Fiberglass Hulled Wooden Boats

It's Alumni Work Week here at WoodenBoat School--the time when a gang of dedicated students from years past return to help commission the boats and campus for the coming season. They're a dedicated bunch, these alumni, and they read WoodenBoat carefully. So we editors, Mike and Tom and I, took advantage of a long rainy lunch hour today to have a magazine focus group.
    Lots of good ideas and criticisms emerged; one, in particular, deserves to be aired to a wider audience. Here it is: Should WoodenBoat focus editorial attention on fitting wooden interiors and deck furniture to fiberglass hulls?
    Now hang on. I'm not saying this is going to happen, but I imagine that those words will stir some passions. It was, however, rather illuminating that of the forty people in that room, only one was dead-set against the idea. Others embraced it, some arguing that they owned "fiberglass-hulled wooden boats."
    The editorial definition of "wooden boat" at WoodenBoat has always held that the principal hull material must be wood, so "fiberglass-hulled wooden boat" is an oxymoron in our view of things. But the fact that there are wooden boat building processes applicable to the fitting out of fiberglass hulls does get an editor to considering the possibilities in this topic. Does the encouraging of good joinery on fiberglass hulls belong in our magazine? Would we be seen as abandoning our principles, or expanding them? The people in that room today embraced the idea, but they're a small sample.
    So, what do you think? Tell us by using the comments toggle below, not by e-mail: Does an article on the fitting out, in wood, of a fiberglass hull advance our editorial mission, or diminish it?

Comments

[Lance F. Gunderson]

Just think when you're out there next time in your wooden hulled antique and it's blowing 35k; you remember all those hundreds of seams, butt blocks and fittings, any one of which could sink you in seconds if it comes loose or fails. Do you really believe a wooden hull is better than a one-piece solid fiberglass hull? I don't.

[Ken Lloyd]

While there is nothing wrong in fitting out a bare fibreglass hull with a wooden interior and deck structure, I think your magazine should stick to its current charter - WOODEN boats. There is enough material to cover here - traditional, modern composite, etc, without side-tracking into other materials. Having said all that, I must confess to sheathing my new strip planked 18' launch with 12 oz glass cloth!

[Timothy B]

It is vitally important that WoodenBoat REMAIN WoodenBoat, not just for the sake of tradition, but for very sound marketing reasons.

You folks have a niche, and are at the top of that niche. You focus on WoodenBoats and nary a fiberglass boat will grace your pages. That IS the draw of the magazine.

Sure, the perception is that including FG boats will expand your readership.. but think about that more carefully. Your core readers, myself included, subscribe to WB because it is only about that topic. I already patronize GoodOldBoat from time to time when I want FG information, and there are so many other publications that embrace FG boating, you would get lost in a sea of competition. You would also, likely enough, lose many subscriptions.

Those people who like the idea of including FG are generalists. They are not necesarily 'soulful' about WoodenBoats and probably patronize other publications. So, although they do form a good part of your readership, they are not the CORE. The evangelists who fuel your engine I think are the most important, and if you switched, you would lose them in droves.

Moving even a small amount towards allowing fiberglass hulled boats into your pages is very similar to someone compromising on principle to take advantage of a perceived benefit in an action. It almost never bears fruit of the kind you want, and you are forever changed and tainted by that action.

[Philip C. Ludlow]

I am going to have to vote NO to articles about finishing out a glass or aluminium boat with wood. However,an article about how wood is being used in inovative ways in new boats would be very interesting. Pictures of examples of wood interiors in aluminum boats could be used and acknowleged with notes for adapting the connection to a coldmolded or traditional hull. The subject of interiors and trim could be a series of articles. And one other thing ,I have very few complaints about Wooden Boat but I do have one big suggestion. I want a centerfold! (I'll settle for a center spread). Lets face it,most of us spend more time starring at pictures of the perfect curves of wooden boats Than anything else(It is safer),so give us something to stare at! Just one each month. Include a comment about the asthetics of the subject or the orderlyness in a shop that surounds a beautiful new wooden boat or just a gorgeous spray on the deck photo to look at in February. You could even chose an interesting interior shot. About the other comments, yes to cheap ads for boat stuff, keep it off E-bay. How about a name this mystery part or tool column. An article or two about old bronze hardware manufacturers with photo's of the actual goods. A page for the hard core traditionalist with sources and reviews of traditional materials. How about a recipy book for traditional paints,sealants, lubricants, Get people rendering tallow and mixing linsead oil and driers,and pine tar and treenails (now that's cool).Like one of your other writers suggested, even if we get nuked we will still be able to build a wooden boat. But most of all I need a pin up wooden boat photo.

[Bill Bliss]

Centerfold: YES
Fiberglass: NO
The current editorial definition of wooden boat (which is fairly expansive) is just about perfect. But leave it at that -- don't take another step down that slippery slope.
-wcb

[Doug Reeve]

If the hull isn't wood it's not a wooden boat. Don't think there's much more to say. Doug

[Jeff Stevens]

From a Purist's standpoint, it would be heresy. That said, sucessful innovation has been the backbone of boatbuilding (and everything else in human evolution). Yes, we all feel proud and love the beauty of an all-wood boat, however I see no problem in owning or finishing a glass or composite hull in wood. My only wish is that a manufacturer would offer "partial" or what I'd call "waterline" finishable hulls. That way we could still have our adored wood sides & transoms. Feel free to send check or money order for my residuals.

[T. Shaw]

I am, overall, against this concept for the elequent reaosn noted by folks above. I will admit, however, to the strength of my view being entirely dependant on the plastic boat in question. If someone is going to dress up some 32'tub with 5' of freebaord, please let them showcase their work elsewhere. If however, someone is adding some bling bling to a nice glass hull (e.g., a Hinkley), then I would be only mildly offended and may even read with interest. Its all about the lines and style...

[Bob Cleek]

Ditto! Focus on wood. Besides, fitting wood interiors in glass hulls has been done well already. If anybody needs the info, they'll find it in Ferenc Mate's "From a Bare Hull." Good book - but off topic for WB.

[Finny Lopagus]

Just found a nice old Columbia Contender 24' If you remember the Islander designed and built by McGlassen, this is the same hull shape. To the point, the boat has a strong pedigree and has tested the open seas. Her lines are classic and design simple. Why should She not be considered a wooden boat?