Wooden boats vs. durability and ease of maintenance

[GregX999]

Hi all,

I wasn't sure if I should put this in Design/Plans or Building/Repair, but I think it may fit slightly better here.

Okay, now I know traditionally built wooden boats aren't necessarily known for their durability (esp. in the tropics) or ease of maintenance. But I know that things like epoxy and fiberglass can help in those areas.

So, say there was someone that wanted to build themselves a medium to heavy displacement sail boat, around 30-35 LOA, to live on while cruising around the world (not necessarily "around" as in circumnavigating, but more like a teen might "cruise around the mall") - so certainly ocean crossings, but also spending time in places such as the Caribbean or Scandinavia. And say this person wanted to be able to build the boat themselves, only relying on minimal help from others as it was available. And say this person had already built a smaller boat (15-20 feet, perhaps glued-plywood-lapstrake or glassed cedar strip) as "practice" for building the larger one.

If this person really liked the "traditional look", and didn't care for the single-chine plywood look, what are your opinions on these options?

1. Plank on frame (carvel) covered in epoxy or glass & epoxy.
2. Strip build over molds, covered in epoxy or glass & epoxy.

Is cold-molding better/easier than either of these options?

3. Plywood lap-strake, covered in epoxy. (Edit - Ooops... not strip planked)

Is 30-35 feet too large a boat for this method? I don't think I've ever seen anything over 25 feet clinker-built (except for Viking long boats).

I guess I'm thinking of... er... I mean "Perhaps this person is thinking of" the possibility of doing this to any one of a number of existing plans (ie: an Alden or what-have-you) that would be traditionally built plank on frame (or clinker - if there are any).

How durable would an epoxy-only covered hull be? Would the epoxy wear off after repeated hull scrubbings? How often would it need to be re-coated (if at all)? Glass would certainly create a tougher "shell", but would it be *that much* tougher? If so, perhaps clinker is out as I can't see glassing a large clinker hull. Would glassing require that the hull be upside-down?

If you do epoxy (or glass & epoxy) both the inside and outside of the hull, can you basically treat it as you would any GRP hull?

I know... a lot of questions. I'm just trying to get general ideas at this point.

Thanks for any advise!
Greg

[peter radclyffe]

strip planked epoxy should suit you , less work & adequate

[paladin]

Just an epoxy coating is not recommended. I tried it in the late sixties when epoxies were coming into their own...it's too easy to damage it and also you need a good paint.
Strip planking works well...and a combination of strip planking and a ply bottom seems to work well also. Covered with a polypropylene fabric is even better than glass...something like vectra /dynel or xynole (my favorite).....33-35 feet is a lot of work....27/28/29 feet is adequate and good for a single person and 2 sometimes. You will find that the extra 4-5 feet means more sail and then winches and other mechanical s to get the work done.

[peter radclyffe]

sorry Chuck i did mean paint too

[GregX999]

One thing I forget to ask, if you strip-planked and sheathed something designed for plank-on-frame, would you use the same thickness of strips as planks or slightly thinner? Is there a rule-of-thumb?

Size-wise, yeah I could see down to around 28. Maybe I should say 28-32 feet then. :)

[Peerie Maa]

Planking would need to stay the same, that and the deck is where the strength is, but you can reduce the topside framing.
Chuck is right to an extent, but if you go ketch or yawl you break the sails down in to more manageable chunks and although slightly less efficient the rig is more flexible.

[Captain Blight]

Plywood strip planking? Ex-squeeze me, baking powder?

Doesn't seem to me like that would be an efficient use of sheet goods. Do perhaps you mean plywood lapstrake? Because that's a good strong way to build.

[GregX999]

Plywood strip planking? Ex-squeeze me, baking powder?

Doesn't seem to me like that would be an efficient use of sheet goods. Do perhaps you mean plywood lapstrake? Because that's a good strong way to build.

Oops! Yes, plywood lapstrake is indeed what I meant. :D

I love the look of lapstrake but I never see any lapstrake boats approaching 30 feet.
The largest I can think of off the top of my head is Iain Oughtred's Grey Seal (22').

[Peerie Maa]

Well, if you want big lapstrake try this http://www.broadsnet.co.uk/ardea_wherry.jpg
Used to be a lot of them carrying cargo up the Norfolk rivers, and occasionally from one estuary to another.

[kenjamin]

John Welsford's Sundowner is only 21' 4" but it is quite the ship capable of substantial voyages. I think his boats are fairly straightforward to build with the not-especially-highly-skilled in mind. If you wanted to do more sailing and less building, then you might want to check out used Wharram catamarans. The big advantage of buying used and not building is that the costs are better known up front providing you get a good survey of the used boat. Building boats from scratch can take a lot more money than you might think possible. Good luck with your pursuit – it's good to ask lots questions and if you're really serious, read lots of boats on cruising. It's a pretty big jump between a 16' foot boat and a thirty footer. That's my 2 cents worth.

[JimConlin]

Buy an existing glass boat and go sailing this year, not 2012.

[RodB]

Find an Cape Dory 30, and go sailing/cruising... don't look back.

R

[Larks]

Are you thinking along the lines of cedar strip and glass? Here's one prepared earlier:

http://www.yachtdomain.com/ed.html?de=21514

[Tom Hunter]

My sloop was built the way Paladin suggests, back in 1969. The hull is fine. Deck and Cabin sides were plywood I have done some major work there.

Another boat by the same builder was ketch rigged and did sail around the Carribean and New England waters. These are 12 ton 31' foot on deck Eastport Pinkys.

So it's doable. I'm not sure that Eastport Pinky is the best design for your purpose, but they are in the dimensions you asked for and do have some track record.