Wooden Wisdom with Dean Howard: A Guide to Buying Classic Boats
Dean Howard is a highly skilled and experienced boatbuilder who served as Operations Manager at Wherry Yacht Charter in Wroxham. Before his departure, I had the pleasure of interviewing him aboard Topsail’s then-owned yacht Claire, as we drifted up Fleet Dyke in a gentle breeze — the perfect setting for a conversation about wooden boats.
Starting casual I asked:
Q: Dean what is your dream boat to own?
He instantly answered:
“A Bristol Channel pilot cutter, either one of the original ones or a fibreglass alternative.
There are some modern wooden ones which look pretty good.
Luke Powell is one of the guys that does them.
They’re performance boats but they’re a crossover between work boats, so they’re hardy and they were built for speed. A bit like the sea going version of a wherry, Gaff rigged but they’ve got foresails as well and they just look good.”
Dean is nothing if not true to his love of the wherrys.
Q: What do you think people should look out for when buying a wooden boat ?
“Rot”, he answers and chuckles….
“Viewing a wooden boat, you can use your nose. They smell rotten, identifying this will help you to make sure that you’re not buying a bad one.”
What does that smell like?
“A bit of a woodland smell.”
What if it wasn’t rotten, would you expect no smell?
“No… Boats smell!” He chuckles again…
“You can look at a boat and see that it’s well kept just to gauge whether the last owner cared about the boat. That helps because they probably kept on top of most of the maintenance. I wouldn’t recommend buying a freshly painted boat because that could be hiding all sorts beneath. A boat that hasn’t been painted this season, will usually tell you the truth. If you’ve got paint peeling or bubbling, then it’s usually the wood beneath it that’s giving way and that’s what has stopped the paint adhering to the wood.”
Q: Would you say that you have to haul out a boat every year?
“In the ideal world, probably yes, but no – it’s not essential.
With fibreglass it’s nice to give the hull a compound polish and antifoul but this is not necessary every year.
That being said, if it’s easy for you to do for instance if you have a trailer boat, then why not. They all go green and it can be quite easy to keep them clean.
With wooden boats, I’d say the answer is no. It is not essential to have them out every year.”
So I asked him whether that’s considered controversial as I know it goes against a lot of standard practice that we see from our boat owners.
He answers that “there are pros and cons. If you can leave the boat in the water, get it under cover but still let the air flow through it (I’m thinking in a boat house or similar here) then it should be OK in the water. You’d still want to lift them out fairly regularly to keep an eye on the planking but it wouldn’t have to be every year.”
Q: Would you say different construction techniques e.g. carvel/clinker affect the ownership of a standard person and how might that influence their annual maintenance expectations?
“Fibreglass – anyone who isn’t overly practical. For the most part a power washer will keep on top of them but every few years it would be nice to have them compound polished to get their shine back.
With wood, for instance cold moulded bead and cove strip built, can be a lot of work if they do need maintenance. The plank width can also be narrower than other methods and so you may need to manufacture several planks to replace a certain area of rot. They do however end up very strong – almost a monocoque construction. With traditional clinker and carvel methods, you do need to know what you are doing, but you can pull a plank out and put a new one in.”
Q: Is it easier for an amateur to maintain either clinker or carvel?
“Probably easier on carvel for an amateur but about the same for a professional.
With clinker, where one planks meets another, you have to put a bevel in because you’ve got flat planks bending around a curved hull.”
“Bead and cove strip built is tricky to maintain by comparison to carvel and clinker because you have to remove probably at least 3 x planks (unless accessible from the transom) so that you can bend the new ones in. Although interestingly enough if building from scratch, it’s easier for an amateur to build a strip-built boat.”
Q: Does the age of a wooden boat matter?
“No.
If it’s 100 year old boat that has been kept on top of then that’s fine.”
We then both laugh at the Only Fools and Horses ‘Trigger’s broom’ reference
Q: How long does it take to replace a plank?
“Talking about clinker and carvel: I can whip a plank out and have the new one in in a day, but I like to treat the area e.g. with preservatives and put bedding compounds in, so I’d like to say 3 days for me to be happy with the job.”
When asked if 5 planks next to each other would therefore be 5 x 3 = 15 days? Dean replies that “if there are that many next to each other, then the job probably involves frame replacement or repair as well, so yes 15 days probably still seems like a good estimate. “
“There’s all of the aspects to consider as well e.g. The coats of paint that are likely required over the new plank(s) and product drying times.”
Q: Does keel or hog damage mean that the boat is essentially a write-off and should only be considered for a “project price”?
“This damage definitely needs to be reflected in the price. The boat shouldn’t really be at “market-value” but it does of course depend upon the specifics, so seek expert advice.”
Q: If you were buying a boat and the advert stated that many planks had been replaced over recent years, would you view this as a good thing or a worrying thing?
“You’d have to see the boat. It shows that the owner has cared for the boat and that they have done the work, but it could be signs of an ongoing problem. There’s not a right or wrong answer here, so again seek expert advice. The thing to do is to try and understand the issues behind the ongoing plank replacement. Dry rot, or stale-air areas (through design or poor maintenance routines) could be responsible for the ongoing issues so again, try to understand what’s been causing the issue(s).”
This is the end of the Dean Howard interview as conducted by Danny Norcott.
If you liked it or would like more blog posts like this, then drop us a mail
