Regarding wooden boats - At this point I've got to jump in. I own wooden, aluminum, and fiberglass boats and am happy with them all. That being said, let me be more specific about wood. Mine is a 42' wooden lobster boat (yacht) otherwise known as a Downeast cruiser. It was built and has been maintained by Brooklin Boat Yard since its launch in 1981. When I bought the boat in 1993 I was not looking for a wooden boat. I was looking for a boat to be used in New England and the Maritimes during the summer for both day and extended cruising. A friend who works at the yard suggested I come by and take a look at this one. She was a beauty - one of the first lobster yachts, designed by Joel White, featured in WoodenBoat, and in great shape. She cost about $25-50K less than a comparable fiberglass boat and had a heck of a lot more "class". Since buying Woody I have been more than satisfied. Oohs and aahs in every harbor and by many passing lobstermen, maintence costs which seem reasonable, and a boat which "fits" with the area in which she is operated. I've certainly never had a problem with insurance ($900 per year) nor been denied entry by a marina. I'm pretty sure I can estimate the market value within 10% and the insurance company has never questioned its insured value. You hear a lot about maintenance of wooden boats. I can only speak for mine. All maintenance is done by the yard. The bottom and topsides are painted annually. The coach house and decks need painting about every three years. An inspection for structural items is done annually and all needed work done. The boat is hauled for the winter, stored, and relaunched with all necessary winterization and spring commissioning done by the yard. These are the regular items. Each year there are a few one-time items as well. This years have included replacing some thermopane windows that were cloudy, building and installing a prop cage to minimize pot warp wrap, and adding an AC cooling unit to the Seafrost icebox so I don't have to run the engine if electricity is available. Thanks to Quicken I can report that total payments to the yard for storage, maintenance and the upgrades over the past 12 months have totaled $9,900. I don't have a breakdown by category. In the winter we live in Key West. Would I have a wooden boat down here? Not on your life. Would I have one in the cool waters of New England where yards working in wood are plentiful? You bet. Different horses for different courses. Tom _______________________________ Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 11:48:33 EDT From: AlorMaria@aol.com Subject: Re: New subscriber In a message dated 06/10/1999 10:45:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time, raisincane@peachnet.campuscwix.net writes: << Paul Woche wrote: > Hi to All; > My wife thinks that I may have problems with a trawler when the wind goddess > calls and my thoughts turn to sail. What are your experiences?? >> Paul, Buy the 'glass 36 and a sailing dingy. I found the smaller the sailboat, the more fun it is. Trawlers seem to be fun whatever the size. You really have to like wood to go to a wooden boat. Don't be mislead by the low initial cost. You'll spend so much time working on the wooden boat that you won't have time to enjoy the sailing dink. If you don't spend the time or money on the wooden boat, it will soon be firewood. Their resale value is vague, insurance and financing iffy, and some marinas will not take new Wooden Boat customers. All this can be overcome by some people, but I bet they really like the wood and are willing to put up with anything to keep it. You'll have enough trauma switching from sail to power. (Buy a wooden sailing dink!) (2 cents from someone who has never owned a wooden boat, but gets Wooden Boat Mag) Al Johnson 34' Marine Trader "Angelina" (fiberglass but with enough exterior wood trim to have positive flotation)