1930 victoria rowing boat

[snaiken]

Hello, although I have read nearly all the posts and check in on the sight almost daily, I haven't contributed much. I am what I think they call a "lurker". There is a lot of great information and knowledgable people here and I enjoy just absorbing the info. That said, I am looking for some information/opinions on a rowing boat that I took a look at. It's a 1930's double ended, lapstrake boat. All copper rivits and a nice look to her. The shape of the hull looks to be pretty good, not a lot of hogging, maybe just a tiny bit but really pretty straight. I don't know when the last time it was in the water but it's been at least 3 years and maybe a lot more. The owner says it leaks near the transom. I guess even though it's called a double ender, there is still a small transom. I'm not too worried about that area, looks like it's in fine shape. My main concern is that probably 1/3 to 1/2 of the frames are broken and some of those have been repaired, but not very well. The hull needs to be stripped down and repainted and the interior has many, many years of varnish that really needs to be redone too, that alone seems like it could be a lot of work. I mainly want a boat to row for excersize and I will use it a lot. I wasn't looking for quite this much of a project but the boat may be worth putting some work into. So I'm looking for opinions on how much of a job it is to replace or sister the broken frames and also on the backbone,(sorry probably not the right term) there are a couple of places that may need some attention. There is a brass "shoe" that runs along the length of the backbone, so it's been pretty well protected but looks like it could be planed down and a new piece mated to it and the shoe replaced.
I hope this isn't too vauge, and the photos aren't the best but I hope it gives the general idea of what the boat is. Again, I am looking for a boat to row, should I keep looking or does it look like a worthy project?? I look forward to any and all opinion.
Thanks to all for all the great info I read almost daily. (I often wonder how many "lurkers" there are that you never hear from). I hope the pictures work. http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/boa/277778170.html

[Jay Greer]

From what I see, it looks like a sweet little boat! Some close ups of the suspect areas would be helpful. Where are you located?
JG

[snaiken]

I know, some close ups would really help. Of course I didn't bring my camera! I thought she had a real nice look to her too. The rivits, the lapstrake, the shape, all real nice. She would be a beautiful boat if someone really spent the time to restore her. Just trying to decide if I want a project or if I want to fix it enough to row or just get something and go rowing....I'm in Hood River OR, about an hour from the boat.

[David G]

Looks like a keeper to me too. Sounds like you've made a fair assesment of the condition, and have reasonable expectations of the work ahead of you (keep in mind that it will always turn out to be more than you could have foreseen). $1,000 seems like a fair price, esp. with trailer, oars, and canvas cover

[Jay Greer]

You are close enough for me to stop in and check it out on my way north from CA next month.
Jay

[Thorne]

Looks like a good deal to me -- I did something similar and also paid $1000 for a craigslist boat on a trailer, lapstrake with copper rivets. Are there sawn frames also, or just the thinner steamed frames?

Here's a page of my restoration work -
http://www.luckhardt.com/dory1.html

You might want to pick up one or more of the books from our hosts -- the one on Planking and Fastening is exactly what you'll need, as is the Frame, Stem and Keel repair, and the Painting one.

http://www.woodenboatbooks.com/images/325105.jpg (http://www.woodenboatstore.com/Prodinfo.asp?number=325-105&item=1) http://www.woodenboatbooks.com/images/325101.jpg (http://www.woodenboatstore.com/Prodinfo.asp?number=325-101&item=1) http://www.woodenboatbooks.com/images/325106.jpg (http://www.woodenboatstore.com/Prodinfo.asp?number=325-106&item=1)
http://www.woodenboatbooks.com/

[snaiken]

Thanks for the input and thanks Jay for the offer to look at it. If I do get it and the times work out, I may want to take you up on that! Thorne, your web sight is great. I was reading some of the threads on rowing and came across your sight. It's very helpful to assess my potential project. I'd love to put a sail on her but I think I'd keep it as a rower for now. It looks to me like your's has a combination of sawn and steam bent frames, is that correct? The one I'm looking at has small maybe 1/2-3/4 in steam bent frames. And lots of them! I know if I really want to use it that I will need to work on those. And the opinions of price are helpful too. Yes, the trailor, cover etc are nice to have. The pictures are just far enough away to make her look real good. But I have to say there is some work to be done on it. I have the painting a varnishing book already and I can see those others would be must have's if I get it. When you replace frames, how do you make the bends correct without plans and jigs etc. Do you make a pattern from what's there or do you sister them or do you need to see it to comment? Thanks again for the suggestions and opinions.