MacGregorSailors.com

We also were considering restoring a "cheaper used boat" My wife went through me doubling the size of the "Fixer upper house", (it took 8 years)

She said "why dont we spend the money to get something newer and nicer and skip the whole fixing up thing.

I said " OW OW Quit twisting my arm."

I NEVER had the WOOD Disease, as I call it! People talk about just how WARM it makes a boat feel. I know 1st hand just how WARM I got by working on small items made of wood on two previous Macs!

I do in fact like the Plastic/Wood composites that are in the marketplace these days. Dimensionally they are limited, and structurally they break easily,(depending on the application) but otherwise make an excellent replacement IMHO, for wood! Lack of splintering,splitting, rotting, mold, wood eating critters, and degradation give it all high points I recognize.

Having to have sometimes dangerous (Flamable and toxic) finishes galore to maintain wood was always a concern for me, along with the untold time it takes to strip, refinish etc., only to do it all over again periodically is absurd to me!

I like 'Glass, but that just may be me. MacGregor deserves some credit in his "Clorox Bottle" by design!

Sorry, I don't share that "Affliction" of Wood Disease, with some on here!

Gotta go with Tom here.....

Wood is nice on other peoples boats.

Life is too damn short for shellac and varnish............heheeheh

As I have posted on a few other threads, and having lived more than a few years on a boat, LACK of wood was one of the primary factors in considering a Mac.

Wood! enjoy it while you can!
Being a finite resource it is only a matter of time before wood becomes too expensive and too limited in supply for continued use as a building material. Man-made and other materials (being more popular & less expensive) will eventually dominate the market with wood only being the choice of the rich & famous. If you already own a wood boat or can get your hands on one it may reach a point where it can only go up in value as long as it is well maintained & preserved. With the way forests are disappearing off the earth, the days of wooden commodities will be a thing of the past. With pre-fab homes and steel studs for framing wood is destined for extinction. It is not a matter of "if", it is a matter of "when". Enjoy it while you can!

Maybe you guys are referring to speciality old growth woods like teak etc....but I think we will run out of Oil (Feedstock for FG) long before we run out of wood!

When I bought my house in '77, the guy I bought it from had over a dozen wood runabouts in his yard, where he lived, Chris Crafts, etc. I'm not sure where he got them. He didn't sell boats, he sold trailers. If you wanted to buy a trailer, you could take the boat that was on it for no charge. If you didn't want the boat, he would pull it off the trailer and burn it right there.

Tom,

I do in fact like the Plastic/Wood composites that are in the marketplace these days.

Just a heads up. The all plastic lumber holds up okay, but I've hear that the plastic/wood composities if left exposed to enough water will over time deteriorate quite a bit. Apparently the wood particles will rot away leaving an inadequately supported piece of plastic behind. For decks and fences where it gets wet, but then has a chance to dry out again it seems to be okay, but for applications where it is in continuous contact with wet ground and similar situations it may not be the best choice.

We had a 28 foot wooden e-scow. A fast, fun boat but it required a lot of upkeep. Eventually my wife cut it into 3 pieces and made lawn decorations out of it complete with other nautical stuff. It was made by Johnson Boatworks in White Bear Lake, Mn. They were bought out by Melges a few years ago. During the transition from wood to fiberglass technology they were doing both. I remember going into their factory and there was a sign that said, "If God had wanted fiberglass boats, he would have given us fiberglass trees!"

BB

Eric O wrote:Tom,

I do in fact like the Plastic/Wood composites that are in the marketplace these days.

Just a heads up. The all plastic lumber holds up okay, but I've hear that the plastic/wood composities if left exposed to enough water will over time deteriorate quite a bit. Apparently the wood particles will rot away leaving an inadequately supported piece of plastic behind. For decks and fences where it gets wet, but then has a chance to dry out again it seems to be okay, but for applications where it is in continuous contact with wet ground and similar situations it may not be the best choice.

Well, since Docks out here are Prime Real Estate, and above my means, they do one of two things when docks are replaced. They either use Concrete or Plastic wood!

I am not disputing your claims because we may not be talking about the same stuff, but what I know for a fact is, I saw a Dock go in over 10 years ago, and it still looks brand new to this day, a mere color change, but no noticable weathering has occured on it at all!

And definately NO SPLINTERS!

I like Koa wood. I used it in several places in my boat. I have a few solid pieces but all the sliding hatch was lined in a sort of venier. This is very very thin cut Koa. The inside of the hatch is very beautiful. I'm in the process of remodeling the galley. I'll use a few Koa pieces there also. Saddly enough, I agree that wood may not be an option in the future.

I bought an old 18' wood cabin cruiser, a plywood kit boat, in '77 for $100. After I got my Mac I cut the front end off and use it for my desk at my shop.

I am a working carpenter (besides being a working professional photographer) and do finish trim as well as cabinet and framing work, so i know what i'm talking about. wood sucks (and blows).(moisture).
I don't make furniture, but every piece of furniture i have seen stored outside, or not in a controlled climate environment, (pick several from the following drop-down menu) either loosens up, splits, cracks, warps, twists, buckles, shrinks, expands, grains up, blisters, checks, peels and sheds finishes, dries out, changes color n(ice brown to ugly gray) and/or eventually rots. Boats are damp, or dry, or whatever the weather is doing. Even interior boat-wood is subject to all this weathering. I am so happy to find a boat that is not wood-infested that is also a great boat for many other reasons.
Give me stainless steel, Starboard, gel-coat, black plastic, or acrylic anyday, which are my comfort (hassle-free) materials. Cloth can be changed without the devotion of time that wood takes. Just my opinion and tastes, so even though i grew up with Empire, Chippendale, and Edwardian furniture in my home, i am not impressed anymore by pretty wood. Form follows function.