I'm looking at options for moving my timber yacht from WA to Mackay marina in QLD. Each May to Sep (about 5 mths) I would fly to Mackay and cruise around in my boat. The other 7 mths each year I would stay at home in WA.
I'm wondering about the following so would appreciate any comments from those of you in the know...
(1) How detrimental to the jarrah carvel planking would it be to remove the boat from the water and store it on an open air hardstand somewhere in Mackay for 7 mths Oct to Apr each year?
(2) If I left the boat in the water all year what would be the cost (assuming I can find someone competent and trustworthy) if I pay someone to keep an eye on it and run the engine for 20 mins each month from Oct to Apr ?
(3) Any suggestions for a hardstand area in Mackay if I was to hardstand it from Oct to Apr each year (and no, the Mackay Marina itself is not an option) ?
my understanding of timber boats is , they need to be in the salt water. out of water is no good as they open up ...... and keep the rain water out of them .
Select to expand quotezilla said..
I'm looking at options for moving my timber yacht from WA to Mackay marina in QLD. Each May to Sep (about 5 mths) I would fly to Mackay and cruise around in my boat. The other 7 mths each year I would stay at home in WA.
I'm wondering about the following so would appreciate any comments from those of you in the know...
(1) How detrimental to the jarrah carvel planking would it be to remove the boat from the water and store it on an open air hardstand somewhere in Mackay for 7 mths Oct to Apr each year?
(2) If I left the boat in the water all year what would be the cost (assuming I can find someone competent and trustworthy) if I pay someone to keep an eye on it and run the engine for 20 mins each month from Oct to Apr ?
(3) Any suggestions for a hardstand area in Mackay if I was to hardstand it from Oct to Apr each year (and no, the Mackay Marina itself is not an option) ?
Maaaate!! I am assuming your "jarrah carvel planked" yacht is not of modern construction i.e. strip planked epoxy soaked.
If it is you can basically treat it like a fiberglass yacht and not worry about the timber drying out and opening up the seams.
If it is traditional construction it will not like being out of the water for 7 months at all, let alone every year. The additional point is that timber boats in tropical waters is not a good combination due to toredo worms which are more prolific in warm waters. It only takes a pin hole in your paint for a worm to get in and when he does he will chew out the whole plank.
I have just been through the worm repair scenario and I have a fibreglass yacht. The skeg and rudder are timber though. The damage was huge.
Question (1) Possibly very detrimental.
Question (2) If I lived in Mackay I would do it for $50/week, be on the boat once a week and probably take her for a sail once a month. I don't know if you could find anybody like me in Mackay.
Question (3) Due to the popularity of the area there are no cheap yacht storage areas.
You want to safely store the yacht through the cyclone season. That is a big ask.
I would just keep your boat in WA and buy another in Qld. Buy something not too flash and keep it on a mooring.
jarrah moves a lot in qld with big changes in humidity unlike wa where the humidity stays fairly low topsides will move about considerably do not keep her out of the water for more than 2 weeks at a time antifoul every 12 months or less with good antifoul preferably keep covers over the boat
It's sad to see a timber boat on the hard. Unless it is just a quick antifoul, you know that the boat will never see the water again.
Select to expand quoteboty said..
jarrah moves a lot in qld with big changes in humidity unlike wa where the humidity stays fairly low topsides will move about considerably do not keep her out of the water for more than 2 weeks at a time antifoul every 12 months or less with good antifoul preferably keep covers over the boat
As Boty indicates above definitely a bad idea. We've had a jarrah planked boat out for about si weeks in the shade & went ok on relaunch, in the wind & sun that planking will pull back off the caulking and very hard to come back from. 8-10 months is a better slipping schedule and can well end up cheaper, if you stretch to two years often that deferred maintenance will bite hard.
Jeff.
I live in Mackay marina and if you contact me here we can come to some arrangement I will look after it for you
I am very experienced and a good boat builder to boot.
There are some good marinas around Hervey bay , not an unpleasant sail from there to Mackay and back twice a year, might give you a few more options and miss a few cyclones too.
Select to expand quotewhiteout said..
I live in Mackay marina and if you contact me here we can come to some arrangement I will look after it for you
I am very experienced and a good boat builder to boot.
With your experience and skills, what would your answers be to the three questions in my first post Whiteout ?
(1) leave it in the water and this will reduce the possibility of opening up the seams from drying out the timbers.
(2) Costs in any marina are high always when you are paying for it I pay less than the marina pricing and they are private berths avail for approx. $600 per month for a 10m berth depends on the owner I can find one for you if you like. the hardstand pricing if you take it out in the Mackay Shipyard is avail online you can do the search you pay the removal fee and a cost so many $ per foot per month. You don't state how long your boat is nor the hull paint or dynel sheathing and what antifoul you use you must use a Tropical Blend Antifoul or have you copper sheaved the boat below the waterline?
(3) there is another slipway in the pioneer river and depending on your draft you can get cheap haul-out there, you need to inform me of your measurements.
You need full comprehensive insurance here in Mackay Marina in case of a cyclone. I have sat quite a few out and it's no fun.
Can you post some photos and give some details?
Cisco.. although carvel planked I did coat all sides of all planks with 3 coats of epoxy sealer (International Everdure) prior to planking. I built this boat myself. Prior to fastening each plank the inboard surface was also undercoated with the International grey Yacht Primer then a coat of British Paints enamel paint. I did tests on samples of jarrah and the epoxy sealer to prove to myself that sealing the timber worked when fully immersed in water. It did and so I applied Everdure to every piece of timber on the boat, but especially the planks.
Other data for you Whiteout.... it's 9.9m LOA, weighs 6.5 tonnes, underwater hull painted with International Yacht Primer grey undercoat (after the epoxy sealer) then International Micron Extra antifoul, topsides International Yacht Primer grey undercoat then International single pack top coat. Seams cotton caulked followed by Sikaflex primer and Sikaflex 291 to fill the seams. The 291 product was what the technical expert at Sikaflex recommended at the time.
After launching I had some problems with the Sikaflex adhering to the seams so replaced a few leaky seams with the Fixtech product which worked perfectly. Sikaflex is now banned from use on my boat.
The boat has been on the hardstand in my front yard in Perth for 3 years and 95% of the planks have not moved. Relative humidity records for Perth show a range of between roughly 50% and 80%. Mackay relative humidity records show a range of between 65% and 80%. I do plan to strip the planks back to raw timber, re seal with Wattyl epoxy sealant, redo the seams (with the Fixtech product) before I move it to Mackay.
Average temperatures in Mackay are about 2 degrees cooler than Perth so I'm guessing placing the boat on the hardstand for 7 months each year should be okay. But I thought it best to check with QLD people before I conclude too much.
Photos attached...
Please, the pics shown show a nice full keel boat, I reckon that if you leave it on the hard in the tropics for the time you say the next pics will show a nice pile of firewood, by all means move it to the tropics but ,please leave it in the water and have someone look after it.
Just my experienced opinion. Cheers.
I have seen before on hardstands, boats with very large tarp (full canvas not plastic) pulled up all sides and then partially filled with water. That should keep the humidity up to stop shrinkage, and if water level checked regularly (and a bit of algaecide and chlorine added to stop mould). That may work (no marine borers on hard stand!).
No personal experience, so more research needed.
