A neighbour is selling his hood 23. He's moving/moved to the country. It's neat, recent anti foul and has a reliable 4 stroke 5 hp Yamaha outboard. It has been used as a twighlight racer these last few summers . I think it's a bargain at $1500. If you're interested please PM me and I'll give you a contact number. You'll be speaking to one of the crew ( another neighbour) selling it for him. Photo taken 2 days ago

r13 said..
Hello guys

With the very greatest respect to all can I suggest we all be a tad sanguine with regards to the OP and this yacht? I sent a PM message to Snowgoose since I well knew the yacht and the owner before the current seller.

Ok so insurance issues to sort and having a shed to work on components is obviously a good idea. Excellent offers to inspect from MB.

Would not have expected someone posting on here with obvious genuine intent to purchase to be advised to go and sail on someone else's yacht.

New cushions are expensive but on this age and price range of yacht they surely would not be a consideration to influence the sale. So go buy some stuff from Clark Rubber to sit on for 2/3 of 4/5 of not very much.

The fact that the hull has been epoxy dynel sheathed and it being a show stopper is completely not able to be interpreted. So are we saying that all ply boats which have been epoxy dynel sheathed are worth jack nothing? Give me a break.

If the hull was sheathed originally then no problem, if sheathed later in life I would have to ask WHY. All I see here is people offering a perspective to the original poster that may not have been there previously.
If you feel that we have overreached with advice then I am sure that the prospective purchaser would greatly appreciate your hands on wisdom and advice.

Because of the lockdown I am not able to get out to have a look at the boat but I've had a look at the photos. I'm not an expert on timber boats but there do seem to be some obvious issues.

The photos show a boat with water and rust in the bilge, timber planking showing signs of leaking which is possibly where the water is coming from, bulkheads that have been poorly patched, deckhead with poor patching.

It looks to me like it needs to come out of the water and receive some maybe extensive hull repairs. As others have noted the glass sheath could well have been to avoid repairing the timber hull.

The sails look to be good but I don't know about the rigging, chain plates etc which might be similar condition to the hull.

A fair bit of work and money in my view. Snowgoose is doing the right thing by holding off for the time being until it can be properly looked at.

Thank you to all who have offered their knowledge and advice here :) I am very appreciative of the fact that you've all taken the time to write something for my benefit. As MB said, potentially some work there down below. The (keel??) bolts have no rust on them however there is brown (silt/rust?) in the bilge water. Indeed it may very well be freshwater however I can't ascertain where it is entering, the boat is covered and then below that cover is a heavy-duty plastic tarp that covers almost the entire deck. That bilge, even being a newcomer to sailing, is giving me the heebie-jeebies. It;s not the fact that it's there, its the fact of how it got there.
Probably the worst time to look for a boat, *&*^%! Covid but what can one do.
Well, If I do buy it, as least there is a Thunderbird expert here (Ringle)..and to be quite honest my dream would be a wooden boat of some sort..I would have no greater pleasure than sanding back and expoxy/varninshing all the wooden trim (yep, I like to self inflict pain LOL) something about the look does it for me. Wooden boats are in my blood, my great grandfather hand built Huon pine boats in Tasmania. In fact the Maritime Museum has a picture of him on display!
But let's get back to reality and the present. At the moment I am holding off on the purchase, as much as I would like to buy the Tbird. Maybe the owner will drop the price even more? Maybe someone with time AND space will grab it..Or do I take a risk?
I have attempted to contact the seller of the Hood 23 posted above, it's not my first choice by a long shot but for $1500 I surely should be happy. It would need to be sailed down to Sydney Harbour is all, should I buy it. The intelligent, responsible, sane part of me is whispering: "the Hood, take the Hood 23" whereas my heart is saying "that Tbird would come up a treat".........
I've sent some of you the interior pics via PM, the general consensus is: would need to come out of the water for a closer inspection :)
Well, that's a wide range of my thoughts for now.

I've got a wooden boat here in Tas...30 ft bay cruiser would be close to the mark but it did live in the North West so it has done some coastal cruising in the past l think.

Bought it as a project to do up and play with, after going to a lot of wooden boat festivals etc

They require a LOT of work that sometimes you can't always do when you want, due to life and it's issues

We' ve got other fibreglass boats that require little work in comparison, get on and go anytime....mostly.

The wood boat is just a drain on our available time now.
Gonna pass it on very soon.

Will still go to WBF's but not looking to get another wood boat ever again.

@ Tired, interesting viewpoint which I know from half of me saying the exact same things you wrote lol..all in all I think with ample time and money a wooden boat is a joy to own :) and it would be foolish of me to think the one I saw advertised was a diamond hidden under a blue cover

Hi all.. An update. Am on the boat at the moment. I tested the water in the bilge (fresh). I then poured water (from the ocean) over the pop top and the mast, then went below into the cabin and.... Saturated! Water appears to be leaking through:
The pop top hinge
The 'bog' (amateur DIY) repair on the cabin top internal (cabin roof)
The mast boot (its keel stepped remember, forgive me if I've use the wrong term there)
The mast in general.
The mast is aluminium but has a central track or hole if it were, so I poured water down the track ABOVE the boat cover and yes.. Water inside

Fresh water in a wooden yacht is a killer. Salt is better though when it evaporates it condenses on the upper surfaces of the interior till it drops down and starts the whole process over. The real problem area is under the cockpit floor and seats plus the backrests in the cockpit. My yacht has a plywood deck, cabin, and cockpit. Some rain will always come down the mast in a keel-stepped yacht. I have a dedicated battery,solar panel, controller, Waterwitch switch, and a 12v pump that is always operational separate from the main batteries and solar set up. This is just to keep the timber interior in good nick. There also has to be a full flow of air through the vessel with intakes as close to the bow as you can and exhaust vents right at the stern.

500 to 800 gph is ample for a bilge pump. The waterwitch switch is the best insurance money can buy. There will always be some water in the bilge of a wooden boat and a lot of fibreglass yachts from rain.

www.whitworths.com.au/swch-waterwitch-mini

The best 100 bucks you will ever spend.

Ramona said..
Fresh water in a wooden yacht is a killer. Salt is better though when it evaporates it condenses on the upper surfaces of the interior till it drops down and starts the whole process over. The real problem area is under the cockpit floor and seats plus the backrests in the cockpit. My yacht has a plywood deck, cabin, and cockpit. Some rain will always come down the mast in a keel-stepped yacht. I have a dedicated battery,solar panel, controller, Waterwitch switch, and a 12v pump that is always operational separate from the main batteries and solar set up. This is just to keep the timber interior in good nick. There also has to be a full flow of air through the vessel with intakes as close to the bow as you can and exhaust vents right at the stern.

Like he said- Fresh water in a wooden yacht is a killer. Get out a screwdriver and start prodding the lower timber. You will know in about 5 minutes if this boat is viable or not.

Ramona said..
500 to 800 gph is ample for a bilge pump. The waterwitch switch is the best insurance money can buy. There will always be some water in the bilge of a wooden boat and a lot of fibreglass yachts from rain.

www.whitworths.com.au/swch-waterwitch-mini

The best 100 bucks you will ever spend.

Done! What a great little product. I've bookmarked that page for purchase once I decide if the yacht is for me cheers!

Ringle said..
A neighbour is selling his hood 23. He's moving/moved to the country. It's neat, recent anti foul and has a reliable 4 stroke 5 hp Yamaha outboard. It has been used as a twighlight racer these last few summers . I think it's a bargain at $1500. If you're interested please PM me and I'll give you a contact number. You'll be speaking to one of the crew ( another neighbour) selling it for him. Photo taken 2 days ago

Hi Ringle,

Spoke to Graham about this yesterday, he can confim all is OK however 2 points to note: outboard needs a service and the deck is spongy in a few places. They have sailed for quite a while without repairing the spongy areas and so far so good Graham tells me..I might go and take a look at the boat this week however am still leaning towards the Tbird 26 now that I know a) where the water is coming from and b) what type of water it is: fresh and from the deck/mast area.

decisions, decisions :( but you are right indeed...also, i think I will go with either a 6hp or preferably 8hp max

There are photos uploaded to my profile gallery of various inspections I did yesterday if anyone wants to have a look and advise..
Secondly, my apologies to all.. I truly appreciate the time you have all spent on taking my calls and answering my questions, looking at photos and replying to my posts.. To be quite honest I never expected as much help, input or advice and I'm taken aback. Everyone who has replied or posted or done anything @ all, let me assure you it's been read, digested, googling and on boarded by me :) It's been exhausting for me though, and I hope to make a decision soon.. There are the wooden boat lovers like me and the sane, sensible GRP people too so I'll definitely upset one camp haha! But rest assured 9nce my decision is made I will no doubt be a regular on here :??? if only to get some Seabreezers out for a sail on my new purchase!

Snowgoose said..

Ramona said..
500 to 800 gph is ample for a bilge pump. The waterwitch switch is the best insurance money can buy. There will always be some water in the bilge of a wooden boat and a lot of fibreglass yachts from rain.

www.whitworths.com.au/swch-waterwitch-mini

The best 100 bucks you will ever spend.

Done! What a great little product. I've bookmarked that page for purchase once I decide if the yacht is for me cheers!

Ringle said..
A neighbour is selling his hood 23. He's moving/moved to the country. It's neat, recent anti foul and has a reliable 4 stroke 5 hp Yamaha outboard. It has been used as a twighlight racer these last few summers . I think it's a bargain at $1500. If you're interested please PM me and I'll give you a contact number. You'll be speaking to one of the crew ( another neighbour) selling it for him. Photo taken 2 days ago

Hi Ringle,

Spoke to Graham about this yesterday, he can confim all is OK however 2 points to note: outboard needs a service and the deck is spongy in a few places. They have sailed for quite a while without repairing the spongy areas and so far so good Graham tells me..I might go and take a look at the boat this week however am still leaning towards the Tbird 26 now that I know a) where the water is coming from and b) what type of water it is: fresh and from the deck/mast area.

You won't find a Hood 23 without spongy decks. A lot better proposition than the timber T Bird

Heading home now to google/YouTube: spongey deck/Hood 23 deck issues :/