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7 minutes ago, Strowager said:

Without wishing to turn this into a Wood versus GRP contest, and with all due respect, I think you may be splitting hairs there

My dear chap, of course I am!

Someone has to point out the rewards and benefits that owning an old woodie brings.

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I'm sure that there are newcomers, innocents afloat so to speak, who have yet to encounter the scourge of GRP, especially in freshwater, the polyestermite. Seen as a joke by some cynics but the reality is far from humorous. The only known cure is to own a wooden boat.

Polyestermite.jpg

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1 hour ago, JennyMorgan said:

I'm sure that there are newcomers, innocents afloat so to speak, who have yet to encounter the scourge of GRP, especially in freshwater, the polyestermite. Seen as a joke by some cynics but the reality is far from humorous. The only known cure is to own a wooden boat.

My goodness Peter, you make it sound so plausible, a far superior effort to the same tired "polyestermite" myth posted earlier by Viking23, (shame on him !).

Without even a subtle grinning or winking emotican to give the game away.........
 

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2 hours ago, JanetAnne said:

Someone has to point out the rewards and benefits that owning an old woodie brings.

Absolutely right, us cheapskate Tupperware sailors are most appreciative of the dedicated old woodie enthusiasts, their craft look so beautiful. :)

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54 minutes ago, Strowager said:

My goodness Peter, you make it sound so plausible, a far superior effort to the same tired "polyestermite" myth posted earlier by Viking23, (shame on him !).

Without even a subtle grinning or winking emotican to give the game away.........
 

Ah ha, one of those polyestermite cynics has reared his head! Denialists, all of 'em!

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2 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Ah ha, one of those polyestermite cynics has reared his head! Denialists, all of 'em!

Shame on you Peter, maligning your poor Jenny, while she's lying patiently on her mooring at the end of your garden, ready for instant use.

Never any planks needed, no painting, only needing a quick wash and scrub each Spring,

......that's all she asks, bless her GRP socks... :rolleyes:

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Objection!

We are not here to discuss Peter's fishing habits, and thank Goodness for that!

Strowager is quite right in that, in theory, a damage repair can be made perfectly but it will need access from the inside, which may mean the removal and replacement of a lot of "furniture". Don't forget that it might also require a pressure test of your gas system afterwards. (this is often neglected).

Another basic principle is that a GRP hull and top moulding is just a shell - but without the natural strength of an egg-shell. So it relies entirely on the bulkheads and partitions that are built into it. Even the bunk fronts and the galley are all part of the strength of the boat. This should always be remembered if large damage repairs are involved.

Collision damage will almost always require the re-alignment of the engine to the prop shaft - another factor which is often forgotten, but can cost you a new gearbox a few months later. But that will not be insured......

A GRP hull is all very well, but it still has to be fitted out on the principle of a "real" boat!

 

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28 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

Objection!

We are not here to discuss Peter's fishing habits, and thank Goodness for that!

I was just wondering why Peter hasn't got a nice traditional wooden half-decker instead of his horrible GRP Drascombe.

He wouldn't have to worry about his morbid fear of his dreaded "polyestermite" then. :)

 

28 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

Collision damage will almost always require the re-alignment of the engine to the prop shaft - another factor which is often forgotten, but can cost you a new gearbox a few months later. But that will not be insured....

Wow....

When the subject of GRP "repairs" was bought up on here, I was just thinking of the usual annual "wear and tear" to hire craft "dodgem" boats. I wonder how many times Clive has had to re-align prop shafts on his fleet of 40 footers, (from collision damage).

I readily admit I'm quite a newbie compared to some of the "old Broadsmen" on here, but I've owned and maintained a good many wooden and GRP craft over fifty years, and for simplicity and cost sake I much prefer a hull with just one seam, (the simple gunwale joint between the hull and topsides)....  :)

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Thank you, Rascal, I think that bears out all I have been saying on here. The strength of the bulkheads is a vital factor.

Strowager, of course Clive will not be looking at shaft re-alignment every time one of their boats has a "shunt" but I bet he will next winter! Unless they are fitted with hydraulic drive, which is really the best "way to go" on a modern river boat, for a great number of reasons.

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The severity of such collisions in your example makes wood versus GRP comparisons somewhat arbitrary Vaughan.

This would be rather tricky to repair too.....

Much harder to repair in wood than GRP.......

 

wooden boat damage.jpg

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31 minutes ago, BroadScot said:

That's a big hole Strowie....some balsa wood and quick dry filler, job done :naughty:

cheersIain

I may get shot down by the Woodie experts, but I would imagine it might even need a temporary transom former while the original is removed and replaced.

Whereas even I could make a reasonable and strong repair if it were GRP.

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I've spent several winters in the sheds at Martham whilst working on my daughter's boat. I can assure you, Strow, that there are people there who would make good that repair in not many hours, and she would be as good as new.


Re Vaughan's mention of bulkheads in GRP boats, I have a good friend with a yard at Lake Lothing, near Oulton Broad. He has told me several gruesome tales of folk 'improving' their grp boats by removing bulkheads, walls, with a view to creating an 'open plan' lay-out. Often done whilst afloat, problems arising when the boat is lifted out for anti-fouling, for example.

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27 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

I've spent several winters in the sheds at Martham whilst working on my daughter's boat. I can assure you, Strow, that there are people there who would make good that repair in not many hours, and she would be as good as new.


Re Vaughan's mention of bulkheads in GRP boats, I have a good friend with a yard at Lake Lothing, near Oulton Broad. He has told me several gruesome tales of folk 'improving' their grp boats by removing bulkheads, walls, with a view to creating an 'open plan' lay-out. Often done whilst afloat, problems arising when the boat is lifted out for anti-fouling, for example.

I've spent quite a few happy hours in there too Peter, and had many a chat with Gordon a few years ago, when he used to come wandering round the old hangers in the evening. He fascinated me with the story of how they came about, being built from the left overs from the world war 2 Bailey Bridge sections, which are still very clear to see in the roof pillars and beams. The square flotation test tank can still be clearly seen in there too, where it was concreted over.

One of his boat builders showed me how to fix planks to ribs with copper nails and roves, in exchange for my assistance by holding the bucking hammer for him, (it wasn't my boat !). :rolleyes:

A month or two in there with one of my GRP boats was enough to put me off a carvel or clinker boat for the rest of my life. It was amazing to see really impressive looking cruisers and yachts coming in with planks that could be almost "punched in" by hand.

I quite agree with Vaughan's and your assertion that many GRP boats have been built or modified really badly though.

I believe that many of the early Caribbeans actually had glassed in chipboard floors, (long before the resin bonded waterproof panels came into being).

I've also seen ex-hire GRP craft where the rib formers were actually rolled up newspapers wrapped in polythene.

One could certainly gain a lousy impression of GRP boats if they focused purely on ex-hire inland craft.

By comparison, most GRP seagoing cruisers are built like tanks, they have to be, to stand the pounding of planing at 20 knots plus in RCD category A,B and C waters.

 

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Interesting is that, Strow, good old bloke is Gordon. Tim, the boat builder with the gammy leg, was a marvel to work with. As you found out help was a mutual thing, especially when it came to shifting boats around the shed. Good old days, I enjoyed the years when we kept 'Spray' there. Afraid the distance became an obstacle. Alright when it was major jobs. when we first had her, & I spent the night onboard, as did one or two others, but when it was for a couple of hours at a time at odd times during the week the journey became illogical. 

Re rolled up, newspaper formers, not unique to the Broads. I have a Salter, Thames, built skiff. The formers had been rolled and fastened with a stapler, the staples rusting and leaching through the resin, annoyed the hell out of me so I eventually cut them out. Must have been fairly common practice at one time.

I always knew the bucking hammer as a 'dolly'. The parlance of the day during the sixties and seventies ensured that the fellow holding it was therefore a 'dolly bird', even if he was a hulking great bloke!

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27 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

As you found out help was a mutual thing, especially when it came to shifting boats around the shed.

The place is certainly a great asset for Broads Boaters.

All that indoor space, with cranes and all workshop facilities, and they welcome DIY owners with open arms and plenty of Professional help and advice, as you say.

There were a few big woodie projects on the go while I was in there, many of them taking several years with owners traveling regularly from all parts of the UK.

Here's a photo showing the old bailey bridge sections supporting the roof.

If you look closely at the motor cruisers you'll see a makeshift canon on the fore-deck, (there was a lot of banter in there, great people to work with.....) :)

martham rebuild.jpg

martham cruisers.jpg

martham bailey bridge sections.jpg

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Great thread, takes me back to the days when my car was newspaper, filler and rivets! The MOT has a lot to answer for-I could still be driving my 1956 Morris Traveller Fred Flintstone style. Safety note: this style is not recommended for boats, for many reasons.

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2 hours ago, johnb said:

Great thread, takes me back to the days when my car was newspaper, filler and rivets! The MOT has a lot to answer for-I could still be driving my 1956 Morris Traveller Fred Flintstone style. Safety note: this style is not recommended for boats, for many reasons.

I well remember the instructions on the box of "David's Isopon Car Repair Filler",

...."first,  cut back to the good metal".......   (big mistake with a 10 year old car in those days).... :unsure:

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