Classic sailboats are on the rise!

[TomY]

That goes without saying as the field of older boats grows.

What is a classic sailboat? The term used to mean only boats built of wood. That changed as FRP builds aged. Today, an 'antique boat' to many (municipalities for registration) is 30 years or built prior to 1999.

The evidence of the growing classic sailboat appeal shows in the classic boat racing circuit in New England.

This type of racing started centuries ago around the globe when old boats meant wood boats. In my area one of the biggest racing events is the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta. An exclusively wooden boat race that continues to grow. It's a competitive event which draws racers from around the world. For some, this event is enough reason to own a wooden boat.

Even as the exclusive wooden boat racing grows, it's had to wrestle with newcomers. Wooden boat design has embraced new technology as the industry evolves. "Spirit of Tradition" designs (starting 1975), have added a whole new (and confusing), definition to the classic boat field.

Classic Plastic, a term coined for the aging fiberglass pioneers that began to flood the market in the 60's, is losing traction as a label now that many of these boats continue to age into their 60's and beyond.

There isn't a universal definition for old boats.

Classic Boat Magazine, a UK pub.(since 1987), defines classic boats as, "Boats which endure".

I like that definition, it speaks to enduring design not building materials and seems to be the future of classic sailboats.

The future is now. Classic is the new inclusive term for the growing fleet of non-new sailboats on the racing circuit. And that circuit, at least in New England is growing.

In my area there is a week + of racing dedicated to 'classic boats' that includes every sailboat that wants to race.

Here on in Maine, it's hard to group boat styles by age anymore.

The newest race, https://www.camdenclassicscup.com/ , is growing rapidly. What boats qualify? Everybody! I suppose a new production boat would qualify but I haven't seen one in ages.

The eclectic field of classic boats is growing. New composite builds, new wooden boats, fiberglass boats older than wooden boats, designs that endure are the 'new' classic boats.

How about your area? Any classic boat racing?

 

[sailnoproblem]

Not into the race scene. But I love the classic look. I guess that is what attracted me to my 34C.
I always get complements on her. Built in 69, and going strong at 50.

 

[jon hansen]

designed well over 100 years ago, the A scow is a great classic race boat. possible the oldest one design racing class in north america.

my brother and i campaign one on sturgeon bay making us the fastest sailors on the bay, bar none.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

My Rhodes Meridian sure falls in the "classic Plastic" field. Built in the De Vries yard in Holland in 1961. Hull number 10.

At one time there was a quite active online forum titled Plastic Classic. It has sadly faded away

Tom- that first picture is fantastic

 

[capta]

I'm hearing more and more that wooden boats are becoming prohibitively expensive to insure. That in itself will swing the market to the more affluent individuals.
There are always, Rhodes, Aldens, and Herreshoffs for sail at a fair price, in reasonable condition, but the money it takes to maintain the can be astronomical, certainly not a reasonable choice for the dreamer without the financial backing.
Even the organizations that sail replicas like the Pride of Baltimore and others, not to mention the Bounty, are/were always near catastrophe when it comes to maintenance money, and they have some pretty affluent backers.
I've owned and sailed a 1909 Wm. Hand through the South Seas, sailing on numerous large old wooden boats as crew before 1970, several nearing 100, and we worked our poor unpaid butts off maintaining them.
My last professional captain's job was operating a 1906 sailing boat and though we did break even that year (the first since the owner bought the boat) it wasn't a great deal.
USCG will not give a COI to wooden boats anymore, unless possibly for new builds, and that's a narrow path to walk.
Love them, admire them, look on them from afar, but don't even dream of owning a wooden "classic" if you haven't got deep pockets, really deep pockets.

 

[JRT]

This is the time of the year that I really miss living in Maine! In the "plan" the wife and I will take the C310 out of her protected freshwater life and around the gulf and up the coast to Maine for Summer time cruising. That probably will be in 10 years if the plan holds, so will my 2003 be a classic then!

 

[jon hansen]

absolutely!

 

[jon hansen]

i grew up in a wood boat family. dad bought a 38' alden for $2,000.00. owned it 13 years. sold it for $2,000.00. before that he had a 1922 star and a 1936 lightning. he trained me to help him. 100% of the work we did ourselves. ribs, planks, caulk, new canvas deck, paint, varnish, ......... all the other boats at the club were wood too. all the owners did there own work. the boat was ready for each season and sailed allot. the maintenance was 12 months a year for every one. the club was a sailing club and allot of sailing was done. that was sailing back then. it was not that hard. it was all year long on different projects. dad's car's trunk was full of tools and paints and caulks, etc. year round. because i was always willing to help him, he also trained me to sail. by the time i was 14 i was allowed to use the boat with my friends without him. today people stand around the docks drinking and such. back then all the owners were tweeking their boats or sailing. boats had crews, made up of friends that helped with all the projects and in return got to sail. owners and crews, their were many people around the docks always prepping vessels. the focus was on sailing, not kabobs and beers. it was not expensive to own a 38' wood boat, but you had to do the work. their was no electronics to spend money on or fix.
i've been sailing with a crew my whole life. never single handed a boat , ever. don't want to. i like sharing the wealth. for me it's more fun.
oh yeah, dad's boat did not have engines. we sailed in and out of the club as did most of the others. some were auxiliary's but most were not. and the tools were all hand tools as well i remember when a friend bought a belt sander, very high tech. we sanded the hull annually with sanding board. drilled with a bit and a brace. scrapped with cut up saw blade sections.

Tom understands all this as we see him take care of Christmas. well done Tom
on aeolus there is not a nut or bolt or screw or rope that i do not know and understand.
it takes 21 ropes to fly five sails reaching down the bay, then we can dump all those and throw up jibs to drive back up the bay, up the channel, through the bridge to the dock. for me that's sailing.

 

[jon hansen]

on door county there can be two sea breezes. one off green bay, the other off lake michigan. they oppose each other. in the video i get back winded a bunch as the two winds fight each other. i also have to ghost through the dead zone between them to sail home. i love this stuff.
playing chess with mother nature. when boats had no engines this was the norm. i never gave one order, the crew knew what to do. they all have top skills

 

[jon hansen]

classic boat require classic captains

 

[Jumpstart]

Whitehawk sold to guy in Chicago this year. Will be sailing in the Chicago Mac. 105 ft. 7'6" board up, 16.5 ft board down. Nice fireplace for the cold nights in Northern Michigan. Refined racing at its best.

 

[capta]

Funny. I was thinking of Whitehawk when I wrote the above post.
As for tools, about the dumbest thing I did was give my caulking tools to the guy who bought the 1909 ketch.
Maybe I'll never own another wooden boat, but anytime I'd need some cash there was always a wooden boat owner looking for a good caulker. However, it is one of those things one can not do w/o the proper tools, and they are near impossible to find these days. Took years to gather a for every seam.

 

[Kermit]

Old Boat = The Only Kind of Boat I Can Afford

 

[jon hansen]

electrician, plumber, mason, carpenter, .......................................... wood boat owner1 it's like being a tradesman, but for fun

 

[Roadking Larry]

My Cal 2-27 (it's for sale ) is 42 years old, my Seawind MKII is 41 years old. I can't afford a proper wooden boat.
I do have long range desire to maybe build a small sailing dingy once I'm done with the refit on the Seawind.
Sadly, and not surprisingly, there just aren't many wooden boats to be seen on the lakes in Oklahoma. But on a positive note, I just found out today that a member of my sailing club has just acquired a classic Herreshoff 12-1/2.

 

[Close Call]

Here on the Rappahanock in Virginia there is the well attended Turkey Shoot Regatta in the fall. It's proceeds benefit local hospice organizations. All entries must be designs at least 20 years old. Last year had nearly 100 entries.

 

[TomY]

Wood, fiberglass - old boats aren't easy or cheap to keep up. But they are so affordably priced these days that overall, it doesn't have to be that expensive to own and sail a nice old boat.

The supply for the buyer is big today but doesn't change the demand market much from what I observe.

While new boat buyers - custom or production - often flip their boats rapidly, most of us hold onto a boat for a decade or two.

Compare that to houses where the general market flips on a 7 or 8 year average and it's easy to see why used boat buyers are few and far between. Housing market is usually soft, boat market - perpetually so.

So the good ones stack up in the supply chain and compete for the few buyers. Result: Lower prices on good boats, land fill for neglected.

Here's a friend that just bought a 'new' used boat. Her first boat was a Stonehorse, a classic boat.

She, with reluctant sailor husband, and two very young boys learned (literally-none grew up sailing)to sail on the small boat. I used to think their chances of staying in the sailing life was 50/50.

The boys are now sailors (local classes), she is now a more confident yet intelligently cautious sailor. The reluctant husband - changed - says, "Why don't we get a bigger boat?"

Ha! 'Seize the moment' she says to me.

What are you going to get? I ask, a fascinating subject to me as it seems newish sailors buy the wrong boat as often as the right. Remember, we're on the coast of Maine where weather and conditions dictate boat style, the North Atlantic is off our moorings.

I was afraid I'd hear "Kitchen, large shower, flat screen TV,...."

First thing she says, "well,... older, classic,..." I'm thinking "good answer." Not flashy people, she's looking cautiously in the 30 to 35' range instead of the 40'+ that she could afford (but knows well the $$ trap of boats now paying others to do the work on a 26' older but pristine boat-she writes the checks).

Both working and successful approaching 40-ish, she (she is the boat buyer-not that rare today around here).

She makes a good offer on a 60's Hinckley Pilot 35. "Bravo!" I say. She is wise beyond her shortish sailing life. The boat, as with most Hinckley's, is well maintained and reasonably but conservatively upgraded by the last owner of many years. The cost (about the same as many new cars today) seems reasonable to me.

The family will have a blast on that amazingly small 35'er having having learned on a small 26'er. Then they will enjoy their new range the stronger and able Pilot will afford as they get to places out of their reach in the 26. Durability: The Pilot will deliver as it's built of strong components and parts that don't wear out. She can fall into the Hinckley $$$ trap and overdo the maintenance, or fall into a more reasonable cost category. I'm sure she'll fall into the latter.

In the end a bit more $$ up front, she'll get great value out of that Pilot with boys prime age and a game husband. A real sailboat for a coastal Maine sailing family.

I can't resist looking into the future and mention a B-40 down the road.

She laughs "Ha!" And I think she means it. A H-Pilot has been a last boat for many.

Not this Pilot but she did find one of the rare Pilot yawls (brilliant!).

 

[jon hansen]

i had to look up the meaning of 'eclectic'. it was beyond my scope