How do I restore a wood boat?

I found an old 22ft. wood shrimp boat for sale and needs a lot of work. Some of the wood needs replacing. What kinds of wood should I use, what do i seal it with, HOW DO I MAKE IT SEA WORTHY????|||If it a good deal it worth fixing. It can get expensive. Doing most of the work helps cut costs. Many people love buying these old boats and restoring them, both for a hobby and of course pleasure. I would try to use the same wood that is already on the boat. Hull wood can be may types. I have seen Oak, Redwood, types of spruce etc. it a long list of regular and exotic woods. This something you need to research and talk to others with wood boats. Search the Inet for Restoration Sites and Forums so you can question people.


Use high quality bolts, Stainless or Bronze/Brass. You may see on the hull where bolts rust through the paint, that a good sign they need checked/replaced before you paint. If the hull wood shows soft spots then you need to look inside and check other wood. Some can be hard to get to and may require gutting the inside.


In short, the best way to think of this; "You are going to build a boat. Instead of using boat plans you have templates already provided. Copy what need to be replaced and check out the engines for rebuilding before you do cosmetic work".


There so many good web-sites that will help you learn everything from bending a board to paint.


Here one I found on a quick search.


http://powerboat.about.com/cs/classicant鈥?/a>|||what you really need to do is find an old boat guy that is retired and is willing to advise you about the restoration of this boat --- there are two people that ""win"" in this situation and the both of you have a new friend.... mahogany wood -- marine glue -- a precision table saw (( ryobi @ lowes $100.00)) -- dry wall screws -- cut and fit and glue -- do you have a dry dock or trailer and be sure to keep a few inches of water inside the boat to keep the wooden hull from drying and splitting apart at the keel -- now go to the local library and find some books and read how to build wood boats and become oriented to woods and watercraft ---- you can do all of this...|||Will if it needs a lot of work an you don't have the expletives to do it , best pass unless you have 10 of thousands of dollars to spend. Get a survey that will tell you the extent of repairs it's going to need???|||"How to Build a Wooden Boat" by Sam Manning


WoodenBoat Magazine.





Buy the book from them.


Subscribe to the magazine.








WEST brand epoxy is your friend.





While bronze is the best metal to use in a wood boat ( NEVER use brass) you want to replace like with like......if there's a lot of galvanized steel in the boat already, use galvy to replace.





Jamestown Distributors in RI is a great source of stuff.





As was said, you essentially have a full size template of a boat.take out bad pieces carefully, duplicate, re-install......


oak for frames, mahogany or cypress for planks.





Did I mention read WoodenBoat magazine ?|||Try these websites,www.hometech.com, www.hammerzone.com and www.diynetwork.com. If you have the workspace available, and space to keep it from getting wet from rain it shouldn't be a painful job.|||There is a book from David Gerr (top US boat builder and author of many subjects pertaining to boats) called The Elements of Boat Strength. You can purchase the book used for $18 plus shipping. I've used it as my foundation to restore a few boat decks. No one has complained so far in the last few years. :)





The book doesn't tell you how to actually perform the repairs per se, but Dave gives you a pretty clear direction on where to go. It even has pictures! The kids love the book too. The answers you want are relatively in the center of the book.





Good luck, the addy to buy the book is below.