wood boat purchase

Hi:

Looking for some advice here.

I am looking at possibly buying a 16' Dunphy Lapstrake construction, fishing boat. This is not a ski boat or anything, just a fishing boat that has three bench seats. It was a fairly heavy duty one for its day, as it has a 50 horsepower rating. Anyways, I have only seen pictures of it posted on the internet, and am looking for information as to what to look for , in the way of structure or conditon of wood, when I see it in person to make a decision as to whether or not to go ahead with the purchase. I have to make about a 3.5 hour drive one way just to take a look. So any information is greatly appreciated. The boat is not all that expensive, about 400 bucks, and the internet pictures look decent, but as we all know, you dont know what youve got till you look at it in person.

Also, I am doing this for a nostalgia way of fishing, and would like to end up with the least amount of maintaince when I am done. What are your views on epoxying the bottom?

Thanks

 

beware for what you wish with this crowd

 

My view is the epoxy will cost more than the boat.

 

Epoxy will most probably ruin the boat. It will create stresses the structure was not designed for. Get a surveyor or boat carpenter to inspect the boat.

 

Its wood
So leave it wood, Your going to end up learning how to work with wood anyway and just slathering epoxy on it won't do much but reduce its potential life span.

get it surveyed so you know what your getting into.

best of luck

 

Ask from what date the pics are, if not very recent ask for new ones before you go . . . .

Let them know you won't buy if the pics don't match the current state when you visit.

Ask for video too . . :idea:

And maybe this is an idea... Dispatch Photo Service for Long-Distance Boat Buyers

It's cheaper then a surveyor but it will give less info, but then a few bucks will give you an independent view in high resolution pics and could spare you the trip or surveyor if the boat is no good at first real glance... if you do it this way ask also for video.

Good luck..!!
Angel

P.S. - post the pics you have here if you want an opinion about them...

 

Where is the boat?

 

It sounds like you've found the "Whitecapper" model from Dunphy. They were mahogany plywood built over oak frames and the hull form is an early warped bottom that tends to pound a bit.

They were like many boats of the era, but telling you what to look for is a encyclopedic effort.

A $400 is bound to have major issues. Leaking seams, loose, broken and popped fasteners, egged out fastener holes, rot of most types, cracked and broken frames, the list can be quite extensive. Pictures tend to make things look better then they actually are on line so consider this, you're buying something someone else doesn't want, cheap, which should be a strong indication what they think it's worth (not much) and they probably once loved it, so . . .

If you're looking for the "least amount of maintenance" kind of boat, then forget about traditional wooden built boats. These types of builds require the most amount of maintenance and no magic in a can can fix this. You can make it much more durable if it was completely disassembled, encapsulated then converted into a glued lap build, but this is more trouble then making a new boat.

Traditionally built, old wooden boats are wonderful to look at, but you have to accept the ownership responsibilities that come with it, which is considerably more then other build methods.

$400 bucks isn't too big a bath to take to learn this lesson. If you're bound to have her, then take someone along that works in the industry and knows wooden boats, even if you have to hire them for a few hours. Consider this your first investment in the boat (there'll be many more, trust me).

 

Did PAR guess the model right?

 

I have to assume that PAR has the name correct as I dont know the name, but PAR did a good job of finding the boat. The picture that he posted is the one I have been thinking about off of craigs list. Guess there arent too many dunphys out there to search out.

 

Is it the one in Oconomowoc?

 

So the boat is in Chilton, Wisconsin. . . .

If asking $ 400 now the trip of 7 hours vv will cost almost ½ the boat plus a day

So get some good high resolution pics, on which you can zoom in for the state of the boat, before you go...

Good luck..!!
Angel

 

If meaning this one, it's a bit more expensive in the asking (for now?) and it's a 17' runabout incl. 90hp outboard etc...

It was also on eBay with more pics, but has gone from there...

Cheers,
Angel

P.S. - This one with very little info is also in Oconomowoc, more chance Gonzo meant that one

 

I've never restored one, but have repaired a few and they have their brand, model and era issues like all the rest. The Whitecapper is the 16' model of that era and the only 16' lapstrake they made. The usual suspects are lower portions of the transom, the hood ends of the planks, transom knees, lower portions of the stem, rot issues under the keelson on the frames and typically, with all power lapstrakes of this type, working fasteners everywhere.

These aren't small problems to correct, nor easily detected by a novice. An experienced boat carpenter should recognize the major issues and advise you on the amount of work it needs.

 

Here you have them all in one shot on Craigslist, for me that was 942 results, but that includes some deleted ones and some non boat items. Yours was #3 for me. If we add 16 to the search yours is the top one for me at this moment. Here a pic search for Dunphy's on Craigslist, strange thing is if we add 16 here not much shows up but a beautiful 17' on my screen. Look at the filled in search field on your screen how the resluts of those 4 links showed up.

Good luck!
Angel

P.S. - Hmm... last two links did better earlier, especially results from last link are gone now for me . .

That last mentioned 17' dropped $10K in asking price and is listed everywhere - 1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 - but just seems to have dropped from Craigslist . . . . . . Oh well, she's back on Craigslist, so here is ad 6 of her.