Chesapeake bay work boat?????

[pungolee]

Sorry, you just can't build a new boat that is worth having easier than restoring an older one,just as you can't build a new 67 Camaro from scratch easier than restoring an original.Restoration is what keeps this dying trade alive,so many more people have a classic sitting in the garage than a plywood starter skiff.I believe you agree with Gonzo.And perhaps it is his emotions that need to be kept in check,the facts speak for themselves.

[gonzo]

Comparing a Camaro to a boat is apples and watermelons. One off boats, which we are discussing, do not come from an assembly line. Therefore we can build one any time we want. If you are so sure of your position, can you give a time/ material schedule comparing building new to restoring? Nothing in great detail, but the main components and labor.

[pungolee]

We are not discussing dollars or cents,or how many boats we have built or restored,or what our profit margin compared to our spreadsheet versus a survey ad naseum.We were originally discussing a little boy wanting a boat.I suggested a viable alternative to trying to build new.It doesn't always come down to money,or practicality.If it did wooden boats would have went the way of the dinosaur and everyone would be using Carolina Skiffs(fiberglass)

[gonzo]

I build wooden boats that are competitive in price with fiberglass production boats. It is a myth created by inefficient builders that wooden boats cost a fortune. The discussion was not started by a little boy wanting a boat, but by someone looking for building plans.

[pungolee]

You win.

[8knots]

myself spending many hours looking at workboats from the bay. I have found this book very helpfull in my studys. Simplified Boatbuilding-the v-bottom boat. by Harry v. Sucher copyright 1974 ISBN # 0-393-03180-2
along with Chappel's books you can find enough lines of bay style boats to keep you wrapped up for years. I grew up on the bay (around Deltaville VA)
and yes you can get your hands on a 30'er for a song but deadrises are REALLY easy to build. rather than buying the old dog, pick a set of lines, loft her up and a good keel, a few strongbacks and some plank and you bout got her. the whole glory of bay style construction is "simplicity" your biggest problem will be the timber for the keel and stem. you could even use MDO ply if your not wanting to learn planking!
Best of luck! 8knots

[Ilan Voyager]

8 knots is right; these boats are the easiest to build I know and are very effective in the ratio "number of man hours/length".

If the person wants only a same style and behaviour boat but in different material (I mean is not looking for an historical reconstitution), the stich and glue plywood/epoxy until 25 feet (even a bit more) would be perfect.

If he keeps a working boat finish (not polished teak floors or bright 12 coats varnishes over mahoganny...) the project would be a breeze. A such boat is light and need little power.

Gonzo pointed rightly that a working small boat is a hand made low tech product and a car a industrial medium tech product. For a car you have not other possibility that to restore it. For a wooden boat, if you are not involved in a historical preservation, it's far easier to rebuild. An old example is Joshua Slocum who rebuilt the Spray, instead of restoring it...

[waterworks37'9"]

i bought a 38 foot wooden deltaville built workboat. i was going to try to build one but the time and money that would take is too much. i had to replace the horn which is the piece that the shaft runs threw. if you have any questiions or if you would like to see the boat feel free to let me know.

[B. Hamm]

Cheaper to build new, most definately, but, and it's a big but, rebuilding an old boat is one heck of an education. If the guy found a decent example and can stick to it, it's hard to learn more about boatbuilding in the same amount of time for the same amount of money that by rebuilding an antique boat. I'll never try to talk anyone out of doing that "if" they understand what they are getting themselves into.

And....if you have lots of time and little money, you can spread out the cost of rebuilding. Generally when building new, you need a big pile of parts right from the start.

It's easy to talk about how one would do these projects professionally, but we didn't start out that way, well not many anyway

Bill H.

[stand watie]

folks,

i'm NEW to the forum.

i too am looking for a Cheaspeake Bay style workboat to restore/convert to pleasure fishing use on the bay/rivers around here. (as i'm now semi-retired, i have LOTS of time.)

something like a 30 footer with a 6-cylinder chevy or chrysler crown (or ???) traditional inboard engine, that's simple enough that i can actually work on it.

anyone know of one for sale, that's not a total disaster?????? every one i've looked at is beyond repair OR the owner thinks that it is a national treasure.

free dixie,sw
www.freerepublic.com

[HAMBONE]

This thread has been going on a long time and I won't weigh in on whether it's easier to build new or restore.

I found a 1957 deadrise in Va for sale in 2001 and brought it to Florida. What I though would be a 1 year project is now going on 4 years, but the best part is I've keep the boat usable the whole time, so it hasn't been all work.

It's been an absolute awesome classroom to learn about building boats. I've made my share of mistakes, but you get the saw out and start over with the only loss being the material you wasted. Guess that's the price of tuition.

I highly reccomend finding an old boat (heavy built deadrise) to fix up. Don't want to sound like an expert, but I'll be glad to share any of the tricks I've learned. For the Lorrie story, see web site www.hamkat.com

Hambone

[chandler]

I agree with Gonzo an Ilan, whether student, owner, or professional, at some point time spent, whether leisure, spare, or lost must be figured into the equation. Cost of building new is close to 1/2 the cost of restoration. Look at all the historical renovations being done by museums and societys costing upwards of 10 million dollars. There is definately a place for this however bringing an old workboat back to go back to work is not one of them. Find some good plans and start over, get a good self education in boatbuilding, and when you find that classic that needs to be restored, at least you'll have a clue as where to begin.

[wdnboatbuilder]

BUilding is way easier than to restore. I have restored 2 of Barbour's and I would have rather of built them new. They are nice boats and have considered taking the line off the boats since the son burnt the patterens in a bond fire. Also have restored a 64' buy boat and they ran steel drift pins every 18". It was very tough to get the planking off. Alot of time with a Sawsall

[CDBarry]

There are a number of books on Chesapeake craft in the local Maryland libraries. Most of them were published by Cornell Maritime, and many have plans. You might be able to do an interlibrary loan.

It is also worth noting, though, that deadrise boats are warped surfaces, not developable, since they were planked. This means they are not easy to build in plywood (or steel or aluminum). Sam Rabl may have some Ches boats converted to plywood in one of his books, (which you should have anyway) though.

[stand watie]

to ALL,

perhaps i didn't make it clear that i'm interested in RESTORING an ANTIQUE, rather than building a REPLICA, of a work boat. nonetheless, thanks for your input.

i, too, would like to find a "buy boat" that is restorable & which the owner doesn't think is a national treasure & worth more than ANY new boat.

to: wdnboatbuilder,

may i ask which 64' buyboat you restored, as i'm somewhat familar with several of them that are still on the bay????

free dixie,sw
www.freerepublic.com