Ruminations on a GB 42...

This boat was gorgeous - I mean drop dead gorgeous.

I'm not a surveyor by any stretch, but I couldn't find anything wrong on viewing the boat. Bilges were exceptionally clean, the engine room sparkled, the boat itself being wood - well, even up close the paint was flawless. The teak was bright and looked oiled rather than varnished. All the window frames were intact and showed no signs of leaking, I didn't find any dead spots on the deck or bridge - anywhere. Apparently the current owner is into wood working too as there were several personal touches that were just incredible.

I am in love with this boat. The only problem is I'm not at all sure I can maintain it at this level.

What to do - what to do.

There was an old 42' woodie on my dock, it was called Panache. It was perfect, absolutely beautiful. I would have loved to own that boat. I also saw it in dry dock for about 6 weeks every spring with 3 - 4 pros doing touch up work, replacing boards, etc. The guy paid someone to do all the work, so all he had to do was write the checks.

I suppose those hulls arn't for everybody. But then again, I'm not everybody.

"Through the subscription Web site SoldBoats.com I found 39 Grand Banks 42s reported sold in the last six months in the U.S. alone. Selling prices ranged from $30,000 for a 1967 model to $585,000 for a 2001 model. On the lower end of the price scale are 1973 and earlier models of wood construction. These models may offer very attractive savings but this can be quickly offset by the added cost of maintenance and upkeep. A good rule of thumb is to anticipate an average "added cost" of at least $100 per-foot for maintaining an older wooden boat in good condition."

(From the BoatUS website)

As I posted to Chuck, this is a gorgeous boat and it's been maintained to a very high standard that I couldn't even hope to keep - the owner is a retired finish carpenter and custom cabinet/furniture maker.

I have some skills as a wood worker, but it's more of the hobbyist type of skill, not professional skill.

I'm afraid it would be too much for me to handle.

Young chicks are the way to go...their superstructure ain't sagging, their frames aren't rotten, they're well-lubed, they move well.

Now that you've found a style and model that winds your clock, (42 GB), why not look for one about 5 or so years newer? If you can at least pick up the FRP hull, then the majority (but not all) of the wood issues will be cosmetic. Anybody willing to be about half careful and patient can varnish, heck- even I can varnish. :-)

It's one thing to have a users boat and another to have, and another to have a boat you re afraid will get a scratch.

And what year is the young lady?

Are you?

The best guy to own a wooden boat is the guy who will enjoy learning or applying the unique skills required to keep it in shape. Consider, for example, that you will from time to time be replacing a couple of planks on that hull. (IIRC, they were sheathed in mahogany when new). If you can cut, shape, maybe bend, fasten, and caulk your own plank- it will probably cost you $100 or so for the materials and an enjoyable day of fiddling around. If you can't do your own plank, it will probably cost you $200 for a marked up plank and $1000 to have it installed.

If the brightwork is oiled, but not varnished, you will be spending a bunch of time keeping it up. Oil is a dirt magnet, and just doesn't endure like varnish. It goes on faster, but needs to go on a lot more often. A proper prep for an oil job is as extensive as a proper prep for varnish.

So how much work is involved in keeping a 40 year old GB in bristol condition? Maybe the best answer is that there will be a *lot* of time involved. If you don't enjoy the time you spend on the upkeep it will indeed be "work". If you enjoy the time spent on upkeep, then the answer is that there will be very little work of any kind.

Do you have a way to keep the boat under cover, out of the rain, etc? I wouldn't suggest owning a wooden boat that can't be kept in a boathouse or at least under a weatherproof canopy.

I had a slip rented on Carlyle lake where it sat for 9 months, and I'd take it out about every weekend, or when ever I got the chance. It had been taken care of I would say, reasonably well, but for the previous 10 years it had been in a large warehouse in storage. It ran great, and was a lot of fun, but after sitting in the hot sun and letting the rain get to it, I noticed a lot of spungy wood where the deck met the hull. Working at trying to preserve it was like playing one of thos gopher games where they keep popping out of holes, and you try to smack them. Then by the end of the second year the starboard hull started to delaminate up in the bow. I really didn't give much for the boat, and had a lot of fun with it, but after the second year, it really started decaying fast! it's now sitting behind my dad's barn looking like something off the beach of Gilligan's Island. Oh, if I was nuts about having a wood working hobby, I would have kept it up, but having neither the time, availability of marine wood products, not the main tools for doing such, I gave up on the project.

No, I'm not a wooden hull fan.

IMO, there's plenty of woodwork to tend to on the glass models, decks, rails, transom, let alone maintaining a watertight hull. Plus, the interior needs occasional buffing. That's a lot of maintenance, unless you intend to hire someone to do it.

If it were me .... which it's not ... I'd shop around for a glass version. Pangea was fortunately well maintained, but we still had all the exterior work done the first year. It wasn't cheap.

There are a couple of GB owner forums, one of which is dedicated to wood boats, where you can get a lot of good information and help. I am heading out the door, but I'll find them later and pass them on. Hey ... did it have the original GB folding table? Those things are worth quite a bit if in good, original condition.

Eisboch