The future of timber boat construction

[studentUK]

Dear all members, Please help me if possible!!

For my final year dissertation in my YACHT MANUFACTURING AND SURVEYING degree my topic is a study into the FUTURE OF TIMBER BOAT CONSTRUCTION IN THE SMALLCRAFT INDUTRY.

The aim of this is to look into the industry, the history, the current situation (methods used, materials, tools, costs involved etc) and then into where the future lies and how if possible the use of modern materials and technology (CAD-CAM etc) can improve the situation, the time and costs involved with building a wooden boat so that we can all see more timber boats on the water.

If any one has any revolutionary ideas, information on advanced techniques or absolutely anything that you think might be relevant to me or your personal views on this matter, please please reply.

my e-mail is angus405@hotmail.com

I really need some specific information on labour times and costs involved with the different aspects of the build. And where possible the equivalent in other materials as part of a cost comparison.

I'm looking at avarage size boats of any type of timber construction.

Many many thanks for any assistance that is offered.

Please contact me you need any other details.

From a desperate student!

[ 04-12-2005, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: studentUK ]

[Ken Hutchins]

'Details of Classic Yacht Construction' by Larry Pardy could be of some help to you.

[Bob Smalser]

Your largest sub base is at Faslane, Scotland I believe.

Call up and ask to speak to their boat shop manager. If your Navy is like ours, all sonar testing and much torpedo recovery is done in wood hulls of up to 100'.

Our local sub base at Bangor, WA and the neighboring torpedo facility at Keyport probably have more wooden hulls afloat and in the shop than any other type of utility hull.

[outofthenorm]

Have a look at WoodenBoat Issue 178 and the article about Twig Bower, a builder using modern shop practices and techniques to speed up traditional boat building. That's only one issue, of course. A thorough search through the WB index would probably uncover a lot of material. Back issues are often available through libraries.

[Paulyboy]

What about using wood alternatives in some places on a boat? Synthetic wood and plastic mixes are being used in outdoor applications everyday, why not boats?

[ahp]

In the more distant futre consider carbon filiment fabrication will be used for many things including boats and houses. Now it is very expensive and has limited application. That will gradually change.

[Tom Robb]

Predicting any possible future is notoriously difficult. Perhaps you could change it to A Possible Future..."
Given the rapid decimation of the world's forests, I think that looking for a mass market in wooden boats is shortstghted if not irresponsible.

[Charles Burgess]

Originally posted by Tom Robb:
Predicting any possible future is notoriously difficult. Perhaps you could change it to A Possible Future..."
Given the rapid decimation of the world's forests, I think that looking for a mass market in wooden boats is shortstghted if not irresponsible.

Deforestation is mostly the result of slash and burn policies in developing countries...very little of the wood is actually harvested.

In developed countries forests are managed as a renewable resource...all that is needed is public pressure to increase the resource reserves that can only improve forest products.

In comparison, glass boats are made from oil...a non-renewable resource in practical terms. Oil production on a global scale has reached its physical limits, while demand due to China and other countries are accelerating the demand for oil. Crude is expected to continue to rise in price and in the US we can expect the price of gasoline to exceed $10 a gallon.

In the 2004 hurricane season, thousands of FRP boats have been reduced to junk by the 4 major hurricanes to hit Florida. FRP is not very biodegradable, and the landscape is littered with broken hulks. Wooden boats are more environmentally responsible in regard to potential impact on the environment after such storms.

In my opinion, building or buying FRP boats is environmentally and economically unsound in the long run, and that wooden boats will gain in market share in the future and is the evironmentally and economically alternative to FRP.

[ssor]

Charles , Are you suggesting that cutting down one or more trees and building a boat that will eventually rot is better than building with durable materials?
If there had been as many wooden boats as plastic ones do you suppose the wooden boats would have faired better than the plastic ones in the tropical storms?
They're plastic reinforced with fiberglass. As long as there is sand we can make glass.

It is all a compromise, neglected boats don't last well. Carefully kept boats of any material will endure.

[Charles Burgess]

Originally posted by ssor:
Charles , Are you suggesting that cutting down one or more trees and building a boat that will eventually rot is better than building with durable materials?
If there had been as many wooden boats as plastic ones do you suppose the wooden boats would have faired better than the plastic ones in the tropical storms?
They're plastic reinforced with fiberglass. As long as there is sand we can make glass.

It is all a compromise, neglected boats don't last well. Carefully kept boats of any material will endure.

ssor,

My point is that plastic is derived from oil...a non-renewable resource and an evironmental contaminant in the form of broken hulks after a storm that, in my locale, gusted to 170mph.

As far as longevity, a well maintained wooden boat can last longer than a plastic one. Now I would agree that restoring a neglected wooden boat is usually an uphill battle, but for the most part plastic boats are built to be disposable like all other plastic products in our modern society.

For me, the maintanence of a wooden boat isn't a chore...it is an enjoyable livestyle.

Yes, we will always be able to make glass from sand, but when oil becomes too expensive to use to make the plastic binder, what will we do then?

I see a brighter future for wooden boatbuilding than I see for FRP boat production in terms of environmental impact and the economics of oil. How long does it take to grow a new tree compared to how long it takes to form a new oil deposit from decaying organic material?

[studentUK]

Thanks for all your replies to my query so far, it has been really helpful. Different ideas and opinions on the subject are an important part of my research.

Please keep them coming, i really appreciate it.

[carioca1232001]

Suppose one were to build a 60 ft. trawler - solely for leisure purposes - and needed to make a choice between a metallic hull (steel or aluminium) and wood ? What then ?

A Club member in Rio de Janeiro has chosen STEEL over WOOD, for the simple reason (I was told !) that the former is much quicker to build, the materials are cheaper, labour costs ditto - and maintenance much less of a headache (or Nirvana ? !)

Considering that we have an enormous selection of noble tropical woods to choose from in this country, at a price much lower than what it is up North for equivalent material, would be most interested to hear what WBF experts have to say about this.

[sdowney717]

That wooden boat will use as much oil in fuel as the plastic boat.
How about the heat energy to make all the screws and the oil that goes into epoxy. The paint and varnish systems.
All this to make a structure that is almost guaranteed to need continual renewing over its life span. Dont forget the cost of fuel to drive to the marina to constantly work on it.

[sdowney717]

Steel boats if the steel is properly protected are great. They are durable, tough and strong. Almost anywhere in the world a steel hull patch can be welded on quickly and get you going again.
Smashing into rocky shores which could destroy a wood boat will have little to no effect on a steel boat. Most wooden boats have little hull strength and are easily compromised by rot, sea criters.
I do think a properly well built wooden hull can be stronger than a glass boat.
Can you imagine building an oil tanker out of wood?

[ssor]

Three hundred years ago all boats were built of local wood. So the boats built in New England were never built with cypress, D.fir, or WRC. No fossel fuel was burned to make fasteners( an awful lot of wood was used to make charcoal) from smelted iron ore. Much discussion on this forum involves finding sources for exotic lumber for specific purposes in the construction of a boat. There will always be enough timber to build the small boats that we "need" but there will never be enough to build all of the boats we "want". When I was a kid you could rent a wooden row boat that had been built by a local craftsman and every spring they got a fresh coat of paint. Today most people that enjoy boats want to own the boat and the availability of rental boats is small. The ease of manufacture of FRP boats has put boats in reach of everyone who wants one, and here is where a problem manifests itself, when a person tires of a wooden boat and neglects it, rot takes care of the disposal, but when a person gets tired of a FRP boat, the boat endures like an old automobile. I should think that someday soon we will see junk yards filled with old boats just as we see junk yards filled with rusty automobiles.

[ 04-16-2005, 09:06 AM: Message edited by: ssor ]

[John Bell]

"In my opinion, building or buying FRP boats is environmentally and economically unsound in the long run, and that wooden boats will gain in market share in the future and is the evironmentally and economically alternative to FRP."

The in-use and environmental consequences of the two materials aside, I have to disagree with the above statement.

The reason for the success of FRP in the market is mostly due to the fact that structures can be assembled quickly, easily, and reproducibly by relatively low-skilled and therefore low-cost workers. The cost of labor in a wooden boat is much higher than in a mass-produced FRP boat, and that's the big disadvantage for the material.

Edited to add: For wood to start making a big impact in the market compared to other materials (FRP and metal), we need to figure out ways to increase productivity of wooden boat manufacturers. Which, I suppose was the intent of the original poster...

[ 04-16-2005, 09:48 AM: Message edited by: John Bell ]

[John Bell]

Perhaps someone can answer this question: What is cost per pound (materials only, let's leave labor out of this particular calculus) of a wood hull versus steel, aluminum, and FRP? My guess is that wood is much higher than the other three. Coupled with the lower productivity of wooden construction, even with $100/bbl oil, FRP will still be a lot cheaper to produce.

[ahp]

Reading this thread I notice a lot of opinions and hand waving, including my own. Not many numbers.

Has anyone thought about wood construction using piece parts cut on NC machines? The furnature industry went this way long ago, to say nothing of anything made out of metal. I mentioned this idea to a boat builder some time ago and he was horrified. I would like to see wood boat building as a manufacturing process largely performed by assemblers, not craftsmen. If wood boats ever do make a comeback that is the way it must be.

Is it true that every piece of wood that gets fitted into a boat need to be patted and petted by a craftsman with mysterious skills? I don't think so. The car we just bought was partly built and assembled by robots and the fit and finish are suppurb. Ah, but you say, they build autos by the 10,000's. We found in the lab instrument business that a piece parts run of 25 justified NC machining.

The old boat builder made one cogent objection. Wood is not as dimentionally stable as metal. True, but that is why we educate and train wood technologists, as the furnature industry has for a long time.

In the late 19th century canoes and guide boats were mass produced using the most efficient and sophisticated power woodworking tools available at the time. They built for a price for a mass market.

[Clan Gordon]

I hope your studies point to a continued future in wooden boat building in Europe/UK.

However, since you asked for some input regarding history, I would like to mention the recent history of the wooden fishing boat yards of Scotland.

You may know that until relatively recently (about early 1980s), most of the (still large) Scottish fishing fleet was builf from wood. These boats tended to have an upper size limit of 70 to 80ft and were designed for a hard life in the North Sea area. The builders were often the literal descendants of the men who built the sailing Fifies and Zulus.

During the 1980s and 1990s, a move towards steel fishing boats accelerated, especially for the larger sizes. That this occurred so late in Scotland (the country that was at the forefront of large steel shipbuilding a century before)is a tribute to the regard that these hard nosed fishermen had for wooden boats. Some still prefer wood over steel.

Furthermore, the decline in the Scottish fishing fleet has now more or less put paid to large scale wooden boat building in Scotland.

Among the yards which ceased to build large vessels in wood in relatively recent times are the following (clockwise round the East Coast);
- Herd & Mackenzie, Buckie
- Jones, Buckie
- Watt, MacDuff
- Noble, Fraserburgh
- T Summers, Fraserburgh
- Irvin, Peterhead
- Mackay, Arbroath
- Gerrards, Arbroath
- Smith & Hutton, Anstruther
- James Miller, St Monans
- Weatherhead, Cockenzie & Port Seton

What this means is that while only 15 or 20 years ago there was a large labour pool of men who could build a large boat without thinking it anything special, most are now retired. There is no new pool of replacements being trained.

When an old industry like this dies, it is very difficult to recreate. The old and "simple" methods of carvel boatbuilding were often very productive and not as simple as they look. This style of boatbuilding is difficult to sutomate. The workman and the effective use of his time is still important. Time spent thinking what to do next or looking for a written/drawn instruction costs money.

What this shortage of a skilled labour force means for the future of a wooden boat building industry (of carvel boats) in these parts is probably something your report should consider, aven if the demand was shown to be there.

James MacGregor

[Charles Burgess]

This topic seems to be also posted in the misc boat related forum, but it only has a few replies and this one is where the discussion is active...so I'll repost my original reply here:

Here I'll give you a flat rate per hour in terms of lbs of displacement of the finished boat:

Skilled professional boatbuilders, using traditional methods, can build 15 lbs per hour.

A skilled amateur can build 10 lbs per hour.

A amateur who is building their first boat...5 lbs per hour. At about half way through the build process the amateur will find that he has enough experience to increase the rest at 10 lbs per hour.

Take the total displacement and divide by the above rate, and you'll find how many man hours it will take to build nearly any wooden boat.

[Clan Gordon]

If you can guarantee (or take the risk on) a large market for your product, you can justify attempting to invest in a production plant which will minimise the labour hours on each of the many units you sell.

Building a GRP mould to build one only hull will likely result in a very expensive boat. For a one-off, the wooden hull would have chance in the manhour stakes. For a long production run, the investment in the facilities should favour the GRP method if labour hours and labour cost are the governing factors (depends on the country you are in).

Mass production of cars requires plant and a "white collar" engineering effort (millions of manhours there alone) with an investment measured in the billions in order to reduce the "blue collar" manhours per car. Few companies can afford that now (one reason why Rover in the UK collapsed). Same for aircraft which are also built in large production runs.

The larger and more complex the artefact, the more expensive the plant for mass production would be.

Small simple boats (like canoes) could well (and do) stand a mass production approach, because there are few parts to handle, the components are small and light and you can sell many. The larger the boat gets, the more difficult all these factors become.

Some numbers;
car - 1.5 tonnes, 3000 parts, 20 hrs to assemble
battle tank - 65t, 14,000 parts, 5500 hrs
fighter aircraft - 10t, 30,000 parts, 57,000hrs
Boeing 777 - 250t, 100,000 parts, 50,000 hrs
nuclear sub - 7000t, 1 million parts, 8m hours

You can probably figure out where boats of different size would fit in the above range. Also, most people have a rough idea of how many identical units of each of these objects a society or company can afford to produce.

[Charles Burgess]

Originally posted by John Bell:
"In my opinion, building or buying FRP boats is environmentally and economically unsound in the long run, and that wooden boats will gain in market share in the future and is the evironmentally and economically alternative to FRP."

The in-use and environmental consequences of the two materials aside, I have to disagree with the above statement.

The reason for the success of FRP in the market is mostly due to the fact that structures can be assembled quickly, easily, and reproducibly by relatively low-skilled and therefore low-cost workers. The cost of labor in a wooden boat is much higher than in a mass-produced FRP boat, and that's the big disadvantage for the material.

Edited to add: For wood to start making a big impact in the market compared to other materials (FRP and metal), we need to figure out ways to increase productivity of wooden boat manufacturers. Which, I suppose was the intent of the original poster...

John,

I was only injecting my observations that were triggered by by two phenomena: Hurricane Ivan's turning boatyards and marinas into nautical landfills; and the effects of increasing oil prices as the result of demand exceeding supply, a situtation that has no end in sight...an unforeseen effect of the global economy. I am injecting these as two factors to be considered among other factors.

In vessels exceeding 500 tons displacement, I am in total agreement with you in the material price advantages of FRP, steel, and aluminum over wood.

That is the result of economies of scale...a shipyard that builds vessels over 500 tons can buy the materials in enough quantity to achieve tremendous price breaks that a boatbuilder who builds less than 500 tons cannot achieve. The general rule of thumb is that the smaller the vessel the greater the materials cost per displacement pound...labor also increases as the size of a vessel decreases.

Originally posted by John Bell:
Perhaps someone can answer this question: What is cost per pound (materials only, let's leave labor out of this particular calculus) of a wood hull versus steel, aluminum, and FRP? My guess is that wood is much higher than the other three. Coupled with the lower productivity of wooden construction, even with $100/bbl oil, FRP will still be a lot cheaper to produce.

The price of materials on a per pound basis are nearly equal in all materials...it is the size of the vessel that determines the cost of labor and materials.

Edited to add: For example, for a small boatbuilder (nearly all wooden boatbuilders are small businesses) it is cheaper to build in wood than it is to build in steel, aluminum or GRP.

Also, and probably the largest factor, is that wooden boat production is almost entirely custom work. When each boat is very different than the last one or the next one, it is very difficult to sustain a high rate of productivity...very near impossible. (Over the years I have a the occasional opportunity to build the same design back to back, and noticed that the second or third boat in the series would be completed in less man hours than the first one.)

[ 04-16-2005, 12:49 PM: Message edited by: Charles Burgess ]

[John Bell]

"The price of materials on a per pound basis are nearly equal in all materials...it is the size of the vessel that determines the cost of labor and materials."

If that's the case, then it's primarily an issue of productivity that's going to determine which material is used. The question is then what techniques can be used to make wood as (more) productive as FRP or metal? Some processes, such as fairing a hull, are going to more difficult than others. With FRP, for example, the labor-intensive fairing process is only done once on the plug used to make a mold.

There is one other problem with the economy of wood that no one has mentioned: waste. There is very little wasted material in building plastic boats, and what waste there is from metal can be recycled.

I like wooded boats to be sure. But I'm just not a beleiver that they will ever become the norm again for mass produced boats, that's all.

Edited to add: If the overriding concern in how to dispose of junked boats, then neither wood nor FRP is the correct answer. For recyclability nothing beats metal. Melt 'em down and make new ones!

[ 04-16-2005, 01:01 PM: Message edited by: John Bell ]

[Charles Burgess]

Originally posted by sdowney717:
That wooden boat will use as much oil in fuel as the plastic boat.
How about the heat energy to make all the screws and the oil that goes into epoxy. The paint and varnish systems.
All this to make a structure that is almost guaranteed to need continual renewing over its life span. Dont forget the cost of fuel to drive to the marina to constantly work on it.

I have a different point of view...

...95% of the fastenings in the boats I build are treenails (aka trunnels).

...I use epoxy and similar resins sparingly so as not to create a maintenance headache for the client.

..."the need for continual renewal", at least a wooden boat can be restored to a state of near to being "new" than is reasonably possible with GRP. I have seen to many GRP boats of all kinds that while being only 6 to 8 years old, look to be at least 20. Repairing a neglected plastic boat is a horrendous task...at least wood working has a nice smell to it and is less harmful to the repairperson's health.

Steel and aluminum does have definite advantages materially over wood in large vessels...over 500 tons especially. Warships, tankers, RO-RO's, etc, etc, are better built in steel. But only the size of vessels of interest to most here, wood is very attractive...at any marina, when a classic wooden yacht pulls in among the herd of plastic boats, nearly everyone would say "oh, she has beautful lines", a remark that you will rarely hear in regard to a plastic boat.

"Wooden oil tankers"...the first thought that comes to mind is that oil soaked wood is virtually rot proof and of little interest to sea critters...LOL. The second thought that comes to mind is that oil soaked wood is prone to spontaneous combustion processes.

It is my personal opinion that wood is only suitable for vessels under 500 tons. In fact, if larger vessels were to become common then the timber consumed would threaten our ability to build pleasure craft in wood. Here in the northern Gulf of Mexico, the Naval Live Oaks are protected due to the overharvesting during late 1800's when very large wooden ships were being built.

[George Roberts]

Finding suitable wood for boats is a problem.

Producing a large enough volume of boats to allow skills to be passed down the the next generation is a problem.

Keeping the pay rate up is a problem.

[Charles Burgess]

Originally posted by George Roberts:
Finding suitable wood for boats is a problem.

Producing a large enough volume of boats to allow skills to be passed down the the next generation is a problem.

Keeping the pay rate up is a problem.

Hey George....good to see ya! All good points.

"Finding suitable wood"...in general, the quality of our native wood is dependent upon what time of year it was harvested. For example: Yellow Pine is very good when harvested during the winter, but can be a problem when harvested during mid-summer. Commercial timber is harvested year round, so getting some insight on harvesting and distribution cycles can give us the quality we want.

Survival of skills is always a concern. Volume issue can be solved to a great degree by better marketing and educational outreach...apprentice programs are a great way to introduce new-comers to the trade. The key to the success of GRP production boats is mostly marketing effort. The key to the lack of success in wooden boat building is the lack of marketing effort...we're all in the same wooden boat, so to speak.

"Keeping the pay rate up"...now I see the problem being that I can't keep my pay rate down! ...LOL.

As a boatbuilder, and it being a family business, I am not a greedy sort of businessman. I aim for a decent pay scale...enough to take care of financial responsibilities, retirement (as if I would ever want to), health insurance, etc. I am not interested in becoming a rich man...I measure wealth in terms of how I love what I do for a living, family bless, and generally enjoying life in a modest fashion. If I won the lottery I wouldn't want to change a thing in a material since of things.

Like most boatbuilders, the lack of work sometimes drives up our labor costs on a per hour basis...the less work to do, the more you have to charge in labor just to keep finances in the black. If I could keep the shop busy, then I could lower my labor costs and pass the savings to the boat owners, which in turn brings in more business. Like most boatbuilders and designers, I am not in it for the money...the money allows me to do what I love.

My gut feeling is that the demand for wooden boats and especially yachts far exceeds production and that there is a tremendous lack of professional boatbuilders around the USA, and the rest of the western world, to fill the demand. This limits the market potential is mostly due to the fact that the shortage of wooden boatbuilders also translates into a lack of skilled boat repairmen to do some of the major maintenance that wooden boat owners need...most boatyards are insanely afraid to work on a wooden boat...fear of the unknown, and unfounded myths of how difficult woodenboat repair actually is.

Wooden yachts are at the top of the food chain in the yachting world...what every true yachtsman and boat lover dreams about, but the lack of production keeps wooden boats financially out of reach for most people...unless they build it themselves.

[John Bell]

Originally posted by George Roberts:
Finding suitable wood for boats is a problem.

Agreed.

Producing a large enough volume of boats to allow skills to be passed down the the next generation is a problem.

Not a problem if some new technology makes it possible for lower skilled workers to build them.

Keeping the pay rate up is a problem.

Keeping pay up is the opposite of the problem. When labor costs for one method of manufacture are disproportionately large, another something else that takes less expensive labor (or a lot less time) will move to the fore.

[Charles Burgess]

John Bell originally wrote:Keeping pay up is the opposite of the problem. When labor costs for one method of manufacture are disproportionately large, another something else that takes less expensive labor (or a lot less time) will move to the fore.

In another thread in the WBF someone posted that he wants to buy/build a wooden boat, while his wife wants to go with a GRP boat because it is $8000 cheaper...looking for advice in how to convince her that the wooden boat is better and worth the price.

The fundamental difference for me is that the wooden boat has greater intrinsic value than a GRP boat. Which has more intrinsic value: a 14carat gold ring with a real diamond or a gold-plated brass ring with a cubic zirconia stone?

A boat is supposed to add value to a person's quality of life. Human life has an intrinsic value that is fundamentally immeasurable.

In buying a new boat exactly what are we paying for? The cost of materials are of course easily valued and added up...for the average small boat builder the cost of materials when building in wood is only slightly higher than the cost of materials when building in GRP. The GRP is faster to build and requires little in the way of skilled labor, while the builder in wood requires labor with a moderate to high level of trade skill and a wooden boat simply takes longer to build.

Fundamentally, other than the cost of materials, we are paying for the time it takes for human labor to do the building of the boat...time. And exactly what is labor time? Everyone's life is a stream of time that flows in only one direction. Each moment of time doing anything is time spent out of someone's life...and cannot be refunded, retrieved, or recycled. The time spent in building a boat is gone forever. The value we place on that time puts a price tag on the value of the workman's life.

For the average workman who builds GRP boats, not only is his/her time considered to be of low value, the pay is typically not enough to compensate in the way of meaningful health insurance that is sure to be put to use since the materials used in GRP production is toxic. Not only do we consider the value of their time in building the boat, but we also shorten their lifespan...all for the sake of a cheap boat. To add insult to injury, the workman recieves little in the way of personal satisfaction from the kind of work done.

For the average workman who builds wooden boats, the amount of skill required results in higher pay...at least his/her life has a higher price tag. In contrast to working in GRP, working in wood exposes the worker to very little in the way of toxic materials, and the worker normally loves the work and thus recieves additional compensation in personal satisfaction on the job...that by the way can boost his/her overall life longevity.

In a wooden boat, not only is the workman's time spent in its building valued higher, but let's not forget the value of the life of the tree...its life spent in growing into the material we love to work with. Summing together the values of the human life and tree life spent in the construction of a wooden boat, such a boat can, if well maintained, last 3-4 generations...or longer. In comparison, since GRP boats isn't valued as much as a wooden boat, its chances of surviving more than 10 years is pretty slim, let alone even a single generation.

Both wooden and GRP boats (the most expensive vs the least expensive to buy) begin to deteriorate as soon as they are built...wood from rot, and GRP from UV and ozone. Due to the construction methods of GRP, repairs require more skill than required in its initial construction; due to the construction methods used in wooden boats, they are inherently easier to repair.

A GRP, steel, or aluminum boat...the propulsion noises can echo through the hull, and other noises from masts can be like fingernails on a chalkboard. A wooden boat...the propulsion noises are dampened by the hull, and other noises from masts are the soothing voice of the boat.

Finally, we return full circle...owning a boat is an issue of quality of life. I say you get what value you are willing to pay for, either in cash or sweat...usually both. At least with a wooden boat, the boat lavishes upon the owner (builder too) a hundred fold in a greater value of the time spent...something that a GRP, steel, or aluminum boat cannot do.

[ssor]

When we try to assign intrinsic and ascethic values to anything from flowers to automobiles to houses to boats to people we quickly get into areas of subjectivity. An artifact that one person values highly another person may not find the least bit appealing. I have brothers that would not give fifty cents for a boat of any flavor if they couldn't sell it for a profit. They are of the opinion that they are a complete waste of time and money.
No one can deny the ascethic value of a beautifully built and finished wooden boat. Simply put they are works of art. Wooden boats can also have great utility as dememonstrated by the work boats launched each year by watermen to replace worn our boats. Work boats built on the Chesapeake bay are often built by the men that will earn a living with them. Attempting to build in fiberglass and resin would pretty much preclude working through the winter in open sheds. Those work boats are tough and servicable and very well built. Will such boats ever be replaced by fiberglass and resin? probably not as long as quality timber grows within reach of people who need to build their own boats.

[carioca1232001]

Thanks everyone for the enlightening discussion.

I know very little about the subject, so I am more inclined to hear than chip in