Thread: Thunderbird on ebay

The Thunderbird (affectionately called the thunderbox) was a scourge of racing fleets in the 70s. It is a very fast boat in many conditions. A couple have had success racing offshore with appropriate mods and safety gear - but most were used for harbour racing.

In the right conditions and kept light without too much gear aboard they will scare many similarly sized modern yachts with their performance.

They do require an active sailing approach. The sails are quite big for the size of boat so a crew that can continually trim sails to keep the boat on its feet are necessary for best performance.

MIK

The ad mentions a "lead keel". From memory the keel was a metal plate with a bulb at the bottom - can anyone remember?

Home of the Thunderbird Sailboat

There's a great article on the Thunderbird in "Wooden Boat" mag August 1999. The American Plywood Assoc ran a comp in 1957, won by Ben Seaborn with a modification of his Sierra design.
They found the hard chine was an asset rather than liability, and there wasn't much that could beat it.
It's looks copped criticism: "looks like they forgot to take it out of the box". Even the builder of the prototype, Ed Hoppen admitted that it "was kind of funny looking" Maybe this is where they got the nickname "thunderbox"
The original keels were cast iron, but many variations were created by home builders, so lead keels wouldn't be out of the question, I guess.

Let it rest in peace.......

Sacrilege!
This is one thread where faith in the resurrection must be maintained.
Even the sunken ones could be of interest to submariners.
Nothing but a good keel hauling under a barnacled hull and flogging round the fleet for you, my friend!

Simon,

Sometimes it is better to let em go to the graveyard, just because it is old and made of wood does not mean it has any worth.

WORTH...by that I mean that it has say, historic value, Personal value, built in a masterly way, not necessasily by a master, made from rare or exotic materials, but basically, will be worthwhile restoring because it will be a special object after ll the work has been completed and someone can continue to maintain it and pass it on to future generations.

Old ply, stinking mouldy, rotten plywood boats are just simply ####.

But I do love your enthusiasm mate, I sincerely mean that, it is nice that there are still people that care.

I took my 40 year old timber Hartley TS16 down to Sandy Point (Vic) a few months ago. An old chap came up and reminisced about a Hartley he had built with his son in the 60's.
When I asked if he still had it, he sighed and said that his son had donated it to a yacht club Geelong way. They had neglected it, and finally burnt it on the beach during a club function.

I know what you're saying, but something dies when an old boat is scrapped.

Yep, true, all the worms inside it..........

....keeps the little suckers out of a decent boat.

Landlubber, I looked up your profile. It said: "Landlubber has not made any friends yet"
Now I know why!
(mind you, my profile says the same - oh well)

...nor has he licked any arses.........

...I am not here to make friends......seems someone doesn't like any one saying some old wooden boats are crap...so be it.

Well some-one thought the Thunderbird was worth $700, because it sold after 35 bids.
Let's hope they post either their successes or failures on this forum.
I have to admit I wouldn't have bought it, but some of the "sow's ears" on this forum have ended up as silk purses, by people with more skill and dedication than I possess.

My own boat was resurrected by some "wayward" youths with the help of the Rye Yacht Club, then relaunched by Jesse Martin (of "Lionheart" round-the-world fame) in 2003 as "YOT" - for Youth Out There.
She was a basket case which ended up a bit special, for me and my family anyway. The "worth" you mentioned earlier, like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder.

Originally Posted by Landlubber

...nor has he licked any arses.........

...I am not here to make friends......seems someone doesn't like any one saying some old wooden boats are crap...so be it.

Considering this is a Wooden Boat Forum..with the express purpose of Rescue & Adoption, there is little wonder that nobody is saying that.

Noel Watson
Administrator

Well sorry if I stood on peoples toes fellas, I fully understand that this is a restoration section, and also understand the requirements of such.

I am a 60 year old boatbuilder, so speak with some understanding of the game.

I have stated that I do love the enthusiasm of those that restore old boats (which is my speciality by the way), but I am also a realist...not a dreamer as some may be.

Surely it is part of the yin and yang of life that just because it is old does not make it good....there are so many good projects that could be revived without wasting time on something that has no intrinsic value, either dead or alive. I have spent about 1/3rd of my working life helping those that cannot afford to do up their boats, this is because of my love for both boats and the people that try to do the right thing by them.

One mans meat is another mans poison, yes, but I was NOT referring to any person when I made my comments regarding old worthless boats, if someone actually owned it and wanted help then I would be here to help them. It was my intention to help the unknown potential purchaser to avoid the costs and dissapointments of buying something that is both beyond their financial controls and also their ability to comprehend the amount of work required in such a project, before they dive into the deep end. (That does not mean I would aslo have advised them to count their losses also....I see life in black and white, ya got ta know when to hold em and know when ta fold em......I am not sorry if that offends someone, as I am obviously NOT politically correct....)

I do not see why I should be personally attacked because my opinions may be different from those that are seeing these projects through rose coloured glasses.

Howdy,

A better way to put it landlubber is that everyone who is interested in buying one of these boats should get someone with some knowledge and experience to look at them before purchase if they don't have it. This might even require paying someone to have a look as it might save much more money than the cost of an inspection or survey down the line.

A lot of the people here do have the experience to judge for themselves because they have real experience of building and restoring boats already. However I think your post does serve a useful function for those who just drop in by accident and might not have the context of most of the regulars here.

To say a boat is no good without seeing it is as silly as saying it is a great buy without seeing it. Nobody is saying it is a great buy!

YOu are right to take the opposite viewpoint - by the way - it is likely that it will be in pretty bad condition. But maybe not.

Only looking will tell.

I have added a paragraph to the first post
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f242/o...6/#post1098836
saying that people should get advice before purchasing.

In this case, with the boat going for $700 I won't cry much if the person has blown their dough. This is true of most of the other boats that have been listed here too. But if they know what they are doing or get the right advice they might have a very nice boat for very little money.

There are several examples of this on the various pages of this forum including stories of those who did not do their homework.

But all we are doing here is mentioning the boats - most people will just do a little dreaming and not be ready or willing to put hard cash up for something that has reached a very low price - often for obvious reasons.

But amongst the stream of derelicts and wrecks there will certainly be a few good or interesting boats to be found.

Best wishes
Michael