What do you all think?

[American Patriot]

Besides the First Mate and me, I'm betting I can sleep four more, perhaps five without hot-cotting. LOL

[American Patriot]

Everyone remember, I haven't made the decision to fly to MD yet.

I will likely make that decision by next Wednesday.

The owner, if being honest and of course right now I have no reason to believe otherwise, says he lived on the boat 11 years, bought a bigger, more modern boat for his bigger family and hauled this one out of the water in the spring this year. So she has been sitting on the hard for a few months.

This is not a GOOD thing for a wooden boat, but the boat has been "cold molded" meaning it's probably a bit more sturdy than a "regular wooden boat".

I'm not as well read on boat designs as I ought to be in this case (but am quickly reading for the last few days, and today) - so I can't say any of this is accurate at all.

At this point, I'm trusting that the guy is being honest. If he is, we found a decent deal on a boat.

if he isn't, I'm about to waste 1100 bucks on hotel, flight and car rental. I can't afford to do this more than twice unless the boat is going to be THE boat.

Personally, I'd rather spend the 1100 on a trip to Jamaica or the Caribbean instead of going to look at a pig in a poke.

Oh well....

[Luke]

Wow, I envy your situation, but I wouldn't want to have to make that big of a descion.

As for the boat, the hillbilly term is "man that is one purdy boat"! The wood reminds me of the old Chris Craft boats. She appears to be a handsome vessel.

I don't know anything about boats, but that one sure looks good. I would think used boats are like used cars, regular maintence= longer life.

Here's hoping you can have good weather for an honest sea trial.

[Phil Fiord]

The hull is a composite, though the main craft and upper is wood. As a wood boat, it does require more meticulous upkeep, esp on the hull for barnacles.

[American Patriot]

Composite as I found out talking to the owner in this case means the boat is wood. The hull has been "cold molded". I've spoken to some experts on this and discovered that basically the outer hull was covered over by thin planks that have been soaked in epoxy.

Essentially, the original planks are in place as well as the original framework, but the outer shell is a thin layer of wood and glue.

[American Patriot]

Ok... we've contacted a person who lives in the area (who shall remain nameless unless he chimes in here himself) to go look the boat over.



In the mean time - there is one other vessel we are interested in, located in Florida. So, submitted for your viewing pleasure and comments - in the next message I will give you pictures.

[American Patriot]

Comments welcome. Look especially at the boat under sail at the bottom.

[Ryan Ruck]

It looks pretty nice but I don't think that I like it more than the first. I'd need interior pictures and more technical information to say for sure though.

[American Patriot]

I spoke to the owner last night. The inside is "bare bones" finished. Was built by his dad and launched in 1999. So it sounds very sturdy, made of steel instead of wood.

So - the inside needs some work to make it 100% functional - which is fine by me.

It's beamier (wider) and it's a ketch not a yawl. (Slight difference on the mast positions and what you do with the sails...)

The engine is an 85 HP - much more powerful.

The other one was built in 1941-43. This one was built in the 1990s...

[MTStringer]

Generally speaking, seems this is a case where newer might be better, and the ability to lay out the interior as you wish, rather than remodding, might be attractive.

[American Patriot]

I'm thinking that too. About to start laying out a pro/con sheet, and figure out what I know and don't know.

[Ryan Ruck]

I spoke to the owner last night. The inside is "bare bones" finished. Was built by his dad and launched in 1999. So it sounds very sturdy, made of steel instead of wood.

That's what I suspected.

That's a hard decision to make for sure. It's probably got plenty of welded steel, I'd want to know how good the welder is that put the welds in. You can have welds that look clean but are very shallow and weak if the person doesn't know what they are doing.

Do you go with the older, proven boat? Or do you go with the newer, more powerful, blank slate boat?

I would say price would figure heavily into the decision since it will cost money to finish the inside of the newer one.

[American Patriot]

Posted so I can compare things. Sometimes easier to look at things that are placed in a similar position and format.

[American Patriot]

[American Patriot]

Ran a spreadsheet with everything I know about both boats.

So far, so good. I don't know anything yet about inside (other than what guy told me) about second one (partially finished from what I gather) and I know nothing about internal equipment.

Cost is more - 25000 vs 28500 - and much newer. First one was built in 1940s, newer in 1999 (completed then).

There are some pluses for newer (can finance if I want - don't really want to, but can, can't finance old boat have to pay cash).

I have to write all this down too. (Pros and Cons) haven't done that yet.

[American Patriot]

The new boat is physically wider by nearly a foot. Which actually drastically increases interior area.

Unfortunately, so far, I have no images.

[MTStringer]

Just curious, how does a faraday cage work on a boat, and will steel construction make a difference? If you get to lay out the interior to your needs, will that be a plus? After thinking about it overnight, I had time to reconsider my comments from yesterday. Built in the '40's and still functioning well is a plus, and I personally love wood as a building material and for its aesthetics. And as has been pointed out, welds are weak spots that can be hard to find til it's too late. All in all a rough decision, I feel for you.

[American Patriot]

I would think they would work same as on the ground. A metal box....

As I explained in the EMP thread... EMP is not RF. RF is not EMP. Lightning is neither either. (that didn't sound right...? LOL)

[American Patriot]

Radios. Need them.

I'll be crossing seas, and at places where there are no people. Islands, mon.

I'll need HF radio to stay in touch via email.

VHF for when I come in to harbors to get supplies.

I'll have GPS and a chart plotter ANYWAY, whether I use them or not..

But a faraday cage is only going to protect things you want to keep protected.

That's like putting your diamond ring in a safe and never, ever wearing it for fear it might be stolen.

[MinutemanCO]

In my opinion, the older boat has nicer lines. It's prettier to look at... for what it's worth.