Re: Any wooden boat experts here?
Hi BipShoft,
I've only built 4 boats, so that makes me more of a wood boat butcher than a wood boat builder, but here goes...
44'... That's a project all right...
* Carefully plan out your budget and then double it... Wood boats are no different than plastic or metal...
* Try to set up the restoration as a series of projects...
* Never get discouraged! Without a doubt, that's the #1 wooden boat project killer... H.H. Payson (builder of over 600 boats and writer) advocates the famous "Moaning Chair"... Just when you think you've made the dumbest mistake of all time, put down your tools, step away from the craft, plunk yourself down in a chair and moan! Don't even think about going back to the boat until sanity has returned. When all is said and done, the mistake isn't nearly as bad as it seemed initially. (Quick story... A gifted builder on one of the kayak forums was rushing to scarf the sides of his yak together and somehow managed to mix up the panels such that the bow was pointed up and the stern was pointing down... Yup, he let that epoxy set up nice and solid before he caught that mistake... He just laughed, cut through the epoxy in the scarfs and reassembled... A few hours lost. You know you're good when mistakes like that will only make you laugh.) For me, anything that doesn't land you in an emergency room with a bloody towel wrapped around your hand isn't a mistake - it's a learning experience.
* Don't let a project get in the way of family life. You might be surprised as to the number of divorces that boil out of boat projects like the one you're looking at.
* Learn the ways of epoxy!!! Do your research and practice, practice, practice before you use it on your boat. Applying epoxy is like welding... As much art as anything else.
* Do NOT be afraid to post on this site and others! (I'm a moderator on the Instant Boats site as well as the Instant Boats Yahoo Group...) There is a special fraternity amongst wood boat people. You're always welcome on our site, even if you're not building one of our boats. (Our longest thread by far was a Michalak design.)
* Read, read, and read some more. Excellent wood boat authors include: Chapelle ("Boat-Building"), Tolman ("A Skiff for All Seasons"), Payson ("Instant Boatbuilding with Dynamite Payson"), Trefethen ("Wooden Boat Renovation"), Steward ("Boatbuilding Manual"), and Buehler ("Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding")... You can buy these books used, cheap from
www.abebooks.com. (Hint... Buy the original from Payson and pick his brain in the process.)
* Most of the books above will tell you what tools you'll need.
* Make models of each of the projects before you get started... Sounds crazy, saves time and $$$.
* Photos are always helpful...
Keep us all posted and good luck...
Alan