WOODEN EGG HARBOR VALUE AS CLASSIC

[DOC ZABELKA]

I HAVE A 1964 37' EGG HARBOR WHICH I USE, BUT I'M NOT REALLY HAPPY WITH IT. COULD IT HAVE SOME VALUE AS A CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT IN ITS PRESENT CONFIGURATION (IT COULD STAND SOME RESTORATION)OR WILL IT ALWAYS BE JUST ANOTHER OLD WOODEN BOAT WHETHER RESTORED OR NOT?

I'D LIKE TO REBUILD IT TO MAKE IT MORE, AS THEY SAY NOW, USER FRIENDLY, BUT THAT WOULD DESTROY ANY VALUE IT MIGHT HAVE AS A CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT.I THINK THE PRESENT HELM IN THE SALON IS THE DEVIL'S CONTRIBUTION TO BOATING! FORWARD VISION IS BAD, THE GLARE IS TERRIBLE, AND THERE'S LITTLE ROOM FOR PLACING AND VIEWING THE ELECTRONICS. I WOULD LIKE TO REWORK THINGS, REMOVING THE FLYING BRIDGE, WHICH IS USABLE ONLY IN GOOD WEATHER, AND BUILDING A FORWARD PILOT HOUSE ON TOP OF THE FORWARD CABIN SUCH AS THE GULF COAST SHRIMP TRAWLERS FAVOR. THIS, OF COURSE, WOULD DESTROY ANY CLASSIC VALUE THE BOAT MIGHT EVER HAVE AND ALSO MIGHT HAVE ADVERSE EFFECTS ON ITS STABILITY BUT, IF SUCCESSFUL, WOULD GREATLY IMPROVE ITS USEFULNESS.

I'D APPRECIATE ANY COMMENTS.

DOC ZABELKA

[Thad Van Gilder]

Having worked on several of the 37s, I have seen many of their problems. If the big issue on your boat is the steering station, you have a great boat that has been taken care of well!!!!

The Egg Harbors suffer from rotted ribs, stems, and keel (due to the red oak). The transoms like to fall off (due to the plywood construction) and the cabins sides seem to commonly rot around the bottoms. If your boat has none of this, you're set.

If you were to ad a pilot house on top of the for'd cabin top, you would have to do quite a bit of framing inside, as they are not that heavily framed there, and being round bottomed, she would roll like the dickens with all the extra wieght up there.

I'd forget about that unless you consulted a N.A. with experience in that area.

I think just moving the steering station would be a pain in the tail, because of the bronze gear box in the lower station which is linked to the upper station. you'd have to change over the whole system.

-Thad

[ 02-22-2005, 05:47 PM: Message edited by: Thad Van Gilder ]

[Mike Vogdes]

If your not happy with the boat its best you step away and sell your Egg Harbor, then get what you do like.

The 37' Egg was made in 3 different models and they are very popular in my area. There's lots of people who would disagree with your assesment of the fly bridge model, but to each his own.

As far as value? It all depends on condition and originality, If your going to market her as a classic, she will need to be in bristol condition to draw top dollar. Most of the Eggs I've seen have problems their transoms and with broken frames at the turn of the bilge.

[Donn]

Hi Doc,

Comments:

1. Your CapsLock is on.

2. Unless it's an unusually rare model (I can't think of one), your Egg is a dime a dozen (there's one right across the canal from me, that's slowly rotting away in the weather). I don't think you could pour enough money into a mint restoration, and expect to get much of that money back on resale, unless you keep the boat for a couple of hundred years.

I'd say to make it how you want it. I can't comment on what your idea will do to sea-worthiness, but there are probably others on the forum who can. I recently had a hatch installed in the roof of my sedan cruiser's wheelhouse, so I can stand up straight at the helm. It's not part of the original design, but my boat isn't a collector's item, either.

[Thad Van Gilder]

Yeah, and um... not to offend anyone... but are Eggs considered classics? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Maybe they are, in the same way that Gremlins in safety orange are.

-Thad

[Thad Van Gilder]

I worked on one last June that needed all new frames from the break in the shear aft, as well as about a million other things.

The owner noticed the problem when she was hauled for minor issues relating to severe leaking after a repower (He left the dock the day after launching and gunned it - the boat hadn't moved under her own power for years prior!)

Yeah, so she gets lifted out on the travel lift and the transom fell off. It dropped several inches from it's own wieght!!!!

Oh yeah, and this other Egg, I actually lived on it for a summer while working at a yard in Jersey.

She was leaking a lot, so I pulled her out on the lift after work, and about 10 minutes later, after cracking a beer, both garboards fell off, as well as a broad strake on the one side!!! :eek:

The weight of the bilge water was enough to pull her eaten up screws from the potting soil-like red oak they were driven into.

and this other one I surveyed in a back yard, actually had a transom that was nothing more than the mahoghany veneer supporting a layer of compost that previously enjoyed life as a transom

Oh yes, and this Egg that is hauled behind my buddy's boat has so much bondo slathered on the ends of the planks near the transom, that the planks appear to end more than a foot from the transom.

Yeah. I don't like Egg Harbors myself.

-Thad

[Bob Adams]

I have spent a considerable amount of time on this forum defending the wooden Eggs against the morons that flat out don't like production boats.They suffer the ills of poor maintenance the same as any other wood boat.They are very sea kindly and I would take my 1966 37 footer anywhere. We should use this forum to promote wood boats, not condem them. That said, the Egg Harbor does have problem areas and is perhaps not well suited to a begining wood boat owner. Thad, in case your wondering, I was Commodore of the Classic Egg Harbor Club, I still have the mailing list of over 140 wooden Egg owners.I hope we are not all the fools you seem to think we are.

PS
Wooden 37s diesel powered in good condition have sold for $45-50,000

[sawcutmill]

It is a Wooden EGG.What Do You Want.LoL. tongue.gif

[Thad Van Gilder]

Bob,
I don't mean to offend you.
I have I worked under John Yank of Yank Marine, who worked for a long time as a planker (outboard joiner or whatever you call them)at Egg in the 60's. From him I learned a lot of their tricks.
How the round frame heels whre made, how the keels where fabricated on a jig by this Northern European guy, and all about when they switched from Jersey cedar to Philipine Mahoghany planking and white oak to red.

This guy knew a lot about Eggs, and I gotta say, I learned a ton about working on wood and aluminum boats from him.

Those 37 Eggs had great lines, but they did, as even John admitted, cut a lot of corners in construction, and wood species only started the list.

An Egg built in the earlier years (as I have been told) stood a much better chance at holding up over the years. I haven't seen one yet, though.

-Thad

[nedL]

As much as I like the styling of the 37' Eggs (and I do think the 37' sedan is a good looking boat), I have to pretty much agree with Thad. Those were all the common problems that were known about them even back in the 70's when they were still fairly new boats. - I think the standard '5 yr check up' included new ribs & a transom. ;)

[Elco's]

All production boats suffer from the "bottom line" syndrome. Re do that Egg as you want her to be for your own usage and then use the boat.

Hey Bob.