Thread: Help required to purchase timber boat

G'day Metung,

Looks a lovely little boat.

My first word of advice, especially as you claim no experience, is to have a marine surveyor look her over.

Presumably the boat will be out of the water for the inspection?

You could (with the owner's permission) scuttle about with an awl or such to check for soft timber; look at keelson, frames, stringers, etc. Look at the engine bearers, shaft, stern gland and so on and so forth, but if you don't know what to look for - well....

The phrase "rebuilt some years ago" might, potentially, be a worry. Are any of the hull planks "sistered" (e.g. have been cut away and overlapped). Hopefully she hasn't bee glassed over in any way - that tends to kill a wooded boat as it prevents natural wood movement, and promotes rot.

What's the caulking like? - and the spars. I couldn't see any evidence of winches, so would presume that all spar and sail handling is conducted with block and pulleys: are they all present and correct? Don't worry about the state of the standing or running rigging on a boat of this size, as it wouldn't be a major issue to replace - and would likely be a good idea anyway.
I assume that you have sailed before, and know the basics? If not, get someone who has to come with you for your first several sails.

I hope it comes right for you, as the boat, as I mentioned, looks a treat!

Cheers!

Metung, Best to get a professional surveyor if possible. If not divide your inspection between Hull, engine and plant[ie., tanks sterntube prop, rudder, gearbox etc.] mast and rigging and sails.
Check hull for rot in lower parts or where water can sit. If possible poke around with something sharp, but don'twreck sonone else's boator make a mess that you have to fix. Look for seams showing at base of mast and around chain plates[ sure sign of hard work or a weak structure or both] check deck around all penetrations for rot. Look at fastenings for corrosion and tightness.
Does motor run, how many hours has it done, service history etc.
Check for fraying running gear and corrosion in standing riging Note SS rigging rusts from inside to out. Beware.
Hoist sails to see how they set and if everything is there and works.Launch, sail and recover it. check trailer. Enjoy Ecca

Firstly, thanks foe the good advice. I printed it out and took it along as my checklist.
I have been to check her out and although the picture is slighly flattering, she still looks pretty good.
She was on a trailer which was is reasonably good condition, which brings me to one of my first questions. I am a little concerned with the idea of a timber boat being loaded off and on a trailer and then undergoing the stresses of transport over any sort of distance. All those concentrated pressure points couldn't be good for the planking. Is this a reasonable proposition?
I poked, prodded and banged, admittedly with my hand, and found all that I PP'B to be sound as far as I could tell.
I'm talking around the $5k mark for this boat so you can't expect the world. Nevertheless, I think she is pretty sound and also think the vendor is pretty sound as well. Sails, mast, spars seemed to be in good order.
Does she sound like a reasobale buy?

thanks again

G'day Metung,

Firstly, boats of this size aren't too weighty and are typically designed to be trailered around - although for one of this age that may not apply. So long as the trailer has swinging (fore and aft) rollers, this shouldn't be a worry. The main thing when trailering a boat is that it sits firmly on the trailer supports at the boat's strong points (e.g. not between ribs, etc).

Nice as it may feel, just "prodding and banging" with your hand won't tell you much unless the wood is about to fall apart.

I'd still strongly suggest a marine surveyor to look here over (he/she'll use a moisture/salinity meter, and possibly take minimally intrusive samples (only with the current owner's permission, of course!).

That all said, for $5k, I'd say she looks worth a go. Any further pics - close-ups of hull, frames, etc?

Cheers!

Yep what the auld fella says!

If it were me Id be stickin it in the drink as soon as possible BEFORE I bought it! take it for a jaunt settin the sails etc but all the time gettin down low into her crooks and crannys checkin for leaks an such... when lookin at her you should take a wee screwdriver with you rather than using your hand... go to the stern and simply poke the screwdriver into an edge see what happens Im not sayin rip into it but rather just in small areas suspect water ingress areas stick the thing into the wood... check the swelling of the planks the joints between them... and check that motor

it looks a damned sight better than the one I looked at the other day... but then I was lookin at a 30-35ft Jarrah fishin boat that had been on the hard for some time (read years) and well at the price Im offering them its strange I havent heard back! I mean my offer was... you deliver it to my place... that was it!!

Still she looks sweet as a nut mate... so its a wee bit of a project? go for broke! Offer him $2000 as a starting figure and then work it out from there a bit of too and froing and you may well get it for 3 - 3500

Please excuse the pun, but I missed the boat. It was for sale on e-bay and I was the top bidder at $4500 with a day to go till the end of the auction. The next time I looked, with about 12 hours to go, it had been sold for $5500. I'm still not sure whether I am disappointed or happy.

Happy sounds good mate. There's always another boat and if someone whacked the price up by that much, you were always going to lose or pay too much.

Richard