Big, old, wooden boats for sale cheap?

[Tad]

Originally Posted by welder/fitter

Tad,
I'm joking, of course.

Oh I know....but never loose an opportunity to talk about my boat.......

[KnottyBuoyz]

Originally Posted by Tad

But the minimum bid on that is $3000.00

Didn't see that. Trailer's worth probably what? $5-6K?

[IMP-ish]

Any ideas how did the Fountain burn?

I see:
props: $400
tiebar & brackets $400
external steering rams: $300
k-planes: $1300 (figure pumps are both toasted)
outdrives: $3000-$3500
transom assemblies: $0-$1000 (how damaged from fire?) I guess looking at bellows would tell how much heat they got.
+ trailer
- disposal fee for all that charred glass

[Tad]

And the results........

http://blog.tadroberts.ca/2011/07/sold-for-peanuts/

[Thunderhead19]

But Tad.
They were in just awful shape.
They were put together with galvanized steel fasteners. The last x-rays from Dockyard proved that paint and caulking were practically all that is holding them together. There were some lag screws put in during the '90s to tide them over, but there's a bunch of wooden plugs in the exterior of the hull that now cover nothing but crumbling rust and a big hole. One good slap from a wave and any of those plugs could pop out, and there's no way to stop the leak from the inside in an emergency. The other end of most of those bolts is inaccessible.
YDT-10 has bronze fasteners, but its homlier than the rest.
Anyway, I'm aware one of them will be fully refubished and used as a liveaboard by some wooden boat nut.

[Tad]

Thanks for your note Thunder......

You know what they say....one man's sinking hulk is another's Pineapple Princess.......

The Withey boats were certainly built quick and dirty, we've done some extensive work on another boat built in the same era by Withey. Reefing, caulking, and refastening the hull, plus replacing all the rotten wood in the house and decks would a minimum amount of work required. Plugging holes with tar and cement or cedar plugs is standard practice, replacing butt blocks and rebolting butts is also expected......Mostly it's what you're used to, old wooden boats (built and maintained in a traditional manner) require a certain attitude......but they are designed to be rebuilt and/or repaired piece by piece.....which is the beauty of the thing......

[welder/fitter]

Wow, they sure went cheap! I didn't keep up with the auctions & figured they'd sell for more serious coin, as there seem to be very deep pockets among those who bid on the site. For that price I could've cradled my Cal to Asia & just sailed off deck if it sank!

[Tad]

Yah Mike but the fuel bill would be a killer.........

[welder/fitter]

Tad,
While I'm dreaming, I may as well raise the sails on the Cal & conserve some fuel!

[welder/fitter]

Looks like Kleaman bought a couple:

http://www.kleamanmarine.com/conversions.htm

Some great old photos on that site for those who grew up around the B.C. waters!