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I have never owned a wooden boat but I think they are the personification of small boat sailing. I have added wood to the Lusty Slogger in the form of a hatch cover, rub rails and a piece of wood on the stern to keep my battery from rubbing against the transom. Also, the tiller and the rudder are of wood. Every year I sand and revarnish this small amount of wood and gain great pleasure from seeing it gleam and shine in the sun. I just read a line in Classic Boat Magazine (from England) in which the author said while fiberglass boats are maintenance free (to a point) and long lasting wood, having once been alive, gives your boat a soul. Perhaps this is why Jagular speaks to Pamperin, because the wood never dies, just as the soul never dies.

I like wood on a boat, but truthfully, a completely wood boat would be a monster to maintain!!

Lustyslogger,

You've got it right - have a few chosen pieces of brightwork to enjoy. On my Scamp, they are the bulkhead hatches under the cuddy and the seat top hatches. Just a bit of wood grain to gleam in the sun and warm the heart. Best of all, they are removed to the shop for refinishing. Oh, my yard is varnished as well, I just couldn't paint such a beautiful piece of Sitka spruce!

This is all easier on trailer sailers where they don't spend months in the weather. When I had my fiberglass Columbia 22, I regretted the time I spent sanding and varnishing the teak instead of spending that good weather sailing. Winter is for maintenance!

Even with the rest of the Scamp painted, it still has the sound and feel of a wooden boat. Fiberglass is so cold.

While it is true that wooden boats require unique care, I think many forget how much wood is in a fiberglass boat. I recently replaced a couple planks on my 1955 beach cruiser readying her to sell (to a good home, not for profit). I did debate whether it was worth doing! It turned out that my buddy had a 20 yr old fiberglass boat with an inboard/outboard that was having the same debate. The engine beds on his boat were rotten as was a section of the transom. He did fix it but it took him all summer! I was done my work in a week and my boat was 60 yrs old. So much for wood boats not lasting! Today's new techniques also offer confidence. Often the wood is encapsulated with fiberglass and epoxy. This eliminates the problems that haunted wood boat of the past. These are hybrids. Choosing wood is now every bit as good as fiberglass maybe better! Consider cored boats, balsa has been commonly used and can be compromised by moisture and delaminate! Many feel confident purchasing such a boat because it is fiberglass! Think again! Best/Roy

Just think my sole has soul.

Peter E wrote:Just think my sole has soul.

Wooden you know it, we have a punster in our midst!!
But I would rudder have someone who could tiller joke than an old crab.

I love wooden boats and whenever possible will choose a slip where I can look at them. Have owned two - one I built - and unless you live close and love working on boats a great deal, that is, more than using them, and have time to invest in maintaining the hull and bright-work, or can afford to have someone else do it, they might not be the best choice for you.

On the other hand, they are lovely, the pride of ownership is immense, the work can be very satisfying and a great stress relief (when it goes right) and SOMEONE has to keep the pursuit alive.

Best of all worlds, I found, was either a boat small enough to get to where you can easily work on it or a fiberglass hull with LOTS of woodwork where it shows. I'm a "sweetwater" sailor and fresh water does not get along with wood the way saltwater does; so it was not a good match.

I completely disassembled a 1964 Thistle (one of the first fiberglass hull versions) and restored it to like new with about 80% new wood. THAT was a great project and it went on to re-enter the racing circuit when we sold it. For just THE ADMIRAL and me that was a lot of sailboat and not terribly comfortable for the crew (me) but, boy, could that boat sail!

Speaking of boats with character, we have a new member of our club. He owns a Marshall Sanderling 18 catboat.

My little boat is very ordinary, nothing special but... I think she is beautiful when gently healed on a windward course on a clear sunny day.



OK!... She was not really healed on this pic!...

I have been working on my 1963 Sea Sprite 23 for a number of years now. Every single piece of wood on her was rotten. This especially included all the embedded wood that was hidden in glassfibre pockets and sealed.

The chainplates were actually submerged in water when I cut them open.. and Flirt, my Sea Sprite, has not been afloat in half a dozen years.



So while 'glass boats can have a lot of wood, they also have a lot of hidden wood. At least an all wooden boat would not have issues like I have been finding

Hi guys, this is Jackie Monies, not Mike. I know exactly what you mean about the soul in a wooden boat or any boat that has a great deal of wood.
Once upon a time I did boat and wood maintenance for others on fiberglass boats with wooden trim. Some had more wood than others and it was those boats that talked to me the most. Alone in a marina with a boat, working quietly with hand tools, they often communicated.

Especially the Pacific Seacraft boats which may have more wood than do other fiberglass hulls. Because of this communication between us, I grew to love PS boats and always wanted one of my own someday. I am working to buy half interest in a PS Dana 24 which I hope to keep in Port Townsend. I will no doubt be charged with wood maintenance on her, I promised it to her current owner who will retain half interest.

When I ordered my Gig Harbor Scamp I requested they put as much wood on her as they could for the same reason. I simply don't want to do long hours of maintenance on a wooden hull, despite fact I do love them. But I require some wood to satisfy my own soul.

Love, Jackie Monies GH Scamp "Cowboy Cookies"