In the market for a trawler!
- Thread starter Nzdrew
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
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- Now boatless - sold 6/2018
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- Had a Clipper (CHB) 34
A few points of order folks.
1. Wood floats of itself, GRP does not.
2. Boats have been being made of wood way longer than from synthetics. All the parts regularly immersed in salt water do not rot.
3. Another beauty of wood is it can just have a dodgy bit cut out, and new part cut to size and glued and fixed in, and they are good to go. Ask me how I know. Ok...the cabin of my '75 CHB 34 was timber, and did get a few areas of rot.
1. Wood floats of itself, GRP does not.
2. Boats have been being made of wood way longer than from synthetics. All the parts regularly immersed in salt water do not rot.
3. Another beauty of wood is it can just have a dodgy bit cut out, and new part cut to size and glued and fixed in, and they are good to go. Ask me how I know. Ok...the cabin of my '75 CHB 34 was timber, and did get a few areas of rot.
Then - why/how do wood boats ever sink???!!! Oh yeah... the heavy contents, almost forgot about that!
If you feel grp sinks fast compared to wood... steel's the fastest sinker in the water. Of course ferro cement is no slacker in a race to the bottom.
BruceK
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With respect, good plan. The 110v set up could suggest the boat was imported used, perhaps when the $ was higher and cost effective buying for from USA. Talk to a marine electrician(if one doesn`t chime in here) on handling the voltage/appliance issues.
- Joined
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- Now boatless - sold 6/2018
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- Had a Clipper (CHB) 34
Drew, you should be able to get a transformer to adapt the shore power inlet from 240v to 110v AC. Probably that has already been done if the boat has been used in NZ.
Ultimately however, as 110 v appliances are replaced, it might be a good idea to move to 240v throughout. You are right, the wiring will handle that ok, as heavier than for native 240v. The fuses would need swapping too, of course, as 240v AC carries lower amperage. But be advised by a proper marine electrician, for sure.
Ultimately however, as 110 v appliances are replaced, it might be a good idea to move to 240v throughout. You are right, the wiring will handle that ok, as heavier than for native 240v. The fuses would need swapping too, of course, as 240v AC carries lower amperage. But be advised by a proper marine electrician, for sure.
I have never heard of this - the closest is an OLD story about a guy who did a 42 from Hawaii to Seattle. I really, really doubt this 50 made it any significant open ocean crossing. Does it have stabilizers?
Honestly, the 120/240 issue is going to be pretty minor if you own this boat for any length of time.
Yes - many of us can deal with wooden boats. I had a 32' Monk for maybe 20 years. But that's a scale that one person can generally keep up with (under cover), but get much larger and you need to pay people. Heck, I put $10k into a transom rebuild and that was more than I paid for the boat. I've had wood, steel, fiberglass, and even ferro-cement. The only one I would not have again would be wood.
And that's where it really gets hard - the wood itself - the people who can deal with it - insurance - and the facilities that are willing to put up with it - all of those are dwindling every year. I'm in Seattle - possibly the best place in the world for wooden vessels (cold water, no worms, not much sun <sigh>) - and even with all of that I would do everything I could to talk someone out of it.
Have you checked into insurance? If you can even find it they're going to require an annual inspection. And you can't just pop a GB50 onto every Travelift.
ofer
Guru
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- Unicorn
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- 1970 50' DEFEVER OFFSHORE CRUISER Timber
i have to agree.
Insurance is a big thing
marinas could be a problem
and lift services too.
that why mine will stay in Alaska for a while. seems to have less regulations there.
Insurance is a big thing
marinas could be a problem
and lift services too.
that why mine will stay in Alaska for a while. seems to have less regulations there.
I've checked. NZ is a very easy place to own a boat. Marinas are fine - you only need electrical certification if you're plugging into shore power, insurance is easy - just need a survey and lift / haul no issues. Did you know that private vessels don't need to be licensed here - and nor do the skippers. Regulation free - at least in recreational marine!
BruceK
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It`s good you checked and a survey will get you lifted. With haulout [which Australia at least calls "slipping"], either with slings and Travelift, or "cradle on railway" method, slip operators can hesitate slipping/hauling wooden boats, especially if they had one "die" in the process due to stress on the hull. They don`t like cleaning up the mess.
Well - that's definitely more laissez-faire than USA & EU (not that sure about the rest of the world).
Even bottom paint has become a problem - wooden hulls typically use soft, ablative paint and now in WA State:
"It is illegal to perform underwater cleaning of hulls that have soft, toxic coatings. You can face a fine of up to $10,000."
Many yards don't let do-it-yourselfers do this (for a variety of reasons) and the containment of what is sanded or power-washed off has become a major headache (not near a storm drain!)
So great - for you - that NZ let's boaters get away with lots of practices that are banned or discouraged elsewhere, but the arc of time bends towards more regulation and it will find its way to NZ eventually.
It is a mind [and heart] crunching event to actually see a wood boat "die" by warping hull snaps during procedures of haul out in slings or by rail cradle.
In Nor Cal the results can become litigious due to suits filed between boat owner and marine lift owner. There was a 50' Pacemaker woodie that sat warped on the dry for a few years before it could be dismantled. Rumer flew as to who paid for what! Eventually chain saws demolished the hulk. Wood rot throughout that boat was unusually pervasive; especially in its hull and keel.
Jeez. Passive-aggressive much? Lots of assumptions in that reply. We’re not in the dark ages and let’s face it somewhat less litigious and more pollution free than most third world countries. All docks are required to have highly specialised containment systems and you aren’t allowed to scrub your boat in the water. The point is that the government doesn’t intervene too much and relies on people to do the right thing. And kiwis have a reputation for being pretty good around a boat….
darkside
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Is your broker Vinings? Plenty of wood boat craftsmen in the SI who could check it out for you. I assume the Cats will be 3160s rather than 3208s at that vintage. At that age a thorough survey is critical and check the fastenings as that is moon beams to do over. I also think it was probably shipped to NZ rather than steamed, and perhaps to Tauranga if memory serves. Wood boats tend to rot from the decks down. Salt water is your friend, fresh water isn't. The negative comments on wooden boats tend to come from people who don't use their boats enough or at least not "at sea". If you have salt water over the decks, and plenty of it, they last just fine.
If you have salt water over the main deck of a FD GB you're a braver man than I. These are coastal cruisers. If you have it over the boat deck...
But the teak on deck isn't the problem - it's the water that leaks through. In a GB it's a particular issue - google "grand banks fuel tank replacement" and you'll see 4.8m results - this is sadly well trodden ground. The partially covered side decks in the OP's image might mitigate rain and sun damage a bit - you'd have to look carefully at the drainage and the scuppers look rather small to my eye.
darkside
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If you run your wood boat in calm conditions I suggest diverting the raw water from the heat exchanger to a deck hose. Then you can easily wash your decks with slightly warmed sea water. Also excellent to run down inside your wet suit after a cold dive. We had a deck wash running continuously on our old family trawler.
A lot of teak is laid on plywood (it was on the boat above) and that will be a weak point for rot for sure. This boat is now in Havelock marina if the OP is down viewing the GB.
A lot of teak is laid on plywood (it was on the boat above) and that will be a weak point for rot for sure. This boat is now in Havelock marina if the OP is down viewing the GB.
Xlantic
Guru
Below is a cross section of the deck area in my 1973 GB50.
The teak deck was probably around an inch thick originally.
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Xlantic
Guru
If you have salt water over the main deck of a FD GB you're a braver man than I. These are coastal cruisers. If you have it over the boat deck...
But the teak on deck isn't the problem - it's the water that leaks through. In a GB it's a particular issue - google "grand banks fuel tank replacement" and you'll see 4.8m results - this is sadly well trodden ground. The partially covered side decks in the OP's image might mitigate rain and sun damage a bit - you'd have to look carefully at the drainage and the scuppers look rather small to my eye.
In the GB50 you can just about see the top of the fuel tanks from the engine room. If not, you can invest $50 or so in a "key-hole" camera to take a look.
I have had had two Grand Banks from the 70s and neither had rust issues at the top of the tanks, or anywhere in the tanks for that matter.
Tator
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Our GB50 was laid out like Halcyon with the exception that we had a fullsize king in the aft stateroom. We also had original NA210 3208 Cats. Good engines but I would have preferred a straight six that would have a higher profile and be more accessible. The only problem was with the exhaust system. Because the Cats sat so low, they had to have the cans higher than the engine. A double walled pipe rusted on the inside allowing water to enter the cylinders. Caught it before any major problem. Had to have the head gasket replaced on one bank and new section of exhaust made.
Tator
Tator
long-cours.62
Guru
For information my friend just sold her wooden GB50, around same age for 45000€.
