Interesting read on restoring an old, wooden boat

localboy

A local Seattle boater’s experience. I found it on another boating forum when someone asked about saving an old, wood boat. I like the looks, character, nostalgia etc of old boats. What boater doesn’t? They are like old cars or houses or anything made in the old ways. But I’m not delusional enough to ever undertake saving one. That’s for people like Paul Allen, may he rest in peace.

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?210391-Perihelion-a-story-of-hubris-failure-and-redemption&highlight=Huckins

thataway · Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:53 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the interesting link....Having grown up on wooden boats, and helping my dad refasten his in the 40's, gave me a real appreciation for fiberglass boats! (However my first 3 boats were wooden, including a 26' Owen's Sea Skiff.).

I had the opportunity to see the rebuilding of PT 305 ( manufactured by Higgins Industries in New Orleans) at the World War II Museum in New Orleans. This was not a Huckin's design as the boat in the story, but still some very similar issues. ELCO (Electric Boat Company) was the 3rd supplier of PT Boats during WWII.

This story shows that you have to have a lot of guts, and money to take on one of those projects. A lot more of both than I have!

hardee · Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 10:26 pm Post subject:

Cool story, with way more skill and patience than I could muster.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

localboy · Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 12:52 pm Post subject:

I remember back in Hawai'i my neighbor had a home-made boat, made out of plywood. We went to a local boatyard to ask some advice on a repair. This was back in the early 80s.

We spoke to a guy restoring an old, wooden planked boat. Something about stuffing something into the gaps between the planks in a very specific manner; looked like hemp rope. I barely remember it now. Then he described all the steps involved from tear down, to finishing it all off, and how like old houses, you never know how far the damage has gotten until you start ripping it part. Lesson: wood and water don't play well together.

Crazy.

BillE · Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 1:48 pm Post subject:

He is a good writer who kept me reading much more than I had intended. He surely had my sympathy.