Identify my old wooden sailing boat please.

I have recently acquired this old wooden sailing boat (dory?), found at a junkyard in NC.
Some info:
Plate says : Westermoen - Mandal, Norway
Name: (painted over) says: "Alice" Winston Salem
Up under the bow was an old newspaper dated Nov. 11, 1930 from Charleston, SC
If any of you all can give me an idea what I have and perhaps its value I'd love to hear back from you. Also tips on restoring it.
Also what type of rigging would it use.

 

That's a salty looking little packet. It would be a delightful little boat if restored. If you contemplate doing the restoration yourself, it may turn out to be an undertaking that would use up a considerable chunk of your lifetime.

As for value: I would place it a zero or less if you are thinking in terms of "as is" resale. If totally restored, resale value might go well into five figures. If restored by a yard or facility that specializes in that kind of work, the cost might exceed the resale value. If you want to keep, use, and cherish the delightful little character boat, then restoration cost is only a secondary consideration.

 

Send a message to Doug. He is a Norwegian shipwright and works for museums on classic and antique craft. douglas.wilmot@facebook.com

 

Boats of that era where hand built by maters and also by the dozen. Most where considered disposable and broken up when their useful life was over, hardware transferred to the new boat, by the more frugal.

As to what it is, who knows and it's likely you'll never know. You might run across a number, builder's plate or some other identification as you disassemble her, but don't be surprised if you come up empty too.

It doesn't really mater anyway, she looks to still have her shape (mostly), though it's probable you'll have to replace nearly everything. Restoration is often more costly then just building a new one, using the old one as a pattern. This is because it's a lot more work to remove a part, strip it, fix it, refinish it, then reinstall it on the boat, compared to just making a new one. It's not only labor, but restoration skills. How many boats have you disassembled? How much old finish have you removed? Ever removed a few hundred rotten fasteners, without destroying the surrounding wood?

Good luck with her, she pretty and could be a nice project, but you'll have some time in her, before she's spanking the wet stuff again.

Value is a completely subjective term on a project like this. If you have considerable experience, you might break even, maybe a small margin for beer money. If you've limited restoration expertise, expect to take a bath. This isn't unusual. It takes quite a bit of experience to know what is a good candidate for restoration and what isn't. I soaked in quite few as I learned, so has everyone else I know.

Keep us posted as she comes apart and during the process. It'll be nice to see an old lass brought back. As to a rig, well there aren't enough images of the deck to see, but she's probably a sloop or cat, though she could be a ketch too. Without an idea where her step(s) are, it's just a guess. I'd say she's a sloop, judging by the location of her port shroud chain plate.

 

Flower planter?

 

Be nice....

As far as I can see from the pictures, she still seems to be reasonably solid. Most of the dreadful-looking stuff looks to be paint, rather than rotting wood. But yeah, I remember a blind date years and years (and even more years) ago, where I was shown a picture beforehand. Never trust a picture....

There's no doubt putting this lass back in the water would be a labor of love, rather than an investment. But that's OK. I can think of less satisfying ways to kill time that are at least as expensive, with nothing to show when you're done.

 

Have beer fridge and a moaning chair near by . . .

 

Alas... I am in love again.
Give her to me- I will show up with a trailer and take her away!

Value- none.
What you have- a lovely period hull which might be repairable.
Tips- Get the paint off the boat (don't sand it off please unless you are handy with a sander..), and see what you have.

You just might be lucky and she had spent the last 70 years or so stored in a barn somewhere.
And this:
"Up under the bow was an old newspaper dated Nov. 11, 1930 from Charleston, SC"
Makes this sound likely.
I am with Troy- she looks fairly sound as she stands., and with Par- the value of misery lies in the cold beer one is force to console oneself with..

Get her under cover- (not a tarp strapped over...)

 

I tried googling 'Westermoen - Mandal, Norway', and came up with the name of a shipyard there. Unfortunately it wasn't founded until 1961, and seems to have specialized in high-speed hydrofoils, catamarans and patrol boats, rather than traditional types. But it's reasonable to suspect your boat may have been built by an ancestor or relative of the company's founder.

Unfortunately, the company eventually changed its name to Westamarin, and went out of business in the late 1990's.

My suggestion would be to contact the Norwegian Maritime Museum, and see if you can can interest anyone there in trying to track down the provenance of one of the country's wayward daughters.

Where's Angelique when we really need her? She's better at this sort of search than I am....

 

Aye Aye Troy, at Your service . .

Our friend has posted the same question on WB forum, but like here he didn't show up yet to give some additional info like dimensions or so, or answer to the responses he got. So does he really care about the info or the ones that give it to him . .

But I thought the boat in the WB post #2 is an interesting one, so for my own info, and for the folks here, I tracked down this thread and this website about that one.


click pic to enlarge





She has a Sardine wood stove Troy


About the value of the post#1 boat, I guess it's about the same as this Koster that was bought 7 years ago as a love baby and now is for free on Bone Yard Boats . . .

from the site of s/y Falken, who's in better shape . . :idea:, and here.​

Anyway Ptoe, hope you go well with the boat and please keep us posted about her . .

Good luck !
Angel

 

I've only had a quick glance at below links, so check them out yourself if there is useful info about above boat . . . .

- link - translation -​

This one is not Norwegian but Danish, stem, deck, freeboard, & more is different, but also check also the further links on the linked pages . . .

- link - link -​

Good luck !
Angel

 

Considering it's many possible heritages, it could be one of several boats. I still don't think it's very important in the big picture. Call it what ever it seems like it might be and move on to the real work. She doesn't look to be a Koster (not fat enough, though hard to tell from the photos) and she has a Danish feel to her to me.

 

I've posted the Koster from Bone Yard Boats here as an example what the topic boat might be worth in her current condition, and how many projects like that go. BTW, some links about the Koster in post#10 are dead now for me, but maybe they'll come back.

I've extended my above post about the Danish boats a bit just for the similarities, but the plate says she's Norwegian...

Good luck !
Angel

 

Thank you all so much..sorry to take so long to respond. I am actually the middle man here as the guy that has the boat is not too i-net savvy. We are getting some more measurements and pictures.
Located near Durham, NC, not exactly the sailing capital of NC. Anyone near there that would like to advise us? Most certainly not concerned about the value, it is not why I dragged it home from the junkyard! It just looked so darn interesting. Have not done any serious restoration before, but do not want to ruin it but just a project I am looking forward to and wanted to see if anyone could shed some light on what I have here. And as they say "first do no harm" is what I am aiming for so what "not" to do is as important right now as anything. Keep the comments coming if you don't mind. So very happy with all of the interest!!

 

You found a gem , good luck with her . I cant see that it will be too hard to bring her back,and she will be well worth the effort


Frank