New owner gb32 woodie project

[woodboatwayne]

I am a semi retired GOM Fast Supply boat captain with a
Just purchased new project-32 woodie. Hull is great exc. previous owner caulked with something out of a tube. Lehman is stuck. Cabin sides are
rotten. In researching the cabin construction on GB site I find that plywood support is "meranti". Meranti does not have much decay resistance which explains why so many gb woodies have cabin rot issues.
I have found a quantity of 1'' cypress planks @ $2.50 bf and plan to plank
the entire cabin sides wrather than the plywood as original. Look forward to the good info on this site.
Woodboatwayne

 

[Marin]

I would strongly suggest that if you have not already done so tat you join the GB owners forum Grand Banks Owner's Resources. There are a lot of longtime GB owners on that forum as well as shipwrights and retired yard owners with an incredible wealth of knowledge about the boats, wood and glass, as well as their systems and engines. You will get far more useful and valid info about the care and feeding of your boat there than from a general forum like this one where there is just a tiny handful of participating GB owners.

A member of the GB forum from the UK, Tom Overs, totally restored a GB32 woodie from little more than a semi-rotted shell, including completely stripping down and overhauling its FL120. The boat today looks and runs like the factory just finished it.

 

[woodboatwayne]

Thanks for the reply. I have joined them, but have some problems navigating
Woodboatwayne

 

[Marin]

Thanks for the reply. I have joined them, but have some problems navigating
Woodboatwayne

Really? It works pretty much exactly like this forum.

 

[OFB]

I would replace the old ply with new ply. Forget the plank option IMO.

Plenty more projects to come.

My two cents.

 

[woodboatwayne]

The Woodies section recognizes my password, but to move to other sections it doesn't. For some reason if I select "forgot password" it doesn't recognize my
email. I need to deal with it when I am in a better frame of mind as computer issue are not my forte'. Wood boats-anytime. On the plank vs ply issue, the few friends I have discussed it with are evenly divided. I had planned on routing grooves on the
plywood to mimick the GB hull planking seams anyway, which got me to thinking-Why not? Less waste, less labor, better material, and probably cheaper. I will have 4 plywood seams to scarf or the butt joints on the planking. I don't do plywood scarfs well.
Woodboatwayne

 

[Nomad Willy]

I agree w OFB.

Plywood is much stronger.

I'm on the GB site and was looking at GBs w a limited budget so I considered the Wood GBs. But after reading about all the wood related problems I slowed my shopping and eventually quit shopping altogether.

But most of the bad problems on a wood GB aren't as bad as the bad problems on FG boats. Grinding the hull half away or replacing decks because of bulsa coring you'll never need to address.

You will want/need to read most everything on wood maintenance that the GB web site has to offer. I'm going to suggest joining BoatDesign.net too. There is much to read about design, building and all the other materials as well.

 

[Max Simmons]

Also, the Wooden Boat forum has lots of good info and folks with knowledge.
The WoodenBoat Forum

 

[Boydster]

Marin, for what it's worth I've been having log-in issues on IAGBO too. Seems I often have to log in twice then it's fine. Never had any glitches until recently.

 

[Marin]

I agree w OFB.


But most of the bad problems on a wood GB aren't as bad as the bad problems on FG boats. Grinding the hull half away or replacing decks because of bulsa coring you'll never need to address.

Eric--You didn't learn much on the GB site, did you? Fiberglass GBs don't have and never did have balsa coring. They have very thick, very high quality marine ply coring in the subdeck and there has been no coring in the hull-from the outset; they have solid fiberglass hulls with fiberglass stringers.

The GB owners site (IAGBO) works fine on my iPad and laptop.