you need a few recommendations.

Men do insane things when they are madly in love...Are you in love? Will you care for it like a child? Will spending money on it bring you great pleasure? If you answered yes to these simple questions then by all means go for it. If you hesitated on any of them...ruuuuun!

Hi,

Better still DRIVE, It will get you further away quicker!!!

Depends on the boat, is she a fine old classic or some plywood junk box? IOW, Does she deserve to be kept around?

Get someone who knows wood to survey it and teach you what to look (actually smell) for to keep ahead of problems. If it passes survey or will within any negotiations or budget, nothing particularly wrong with a wood boat, in fact, for a boat I'm going to live on, I prefer wood. You have to be more proactive with your hull care, especially sealing any fresh water leaks, and maintaining ventilation and fresh water moisture elimination in the cabin. Air conditioning and/or dehumidifiers are requirements in humid climates. You cannot be lax about your bottom paint either, gotta keep it up. Copper Nickel worm shoe on the keel is always a good thing, although just tacking a copper sheath up through the Garboard strake would also do an excellent job at preventing many parasite issues.

To get full benefit out of owning a wood boat though, you have to enjoy working wood in a precise or even artistic manner. If you enjoy that, you should be owned by an old wood boat. It can be extremely satisfying. It's not all that expensive to own a wood boat if you are its primary care taker. If you have to contract all the work out, then it will be more expensive than glass. Wood is just so much nicer to be on than plastic though.

This one deserves a good owner to look after her.

If you're really ambitious....

As long as you walk into it with eyes (and savings account) wide open go for it.

I love my woody.

Hi,

I get my wife to deal with my woodie.

Must be different thing where I'm from

hahaha! K1W1, funny guy, hi-five that!

aircar, dont forget the 10% rule when buying boats, and more so for wooden ones. u will spend a lot of time maintaining... or get a deckhand
when getting the boat surveyed, make sure u do the moisture test (they can be funny). if it has teak decks, make sure to get a quote on replacement of the whole thing, so u know what your in for... oh and after a few years, u may get the odd planking that needs to get replaced.

N01, get a surveyor/boatbuilder... and keep the engine to the car running

far

Yeah, the thing that concerns me with that era boat is galvanized fasteners. Lots from the post war era had them, and while they are physically fine, they are a ******* to keep clean/rust streak free. Then again, a few have surplus Monel fasteners. Have to look....

Up to 1932 they all had Bronze.

That Grebe is a beauty!!

I love wooden boats.
Period.
I have owned a few small, manageable ones.
I don't own one though now though.
I love to see them on the water and I respect the people who keep them.

I do not have the following:

1 The skill or tools to do major wooden hull repairs correctly.
2 Time to do wooden hull repairs correctly.
( I always felt if I had the time, the skill would come )
3 The money to pay someone else to do said repairs.

I have seen many a wooden boat pass through the boat yard, bought by a well meaning dreamer, ending up on the bottom, or in the 40 yard dumpster.

Case in point:
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1336850192067960800lEyWxO

Look at that boat long and hard. ( see surveyor )
Look at your check book long and hard.
If you get it, good luck and post pictures.

Thats an interesting group of photos.

"Summer Winds" of course ended up in that dumpster parked next to her. Your photos were taken very near her ending day. She was a 1920's vintage DeFoe, for many years well maintained and named "Ours". She was horribly reconfigured from original with that extended roof and bridge area. She had been abandoned many years ago and brought partially back from the brink once before. Her last owner lived aboard her and made an attempt at keeping her safe and afloat for quite a while. When he moved ashore, he lost the battle and Mother Nature got ahead of him.

On a brighter note: "Vixen II" the 54' Annapolis/Trumpy in one of your other photos is quite safe and well, now in the hands of a professional RI yacht builder who will restore her to new condition.

"PE Pruitt" the Oyster Buy Boat is a gem. The owner keeps her A-1.

Summerwinds was a sad one to see go. The A/C unit in the front window contributed to her fall from grace.
In the back ground of one of the summerwind photos is an old Owens whose fate was the same but the pics didn't turn out too well.

Pruitt is a great boat. The owner does stay on top of her as you point out.

This yard is trying not to take wooden boats any longer as it costs more for the dumpster to get rid of them then they are worth when the owners finally give up and leave them.

Find out from the broker what insurance company currently insures this beauty and then find out if they will insure a new owner. If not, find out who will insure it before you spend too much effort on it.

Not an insignificant factor, but not insurmountable either. All a matter of $$$$

Its been my experience that insurers of wooden boats look just as carefully at the experience of the owner as they do at the condition of the boat. After all, any craft is only as safe and seaworthy as her skipper. With that in mind, there are several markets for classic wood boat coverage.

Don't do it. I f you feel you want to go outside and start a fire . Throw $100 bills into the fire until the urge to buy it passes. Then go inside and enjoy some free time that you would not have if you were maintaining a wooden boat.