Wood GB 33

[Bob Cofer]

I've never owned a FG boat until now. If they made a wooden Willard I'd own it in a heartbeat. Here in the PNW you can't turn a corner without seeing a woody.

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

Progress

Here are some pics of the completed Lazarette. Finally got that done. Water tanks, sewage tank, water heater, all new plumbing.
Now, back to the engine room, to finish up projects that have been started there.

 

[boomerang]

Back in the day, when I was single and without a care in the world, I bought a '76 Corvette Stingray. As practical transportation, they're next to useless but I has a ball owning it because, like I said, I was single. After reading all of the attributes of owning a wooden boat, coincidentally from current wooden boat owners, I have to wonder if I shouldn't have looked a little harder for a wooden Corvette. I can't imagine how much more of a gratifying ownership experience I would've had.

 

[Mako]

If someone were really committed to owning a large wooden boat then perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if you commissioned a new construction carvel planked hull. The problem I see is that a wood hull would not be much cheaper than building a steel hull, so where would the advantage be?

 

[CharlieO.]

Looking good trucker! I'm also working on my lazerette.

 

[Bob Cofer]

Nice work!

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

My boat is a 1967. So, it came with a wooden hull. Hull# 36-82. I believe that means she was the 82nd boat of that size built by Grand Banks.
Wooden hulls are sound insulators, so they are quieter inside. I personally don't have the money to commission anything to be built for me. Nor, to have someone else do the work for me. My fiance and I are doing 99% of the restoration ourselves. She's seaworthy, but not yet liveable.
I want to make sure that all of the engineering systems are functioning properly before we put to sea. I'm only home on the weekends, and have household "chores" as well. So, that is going to take some time, since she sat idle in her slip for over 6 years before we bought her.

Disuse causes machinery and electrical things to not work properly when you try to "wake them up". I got the main engines running. The generator is next. I have to disassemble the injector pump and free up the plungers. They got gummed up from sitting so long.
Quite often, as I'm fixing one issue, I find another that needs attention. But, one little project at a time, and we'll likely be underway for short excursions by late Spring.

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

Thanks Charlie O. Good luck. It took me several months of working, one or two days at a time on mine. But, it's finally done. Now, on to the next project.

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

Thanks Bob Cofer. It certainly is an adventure.

 

[SteveK]

I have had hull 255 a 1971 GB36 for past four years, currently for sale. Put in a lot of sweat equity and $ to make it mine. I get what you are doing. Been there and done that.
However, my wife and I also got to use it a lot and came to realize we need more boat, some of the things we identified we wanted could not be done to the 36. So, best advice I can give is use the boat as much as possible while you make it your own.

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

Thanks Steve K. We will be taking her out for short excursions this Spring and summer. We are planning to winter over in the Keys next winter. At least for a few months. Spend some time near Charleston, Sc. Do a bit of exploring. The longer term plan is to take a year or so and do the Great Loop.

 

[SteveK]

I have no first hand knowledge of wood hulls in Florida.
Hope someone with more info can guide you how best to avoid those wood bugs.

 

[Mako]

Good question Steve. I had my (fiberglass) boat in the Persian Gulf. Water temps about 93°F in summer. Huge fleets of wooden Dhows in the harbor. From what I learned, they needed to be hauled and painted every single year to keep the dreaded torpedo-worms away, or whatever other nasty buggers they had there. The commercial fleet of course didn't follow this regime, but the private dhows did.

However, the water there was extremely saline and it pretty much never rained, so the wood kept in better shape than you'd see in Florida with wet, soggy conditions.

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

I fired up the main engines on Thursday. Just to make sure they run and pump water. Much to my dismay, the aft stateroom quickly filled with exhaust gasses. So, now I get to replace the 56 year old exhaust hoses. From the engine room, all the way to the transom. I'll need to have it hauled out for this little evolution, because the exhaust outlets are just above the waterline. The only way to replace that stiff hose appears to be by inserting it from the transom. Then feeding it to the engine room, where the muffles are. Good time to replace the seized seacocks as well. ��

 

[SteveK]

I had the thru hull part replaced. By memory I do not think the hose would come out the transom hole as the thru hull size is the ID of the hose. It looks to pull out through the engine room after the mufflers are moved out of the way.

 

[Comodave]

I fired up the main engines on Thursday. Just to make sure they run and pump water. Much to my dismay, the aft stateroom quickly filled with exhaust gasses. So, now I get to replace the 56 year old exhaust hoses. From the engine room, all the way to the transom. I'll need to have it hauled out for this little evolution, because the exhaust outlets are just above the waterline. The only way to replace that stiff hose appears to be by inserting it from the transom. Then feeding it to the engine room, where the muffles are. Good time to replace the seized seacocks as well. ��

Welcome to boat ownership. Fix one problem and find two more…

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

Thanks SteveK. I'll leave this job to the experts at AYB, where we are docked. Large sections of the exhaust hoses are behind bulkheads. Plus, there are several seacocks that need to be replaced. Because they are seized in whichever position they were left in, over 6 years ago.

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

Yep Comodave. That has been my experience since we bought her last July. Hopefully, just a few more months before we can actually get underway safely.

 

[slowgoesit]

Thanks SteveK. I'll leave this job to the experts at AYB, where we are docked. Large sections of the exhaust hoses are behind bulkheads. Plus, there are several seacocks that need to be replaced. Because they are seized in whichever position they were left in, over 6 years ago.

One consistent issue I have heard is that since most exhaust systems are installed before the interior fitting out is accomplished, many times the exhaust hoses are secured along the route in places impossible to access without dismantling and potentially destroying the interior flooring, bulkheads and wood work. . . That was indeed the case with our GB36 woodie. Best of luck with getting them replaced, and I hope your boat is an exception to the rule!

 

[SteveK]

One consistent issue I have heard is that since most exhaust systems are installed before the interior fitting out is accomplished, many times the exhaust hoses are secured along the route in places impossible to access without dismantling and potentially destroying the interior flooring, bulkheads and wood work. . . That was indeed the case with our GB36 woodie. Best of luck with getting them replaced, and I hope your boat is an exception to the rule!

IF I had to do the job on the GB36, I would remove the aft head and the storage wall behind, then on port side into the closet. From those locations there should be enough access to hangers.

 

[ronobrien]

One consistent issue I have heard is that since most exhaust systems are installed before the interior fitting out is accomplished, many times the exhaust hoses are secured along the route in places impossible to access without dismantling and potentially destroying the interior flooring, bulkheads and wood work. . . That was indeed the case with our GB36 woodie. Best of luck with getting them replaced, and I hope your boat is an exception to the rule!

I have the interior of my GB36 apart for much work. In the process I am mounting 4" PVC pipe in the hard to reach places. The 3" exhaust hose will slide through it, so future replacement will consist of disconnecting the ends and sliding the old hose out and new hose in.

 

[Mako]

That's great forward-planning, but how often do you replace your exhaust hose - once every 50 years?

However definitely throw some nice electrical conduits in there with pull ropes.

 

[ronobrien]

That's great forward-planning, but how often do you replace your exhaust hose - once every 50 years?

However definitely throw some nice electrical conduits in there with pull ropes.

I did not mention that but electrical conduits are part of the plan. I don't think I'll have to replace the exhaust but at some point I will sell the boat and it makes one more sales feature I can do cheap & easy now. The electrical conduit will certainly come in handy for me.

 

[Mako]

Definitely. For some reason I always seems to be screwing around with fish finders and depth gauges and transducers and bilge pump wires....

 

[CharlieO.]

I did not mention that but electrical conduits are part of the plan. I don't think I'll have to replace the exhaust but at some point I will sell the boat and it makes one more sales feature I can do cheap & easy now. The electrical conduit will certainly come in handy for me.

Why not just use fiberglass exhaust tube? I am in the middle of changing out my exhaust hose and am seriously considering fiberglass instead. I think the fiberglass tube is a bit cheaper than the hose except for the fiberglass 90.

 

[ronobrien]

Why not just use fiberglass exhaust tube? I am in the middle of changing out my exhaust hose and am seriously considering fiberglass instead. I think the fiberglass tube is a bit cheaper than the hose except for the fiberglass 90.

I thought about that and figured that somewhere near the water lifts I would have to transition to hose and I didn't know how difficult it would be getting the hose installed onto the tube in a tight space. These are the sorts of things that keep me up at night. Not a bad problem I guess.

 

[Otrtrucker1960]

My boat is 56 years old. So, the hoses are probably the same age. The closest point to the mufflers, are way up in the aft, outboard quarter of the engine room. Not much space to work. Nor room to maneuver a stiff, old exhaust exhaust hose. I'm still going to leave this one to the experts.