I Have a Decision to Make

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:03]>> that's not good.

[00:00:05]>> Hollow vessel was in good condition. No rotten wood observed. She is in suitable condition for operation in her intended trade.

[00:00:14]That's not true. And we all know that now. 3 years ago, I spent my life savings on what turned out to be a rotten boat. I spent a year at sea, blissfully unaware of what was awaiting me. And on the one-year anniversary, I took the boat out of the water. And that is when I discovered the true state of the vessel. A twoe hall out turned into a multi-year refit. And in the last few episodes, I started to repair the transom. Fresh wood was finally going back into the boat. But I was in for a rude awakening as the hot summer weather were starting to dry out the hole. I'm an animator and filmmaker learning to work with my hands in a completely new trade. And in this video, I discover how far the damage actually has gone and if it's time to step back from this old rotten boat and led her and up like so many others.

[00:01:27]God, the planks are literally falling out of the boat.

[00:01:44]With the arrival of the summer heat, the planking was starting to shrink up. And as each plank shrunk, they started to pop out of the hole. The nails that the boat had been originally fastened with were all rusting away.

[00:02:03]I mean, look at this.

[00:02:09]So, I bought this boat based on a survey that basically said that she was in great shape.

[00:02:19]And I bought it off a family that had been using her actively. They had been out cruising for a couple of years and they had also done some repairs to her. Of course, I inspected her myself before I bought the boat. I actually went on a cruise with the owner before I took the decision to actually pay.

[00:02:41]Everything seemed according to the survey. Maybe I'm naive, but I actually don't think that the surveyor, you know, knew what was going on. I think what what was going on here is that there's enough frames that are in decent shape that the swelling of the planking combined with the pressure of the ocean was keeping her together. And during these short hall outs for surveys and you know paint and sinks, it was just not enough time for her to dry out enough that any clear deterioration was going to show.

[00:03:19]But now that she's out of the water and she's already falling apart, I figure, you know, the damage is already done. So why not do some more violent prying and see what's actually going on here?

[00:03:31]But the thing is, she does look in in great shape, at least on starboard side. There's really no signs of deterioration here, but there is a floor that is mounted to the frames and floors. So, it's it's more of a walkway. Uh, not the right nautical term. Anyways, that is mounted here that I'm going to take out. and then um then I can take a look underneath and go at it with a hammer.

[00:04:04]So, let's see what's going on.

[00:04:22]What's this here?

[00:04:29]Yeah. So, there's at least two frames here that are pretty much toast on the floor.

[00:04:42]Yeah, this is gone.

[00:04:48]Absolutely done, if not worse.

[00:05:04]I mean, there's nothing left here. Frame is gone. This is what's left of the floor.

[00:05:12]And then I can't see what's going on underneath there. I'm going to have to get all that out.

[00:05:22]So, there's at least two frames that are completely obliterated here, and the floors are starting to go.

[00:05:33]All right, let's see what's going on on this side of the engine.

[00:05:41]Well, apart from the uh frames having completely come loose from the planking, there are some good news down here.

[00:05:49]and that is that today's video is sponsored by SY. All right, so here's the deal, right? You're going on vacation and the last thing you want to think about is your data roaming on your phone. What's this? $300 for streaming Samson boat and tips from a shipright And that is where SY comes in hand. So s is basically an eim. It's an app that you download to your phone, you pick your plan, and suddenly you have access to roaming in more than 200 countries across the world. Sale takes one of the biggest anxieties of going on vacation and basically turns it to a few clicks to get it sorted. The app also comes with a built-in ad blocker that actually saves you more than 20% data and it saves you time because you don't have to watch the ads on my videos anymore and you don't even have to pay for my Patreon to do that, which it's a pretty good deal. Now, if you want to try SY today, then head on over to sail.com/fast or use the code fast to claim a 15% discount on all plans. Thank you to SY for making this video possible.

[00:07:00]So, this is what's left of the frame that sits under the fuel tank.

[00:07:09]And this is what's left of the floor.

[00:07:13]It's just obliterated. And who knows, maybe it was the wood they were using or maybe there's been a diesel leak over the years that has kind of, you know, affected the lignon in the wood somehow.

[00:07:26]Who knows? But the fact that this seems to be a common theme even back in the stern tells me that it's just moisture and rot.

[00:07:42]Let's uh see what's going on behind me here.

[00:07:53]Hey, are you inspecting? How's it looking? It's looking pretty bad, eh?

[00:07:58]It's looking like a lot more than a stern rebuild. Hey, it's looking like a lot more than a stern rebuild.

[00:08:09]This I've been able to inspect before and yeah, I mean it seems fine.

[00:08:20]It's solid wood, albeit a bit dark.

[00:08:34]Starboard side looks in perfect condition, at least from the inside.

[00:08:42]Now I can't see what's going on back here.

[00:08:50]There we go.

[00:09:07]Yeah, it all looks in decent shape, surprisingly enough, but the reality is that this is starting to look like a lot more than a stern rebuild and closer to a complete rebuild and restoration.

[00:09:36]And that puts us off from a autumn launch to more of a half decade launch, maybe more.

[00:09:55]And that is something that I need to think about because the reality is that you never get the money back that you put into a boat like this. So, I have something to think about while I work to figure out whether I want to um commit all of my money into saving a boat and doing that under the terms that I won't get that money back.

[00:10:29]But at least I would get a home and I would keep a piece of art alive hopefully for another generation.

[00:10:38]Anyways, there's something to think about.

[00:10:44]Let's go and check in the galley what's going on.

[00:10:48]I'm going to rip out some of the plywood there and take a look behind.

[00:11:01]If you're enjoying this episode, I would love it if you click the hype button. It would help me a lot in getting these videos out there.

[00:11:11]If in doubt, hit it with a hammer. That is my motto.

[00:11:16]Did you all remember, you know, the the CRT televisions, the the the those tube televisions that were really thick and sometimes they would stop working and you just like hit them and they would just kind of like wiggle back and then you could keep watching whatever show you were watching. And same with starter engines, you know, they stop working, you smack them around a bit and they get going again. and a wooden boat.

[00:11:47]If you don't know what's going on, it seems like the best course of action is uh hitting it with a hammer.

[00:12:00]Now, the way they built this interior has made it virtually impossible to check the frames below the water line because there's plywood in here and it's mounted before the interior went into place. And that is why I haven't been able to look down here.

[00:12:19]And um let's see. I might have to go in plunge cut with a skill saw or something to get this out.

[00:12:32]Okay, I'm going to try this.

[00:12:57]See? Oh, wow.

[00:13:17]Well, that is not what a healthy frame looks like.

[00:13:39]Interesting.

[00:13:41]This is what it looks like under the sink.

[00:13:48]It's just nothing left.

[00:13:53]Well, let's uh keep exploring.

[00:14:54]Yeah, that's the big issue with the boat.

[00:14:58]The frames look deceptively good, but if you stick a knife in them, they tell a very different story.

[00:15:28]Well, I think that tells me all I need to know for now. I'm guessing pretty much half the frames starting from the stern up to midship are completely toast.

[00:15:45]Um, of course it looks a little bit better in the engine room, but I mean I doubt it at this state. It's just get it all out.

[00:15:57]Starboard side has the same thing.

[00:15:59]There's too much in the ways of uh mounted uh furnishings here for me to really do any major excavation without ripping out the boat.

[00:16:14]But I'm just going to assume for now that it looks the same.

[00:16:20]Damn.

[00:16:24]So this is the uh survey that uh was basically the foundation of the purchase and I quote hollow vessel was in good condition. No rotten wood observed in consequence of the inspection made a float and out of the water. I am of the opinion that she is in suitable condition for operation in her intended trade, namely as a pleasure cruiser.

[00:16:55]That's not true and we all know that.

[00:16:58]Now, now when I bought the boat, there were some blatantly obvious issues that I of course were aware of and something that I was willing to deal with later down the line, but they were not fundamental to the seaorthiness of the boat. And that was this hole here.

[00:17:25]Another issue that I was aware of was that there was a freshwater leak coming in from somewhere around this window and it has delaminated this whole thing.

[00:17:43]Now, something that I discovered during the first winter was that there was a freshwater leak in the galley. And I've already poked and prodded at this a little bit.

[00:17:55]This actually had mushrooms growing out of it at one point.

[00:18:02]And um I think it's a pretty substantial leak here.

[00:18:38]As suspected, port side showed similar damage. And I'd also discovered that the cabin sides had deep rot pockets around the windows and the true bolts that was fastening the cabin side to the deck were starting to rust so badly that the wood was falling apart from the outside.

[00:18:56]It was getting blatantly clear that to do the boat any justice, I would have to consider a full rebuild.

[00:19:11]Come on.

[00:19:46]So the reality of the situation or of the boat is uh pretty much what I had suspected for a while now and that is that she's basically mulch.

[00:20:03]Um, a lot of the planking was pretty much held on just by the the force of the water on the hole and the fact that the planking was swelled up and basically stuck together thanks to that.

[00:20:23]And uh yeah, it it basically means that what was going to be a couple of months um maybe tops, you know, the the until autumn to get the stern back together. It's uh a lot bigger than that.

[00:20:49]And uh there's basically a decision that needs to be made whether it is uh time to back away and uh basically crush the boat or commit and uh throw myself into a multi-year half decade maybe more complete rebuild of the whole boat, which would mean um new frames, new floors, new planking, new everything pretty much. And I have a decision to make.

[00:22:29]This video has been made possible by SY and by all of you that have joined as Patreons. If you want early access to episodes, an ad free viewing experience, up-to-date content, and a whole bunch of other goodies, then check out my Patreon link is in the description. I want to say a huge thank you to all of you that have become patreons and to all of you that have donated. It is thanks to your support that this project is made possible. I hope you like this episode and I hope to see you in the next one.

[00:23:05]I >> looks like I'm going to have to prep again a new piece.

[00:23:13]>> Well, at least it shows the importance of >> of the grain. Yeah. Doesn't always work.

[00:23:18]>> Valiant effort. Keep at it.

[00:23:21]>> Yeah.