A very quick post just to let you see the great job Adrian has done to re-timber my boat. I bought her 18 years ago and she was in poor shape back then (hence the very low price I paid for her). Adrian’s father put a new back board on her for me and despite some hard abuse she has been a wonderful boat for me. Her stability in even the roughest conditions is amazing. The past couple of seasons had caught up with her though. Rot on the ends of some of the seats, three damaged knees and finally some severe damage to the left thwart inflicted during a storm last summer meant it was time to replace all the wood.
As a rough guide, unless you have a boat shed to store your lake boat over the winter months, about twenty years seems to be around an average lifespan for Irish boat timber. My McAlinden is well over the 20 year mark so I guess it did well.
There is always a temptation to mess around with the layout of a boat when it is in for major repairs. I resisted making any changes this time, but I did ponder adding a small cubby in the front. In the end I decided it would be too small to be of any practical use so I kept the timber exactly the same as it was originally.
In a related development I had a towbar fitted to the car last weekend. Not that I am planning on constantly moving my lake boat around but at least I have the option of towing her if required. All in all, I am just about ready for the 2024 season, whatever that might bring!
Claretbumbler 