Restored vs. new

[Joe Hurne]

I am sure this one's been asked before but please let me have your thoughts on the following.

For the last few years we have been restoring a small open sail boat originally built in 1909. Nearing the end we must conclude that virtually all if not all parts of the boat have been replaced, in other words the boat looks and is new. Yet, the boat was not taken apart and rebuilt but rather each piece was individually replaced.

Is our boat a restored 1909 boat or is it a replica of a 1909 boat? Any authority on this?

Thanks!

Joe

[ 04-03-2003, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: Joe Hurne ]

[Donn]

We'd need to see pictures in order to answer. :D

[tealsmith1]

It's kinda like saying," I have Abe Lincoln's axe. The head has been replaced twice and the handle three times." :D Did it sail any during this work?

[Chris Coose]

A replica would be a copy built from new materials.
A restoration would be what you got.
I've seen reputable boat builders take a piece out of an old keel and scab it into a new one so they might call it a restoration.

[mmd]

The current line on thinking about this thorny topic seems to be:

If, at any time during the restoration of the vessel, the vessel being restored no longer looks like a boat, but merely an assemblage of structural components, you are then in the process of re-creating the vessel; if, however, the vessel has retained it's essential form as a boat during the process of restoring it, it is then a restoration of an original vessel.

How's that for doublespeak? :D I think I recall seeing this statement (I have heavily paraphrased, as I can't remember exactly what was written) in a British traditional boating magazine in an article discussing the very question that you have posed.

[Bruce Hooke]

I recall seeing pretty much what MMD quoted in both WoodenBoat magazine and the opening chapters of Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World.

[Paul Scheuer]

You could shift the discussion to the difference between maintenance and restoration, and enjoy your gem.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

My two cents:

I think that restorations are reconstructions of originals with the idea of preserving not only the shape, but the "flavour" of the boat being restored. What I mean by that (here is where I wax philosophic, and not for the first time :rolleyes: ) is that each boat possesses a artistic virtue that is a reflection not only of the technology of the era, but of the workmanship, and even the individual craftsman involved. If you restore a vessel and quietly smile and nod while you observe the reasons for why things were done a certain way,and honor those methods in your rebuild, then I believe your restored boat is indeed a 1909. If, on the other hand we go forward thinking that, as modern craftsmen we know far more, and substitute materials at will without regard for original construction methods, then that is a new boat that simply looks old. I think restoration and respect have a fair bit in common. ;)

[Joe Hurne]

Thanks to all!

Although it ultimately doesn't matter, it is nice to know that the common view appears to be that she is not a replica. During the restoration, we honored all original techniques; even those that will yield more maintenance in the years to come. We have also only used original materials. No epoxy of any kind on this one.

Once we have pictures I'll post one.

Joe

[Ian G Wright]

Same boat, no question.

IanW

[Leon Steyns]

I'm with Donn: no picture - no answer... :D :D :D

Greets, Leon Steyns.