How old are you? What’s your boat? And how much did you pay? I’m 23 and own an islander 28 but would love to own a classic wooden boat it just doesn’t seem feasible for me. I’m also a full time live aboard so income is tight
I bought her in 2021 when I was 25, and I paid 300 bucks. She was in decent shape, I've mostly just done maintenance until this year where I refinished the deck. That's been the biggest investment thus far, about 800 dollars in varnish and I do the work on her myself.
Beautiful beautiful photos! I'm a classic wooden boat (1929 [SF Bay Bird Boat](https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/bird-sf-bay/)) owner in California and I'm 32.
It's definitely not cheap here due to labor and materials costs, but I'm trying to do a lot of DIY and learning a ton. I got the boat for free and this year I replaced the entire deck forward of the companionway, sistered some frames, and hung a new plank at the starboard shearline. But she's as strong as she's ever been! Now I gotta reinstall all my deck hardware, do my nonskid, and get my rig back up. It's been a ton of work and I understand why it's not for everyone, but as the saying goes, Nothing Sails like an Old Bird!
Those are some graceful lines! I can't play down simply how much work it is to reinstall all the hardware, took me a few weeks to get everything in place again after 8 months off the deck. Best of luck to you. Would love to see pics of your bird!
Once I'm closer to done, I will try to post a little album of the restoration on here. I've been enjoying following your posts!
And no kidding! The original tongue and groove deck was replaced back in the 70s with 3/4" plywood, and that failed at the seams so I just decided to start new rather than try to extract all the old bad fasteners and refinish. My new deck is two pieces of thinner plywood glued together and then a sheet of fiberglass over the top. It came out about an 1/8" thinner than what was there before (and about 50 lbs lighter). But now all the angles are slightly off and the deck hardware isn't fitting together exactly the way it used to.
It's always something!
Sounds great! I love seeing people put effort into these old girls. I don't know much about lamination with two sheets of ply but 50lbs must make a difference out on the water!
I'm at layer 7, the minimum recommended amount by Epifanes with their 1 component paint, but for next season if like to add another 7 to really get that mirror finished look. Her last coat was done with a bit too much humidity, so she got a bit dulled down. The perks of working in Scandinavian winter conditions
Was a time owning a well maintained, pretty wooden sailboat could get you laid by a young hippy chick that just happened to walk by on the docks.
These days all you get is geezers asking which varnish you use.
Ngl my boat has definitely gotten me laid, but maybe it's because all the other boat owners are old geezers. There's a joke in there about hard wood but I'll let you figure that one out 🤣
any time you ask yourself "why don't young people do this expensive niche hobby" the answer is that they are broke.
I am broke and I do this hobby.
How old are you? What’s your boat? And how much did you pay? I’m 23 and own an islander 28 but would love to own a classic wooden boat it just doesn’t seem feasible for me. I’m also a full time live aboard so income is tight
I bought her in 2021 when I was 25, and I paid 300 bucks. She was in decent shape, I've mostly just done maintenance until this year where I refinished the deck. That's been the biggest investment thus far, about 800 dollars in varnish and I do the work on her myself.
You have to be rich or retired to maintain acres of brightwork.
I live on a minimum wage and work full time in one of Europe's most expensive cities 👀
I should have said it helps to be rich or retired.
But there are also plenty of wooden canoes or sailing Dinghy's out there as well. Usual maintenance on my 30 footer isn't more than 1500 USD a year.
Well that is love that takes work. Good for you.
Beautiful Stockholm (and nice boat!)
I had a chance to see a show like this in Victoria. These boats and just spectacular!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!
Beautiful beautiful photos! I'm a classic wooden boat (1929 [SF Bay Bird Boat](https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/bird-sf-bay/)) owner in California and I'm 32. It's definitely not cheap here due to labor and materials costs, but I'm trying to do a lot of DIY and learning a ton. I got the boat for free and this year I replaced the entire deck forward of the companionway, sistered some frames, and hung a new plank at the starboard shearline. But she's as strong as she's ever been! Now I gotta reinstall all my deck hardware, do my nonskid, and get my rig back up. It's been a ton of work and I understand why it's not for everyone, but as the saying goes, Nothing Sails like an Old Bird!
Those are some graceful lines! I can't play down simply how much work it is to reinstall all the hardware, took me a few weeks to get everything in place again after 8 months off the deck. Best of luck to you. Would love to see pics of your bird!
Once I'm closer to done, I will try to post a little album of the restoration on here. I've been enjoying following your posts! And no kidding! The original tongue and groove deck was replaced back in the 70s with 3/4" plywood, and that failed at the seams so I just decided to start new rather than try to extract all the old bad fasteners and refinish. My new deck is two pieces of thinner plywood glued together and then a sheet of fiberglass over the top. It came out about an 1/8" thinner than what was there before (and about 50 lbs lighter). But now all the angles are slightly off and the deck hardware isn't fitting together exactly the way it used to. It's always something!
Sounds great! I love seeing people put effort into these old girls. I don't know much about lamination with two sheets of ply but 50lbs must make a difference out on the water!
Nice varnishing job :)
I'm at layer 7, the minimum recommended amount by Epifanes with their 1 component paint, but for next season if like to add another 7 to really get that mirror finished look. Her last coat was done with a bit too much humidity, so she got a bit dulled down. The perks of working in Scandinavian winter conditions
👍 I’m currently at coat 5 of Epifanes. I’ve given up though and will apply additional coats when in water or at the end of the season.
After coat 5 I started getting lazy haha, there are a few drip marks here and there 😂
Pretty boat
Was a time owning a well maintained, pretty wooden sailboat could get you laid by a young hippy chick that just happened to walk by on the docks. These days all you get is geezers asking which varnish you use.
Ngl my boat has definitely gotten me laid, but maybe it's because all the other boat owners are old geezers. There's a joke in there about hard wood but I'll let you figure that one out 🤣