Need ideas and advice

[olejacknife]

Ahoy...permission to come aboard

I have an opportunity to get this really cool 34ft wooden boat. So far what I know about her is she was built by the Shane Boat Co of Seattle in 1931. She was in the water until last summer and sits in a junkyard now. She's not much to look at but overall she is very sound aside from some windows and parts of the cabin falling apart. The hull planks and transom are solid. I'm a cabinetmaker, have a shop and lots of tools and skills. I really want to restore this old boat and I was told I can have her cheap. All I have to do is move her 40 miles to my place. That's where my frustration lies now. She's sitting on a trailer that it's not meant to be on and there's no way it's going down the highway as is. I need options, ideas and suggestions from folks who might have accomplished such a feat. I realize there will be some expense but like I mentioned she comes cheap. Once I do get her here I have lots of room but l won't be able to keep her on a trailer. I imagine having to unload her somehow onto some sort of support but I don't have a clue what it should be. I know I want to be able to work on her hull from stem to stern so how do I do that?

So I have (2) dilemmas: Getting her here and setting her up beside my shop in a sort of dry dock.
Any suggestions and ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Stu
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3116/3154106956_6845647235.jpg?v=0http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/3153270875_fe60cd8c8a.jpg?v=0

[pcford]

Ahoy...permission to come aboard

I have an opportunity to get this really cool 34ft wooden boat. So far what I know about her is she was built by the Shane Boat Co of Seattle in 1931. She was in the water until last summer and sits in a junkyard now. She's not much to look at but overall she is very sound aside from some windows and parts of the cabin falling apart. The hull planks and transom are solid. I'm a cabinetmaker, have a shop and lots of tools and skills. I really want to restore this old boat and I was told I can have her cheap. All I have to do is move her 40 miles to my place. That's where my frustration lies now. She's sitting on a trailer that it's not meant to be on and there's no way it's going down the highway as is. I need options, ideas and suggestions from folks who might have accomplished such a feat. I realize there will be some expense but like I mentioned she comes cheap. Once I do get her here I have lots of room but l won't be able to keep her on a trailer. I imagine having to unload her somehow onto some sort of support but I don't have a clue what it should be. I know I want to be able to work on her hull from stem to stern so how do I do that?

So I have (2) dilemmas: Getting her here and setting her up beside my shop in a sort of dry dock.
Any suggestions and ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Stu


You need to get someone to look at the boat with you...ideally a surveyor, but at least someone who is very knowledgeable.

If it costs you money it could well be the best money you will spend on the project.

[woodboat]

Jack up the boat and trailer (by jacking the trailer as is), then place supports under the keel and transom and perhaps engine bed. Lower the trailer and pull the trailer fwd. This may require several efforts of re-blocking the boat as you pull the trailer forward (to clear crossmembers). The boat will need to be blocked in such a way under the keel and transom and possibly under engines so that the trailer can be pulled 2 or 3ft at a time before re-blocking. After a few efforts the trailer will be clear. Then hire a hydraulic trailer (boat mover) to slide their trailer under. Have them use max pads they have available and away you go. If the hauler does not have too far to go, cost will be less than $500 or so. He can set and block the boat exactly where you would like her at your shop. I have done this numerous times. Congrats on what appears to me a wonderful project.

PS - if you do not wish to do the jacking, it may be possible to use a crane with twin slings to lift the boat (be sure to use wide spreaders for the slings). The short duration of the lift should not hurt the boat if she is indeed sound of hull. Do this with the hydraulic trailer there and he can set it right on the hydraulic. Cost of the crane would be also less than $500. Weight of the boat I would estimate at 18'000 lbs.

[Woxbox]

Looks like quite a project. Better looking boats are being given away for nothing these days, so I hope "good price" is in the range of lunch at the local diner. And if you don't spring for a professional survey (which I agree is the best money you could spend right now) at least go around and tap every piece of wood every 6-10" with a small hammer and listen to what the wood tells you. Rot has a hard time hiding from that test.

[Hughman]

SURVEY!! Even if this boat is free, DO NOT NEGLECT TO DO THIS before you pay anything

now, about surveyors: ask other wood boat owners of long standing who to hire. any old boat junkie with a shingle hung up is a risk. get references.

Once you get this boat home, you will prop it up with boat stands purchased, hopefully used, google Brownell boat stands for an example.

http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/BW-MB0.JPG

Welcome to the slippery slope. You'll know what I mean in a few years.

[Tylerdurden]

She looks narrow, I would consider a rental of a low boy trailer and build a cradle for her. A crane at each end would solve the transport storage issues. Just lift her cradle and all.

[John Meachen]

If I had to move a boat of this size and age,regardless of survey considerations,I would pick up the phone and talk to a boat transportation specialist.They will have the trailer for the job and it will be no more than another day at work for them.They will also understand the requirements for permits to transport an oversize load and have insurance to cover any incidental damage.From a cabinet making perspective how good a job would you expect a truck driver to do with his first attempt at making furniture?If you switch occupations in this example it might seem good value to give the job to the professionals.

[Bob Cleek]

Get a SURVEY. Really. There are no "deals" on wooden boats. SOMEBODY was working on her at some point, as is obvious from the paint stripped from the topsides. Obviously, they gave up. Repairable boats rarely are sent to the dumps. Know why the last guy threw it away before you buy into his grief.

[jerry bark]

"...when you can snatch the pebble from my hand grasshopper, not before, then you are ready to leave here..."



I wish i would have known to take a surveyor to look at my current big boat. its aluminum but i would have never bought it had i known what i would be spending money and time on for the first three months just to solve the problems that would be obvious to me now.

listen to Cleek

cheers
jerry

PS: I love my boat now that i have made it safe, reliable and mechanically correct. but i have also invested 2.5 times what the thigh is worth, plus labor. that is still cheap by the standards of this board BTW so i expect no simpathy here. On the bright side my freezer is full of salmon and walleye thanks in part to the boat!

[Lew Barrett]

I doubt this boat has good bones. Even a month out of the water in this climate, uncovered having gone through freeze and thaw cycles, and with broken windows leaving the interior open to the weather is enough to render such a vessel valueless. From just what we can see, this boat is an enormous, probably thankless undertaking.

This looks like a choice between saving the boat and saving yourself. Contact RGM, who used to post here, to get a quick evaluation survey.

The best advice anybody will ever give you is to buy the best boat you can find, not the worst one.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

You will spend at least 30 thousand dollars doing a quick restore on this boat, and 3 to 5 thousand hours. what seems less painful is not spending all that money at once, but with your time, thats a boat you will invest 50 to 60k in.

I have a 36 foot Chris Craft cruiser, 1964 vintage. The survey was structurally very positive, all systems were operational, the boat has been in the water every year. I have spent over 3000 hours on it and 25k over the purchase price since then. I ain't done yet.

[Larks]

Stu, looks like an interesting project and, as long as you take real consideration of all of the warnings here so that you can have a realistic idea of what you are in for before going ahead, I'm sure that you will have no surprises and enjoy the transformation tremendously. There is a lot of experience on this forum and most have had the same experience of blown out time frames, costs and expectations, particularly first time restorers.

A word on Surveyors though, everytime someone posts their interest in picking up an old wooden boat on this forum someone shouts "get a surveyor". You need to be aware that MOST marine surveyors these days are more than likely NOT experienced with wooden boats, a marine surveyor will deal with anything from liquid cargo surveying to superyachts and safety survey requirements but they may know very little about wooden boats (other than what they read in a book when doing their surveying ticket) so be sure to really drill whoever you contact on their wooden boat experience before writing a cheque for such a service.

Alternatively (and preferably in my opinion) use a boat builder who has experience in building or restoring wooden boats. Such a person is more likely to understand the timbers used, the structural integrity of the hull, how it was built, what fastenings have been used, what repairs have been done, recognise rot and wood damage etc. Then get a mechanic to look at the engines and systems on board.

Meanwhile though, all the very best, we look forward to hearing more

cheers
Greg

[Ian McColgin]

Nothing so expensive as a free boat.

Better than a normal survey, you might get a good boat builder to come take a look and give you a ball park as to how many thousand hours work lie ahead.

You will not make money on the project if you think restoration and sale. Your heirs will not gain much if you restore and keep her. But if this is your labor of love, at least go in eyes open.

G'luck