Wooden or Fiberglass

[berkin]

i want to buy a 40 feet (14 meters) motoryacht and i would very much appreciate if you could let me know the difference between a wooden boat and a fiberglass boat of this size.
In our country we have boatyards building both wooden and fiberglass
yachts and i know that fiberglass types dont need much maintenance such as paste/putty/paint etc but they might have osmos, gelcoat problems.
Is there any web site comparing wooden and fiberglass yachts like automobile magazines doing it between two cars (models)

Best Regards
Berkin

[Corpus Skipper]

Wood is just fine if properly cared for, and water leaks kept out, but is heavier than 'glass. Glass is good if layed up properly, and even better if vinylester or epoxy resins are used, at least for the outer skin (tank coating). Epoxy barrier coats on a 'glass hull prevent blistering as well, as long as they remain intact, and the bilges should be coated as well. Water gets into a laminate through the bilge just as easy as from the outside, if not easier, by wicking along the 'glass strands in the roving. (Builders never leave exposed roving strands, do they? ) Lots of fiberglass boats have core materials nowadays, and that can cause other problems. You just have to weigh the pros and cons of each material and make the choice that you feel most comfortable with. Either material has it's strengths and weaknesses, and they're both easily repaired. The most important thing is the quality of construction from the yard. Check them out thoroughly and ask owners of vessels from that yard if you can find them. This is the best way to help you decide, and when you're talking the kind of money a 40 footer commands, the yard should be happy to help you contact owners of their vessels, most of which should be happy to talk to you about their boat. (No one likes to talk about their boats! ) Good luck.

[berkin]

Hello Corpus Skipper

i thank you very much for taking the time in replying to my post
which appreciated here.

if you dont mind i would like to ask you a last question (i hope) which is as follows

assuming two (2) boats of the same shape and the same size (40 footer)
the one is wooden and the other is glass and here comes my humble question: "which one is heavier ?"
(just the hull, without engine and accessoires)

thank you very much in anticipation & all the best
berkin

[Corpus Skipper]

Wood is heavier in plank on frame construstion. I believe cold molded sonstruction is the same as or slightly lighter than fiberglass. (I could be wrong on that one)

[berkin]

Greetings from Istanbul and thanks very much

berkin

[brian c]

I have a 27' wooden clinker built boat and my father in law has a 26' fibreglass boat, this discussion goes on forever.

I have always preferred a wooden boat to a fibreglass one but you have to work out if you can afford the time to upkeep the wood, with a wooden clinker boat or a carvel one you really need to burn off the paint right down to the bare timber every season or two, I did it every year. But - (I may get told off here) - I have always thought that the weight of the wooden boat gave it better sea faring abilities, although that is just my opinion!

Having said that, I also have a fibreglass powerboat and it takes little or no maintenance, just put it in every year, give it a polish if it needs it and more often than not, fibreglass will last forever, and osmosis is easily fixed if caught early enough.



this is a thread i think will have a lot of replys (from more knowledgable boaters than me).

[berkin]

Hello Brian, in one way it is good that you have something to talk
to your father in law on a common subject but on the other hand
this discussion might reach to an amicable settlement at a police station.
(here i must put an smiling face but i will learn it in time )

of course on a wooden boat you can feel like you are riding on
a living creature and you can feel the smell of the boat and
in exchange for this you need to afford the time to upkeep the wood.

as far as i am concerned both materials (wood and glass) are good
but what i would like to know is that although wood is heavier in plank
on frame construction when it comes to a whole hull
(without engine/accessoires/cables/tanks etc.,) i have been heard
(whether correct or not) that at some length or after some length
fiberglass hulls are heavier then wooden hulls
(i am not interested more than 20 meters hull)

i just would like to know whether above mentioned is correct
and if so, after how many meters fiberglas hulls start to become
heavier?

[JR-Shine]

The advantages and disadvantages of wood are easy to find doing just a little research (as you are now) - find what fits your needs the best. Some of the most expensive sportfishing boats in the world are made from marine plywood, there just isnt anything better to make a strong light boat. Maintenance; now that’s another question.

I guess that really didnt help...

Joel
Boatbuildercentral.com

[J Ralph]

everything is better about a wood boat...except that it is wood.they ride better,they are quieter,they have less vibration,they are drier without that damp feeling...as well as just plain looks...but alas they are wood...and need an endless supply of time(love)maintainence(love)and money(so much for love)I guess it is all a matter of what you plan on doing with and how long you plan on keeping it...good luck!!

[PAR]

The type of hull material has little to do with the up keep costs in maintaining a yacht of the size you'd like.

The draw back to wooden hull construction, regardless the techniques used, is, as a general rule, that they can't take neglect for as long as other hull materials. That said, the selection of molded wood or composite wood construction can greatly increase the durability and hence the level and length of neglect the hull can tolerate, before extensive repairs must be performed. Traditional construction methods like carvel and clinker will require a stricter maintenance schedule be adhered to.

In the end, when costs are counted up and placed into a data base for analyses, the thing that sticks out, when compared to other materials ('glass for example) is the hull material has very little to do with the maintenance costs. Spring commissioning, fall de-commissioning, fitting out, rebedding hardware, buffing oxidized gel coat, painting topsides, varnishing bright work, flushing fuel and water systems and the rest of the things necessary in the normal upkeep of a 40' yacht have little to do with the hull material.

In short, any hull material will serve for a very long time if properly maintained. The problem is, very few yachts get the needed proper maintenance, instead getting the things that have bells and bobbles or look pretty. A new depth sounder or radar system is neat, but the money would have been wiser spent on new garboard seams, but isn't because the pumps can currently keep up, so the issue is out of mind, until the leaks start to interfere with the enjoyment of the "in use" time.

Some types of wooden construction can be heavier then typical 'glass construction, but this isn't the case for all. An old chopper gun layup is much heavier then a cold molded wooden craft of similar design. Design comparisons are very difficult in this vain as the materials are quite different so the engineering must be quite different, making the comparison interesting. A side note here is one of a fast sailboat built of molded construction (hot) during the 1930's thru the 50's was then built in 'glass. The glass boats had much difficulty being as light as the wooden sisters and showed as much on the race course. As a rule, the more "high tech" you go in the construction methods used for either material, the lighter the structure will be and the more costly.

All materials and construction methods have their good points and bad, none with a real advantage, unless you intend to neglect the craft (as most do) then I'd steer clear of traditional wooden construction and opt for molded wood or other construction, like 'glass, though in this displacement range you're looking at, aluminum would be a very good option, but it too has it's issues to deal with.

I would just like to add the idea that wether or not a hull made of glass or wood is heavier depends alot on whay type of wood are used. Wood weights can vary a great deal based on species. Again glass boats of the same size can vary based on the techinique used to make the boat.ex. a boat from a mold is going to be considerably lighter than a boat made of, say a material like c-flex. I think it comes down to the exact type of boat that you plan on building, to decide what is the lighter material. How much support is needed inside the hull, ect... The question whether a boat of the size that you are interested in is lighter in wood or fiberglass is just too broad... just my 2 cents, good luck