Restoring a Herreshoff H-28 Worth while?

[Boater]

Hello group,
I was given a 1960's build Herreshoff H 28 for one dollar. It has alot of rot. The worse is a 2 foot by 10 foot area on the port side but there are other areas of much less rot. The boat was glassed over with polyester resin and cloth some time ago and the glass seems to be holding.
My question is if I do all the restoration work myself woould the amount of money spent on it exceed its value once finished? I love the boat but I do not have the luxury of throwing 5 times as much money as its worth. Thanks

[ken mcclure]

From what I've seen, you probably should have a professional surveyor give you an idea of exactly what the boat needs. Having been glassed, there could be a lot of problems that are hidden which would not come to light until you start the work.

It could be easier and cheaper to build a new one salvaging whatever is good from the old one, such as keel, masts/spars, fittings, engine etc.

But for a dollar boat ... you could have it looked at from the standpoint of "what do I need to do to keep her afloat safely for a couple of years" and get some fun out of the old girl.

Good luck!

[Jeff Kelety]

<and the glass seems to be holding.>

Is this the good news or the bad? Dunno. You wanna sail a wooden boat sometime within your lifetime and within a reasonable budget, I presume? This may not be the boat for that. Bet you can do better than start with a rotten hull that has been glassed over.

jgk

[Cedarhill Boatworks]

I hate to sound too gloomy, but with rot on the inside and glass on the outside the boat is doomed. Salvage what you can and and start another project. You will spend lots of money and losts of time trying to save a patient that is more than likely already dead.

[WWheeler]

The glass is bad news, no doubt about it. There's probably all kind of rots underneath. Somebody went cheap, rather than maintaining it properly, and as a result the boat could be headed for a Viking funeral. I would not be keen to "have fun" with it for a few years. I'd be too worried about going to the bottom.

However, boats can be rebuilt or built new. For example, see the latest Wooden Boat. There's an article where they basically rebuilt an entire boat and saved a few bits out of the old one. If it's a classic (presumably a Herreshoff may fall into this category), this may be worth doing. Not cheap though, but probably still cheaper than buying a factory built crackerbox. NB for a cheaper option, try getting some work done in Canada. Exchange rate is great. For example, see www.woodwindyachts.com. (http://www.woodwindyachts.com.) (I'm not affiliated.)

[ 09-30-2002, 09:02 AM: Message edited by: WWheeler ]

[Scott Rosen]

Save all the hardware, rigging, engine, etc. from the one dollar boat, and then build yourself a new one. You might be able to salvage much of the interior as well.

[Bruce Hooke]

While the situation does not sound promising there is really only one way to answer your question reliably. Start by working out exactly what needs to be fixed. This is where a surveyor could really help because the surveyor will probably find things that you have overlooked. Then figure out what materials would be required to do the work, and try to think through how long it would take to do the work so that you can decide if you want to commit yourself to the project. Make sure to add a large margin for surprises because you surely will uncover some if you try to rebuild a boat in this sort of condition. Then compare the numbers from this work with what other H-28's are selling for. Make sure to be realistic at this stage about condition. If you aren't going to be restoring the boat to mint condition then don't compare prices with mint condition boats.

If the project still looks viable at this point then you can use the list of work that needs to be done as the starting point for developing a logical plan for doing the work so that you don't find yourself undoing stuff that you've already done in order to get at another part that needs to be worked on.

[Ian McColgin]

Remember that the hull is only about 1/4 the total value of the boat. The other quarters are accomodation, mechanicals, and rig.

You may have enough stuff there if the engin is workable, prop and shaft and transmission and all; and if the rig's ok, maybe even working sails and lots of blocks and such; some ground tackle; toss the matresses and make new upholstery but there's likely a lot of interior finishings you can use . . . Not to mention the lead for the keel and maybe a rudder . . .

All in all, you might have anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of the total boat already in hand for that $1.

Make your new hull and enjoy.

G'luck

[Ed Harrow]

Boatr, is this a strip-built boat, or plank on frame?