Rot Never Sleeps: a Lyle Hess 24 just like Serraphyn?

A while back there were not one but two LH24s for sale nationally. A green one in Hobart which was valued a little more, but looked the better boat in photos & the readup was more about her quality build & recent care.  The pale blue & white boat, located in tropical waters had a very different writeup. It quickly stated that she had "cruised extensively about Australia & South East Asia" before waxing lyrical about dreams & being like the Pardeys. 
Guess which boat is still for sail literally rotting away at her mooring lines?




So, this informs my boat search how? Well, very simply I will avoid all timber craft. Not only because this ome boat has rot, but because I was already concerned that timber yachts are hellishly expensive to repair, but also potentially very unsafe to the new to wooden boats sailor. 
I looked at a sheathed timber  H28 locally some months ago. I saw wonderful coloured timbers below, all hidden behind a "protective" sheath of epoxy & mat ... & wondered how it breathes, where any moisture goes & what it does when it gets there. It generated many questions, too many. As I sat on deck trying to lety excitement bleed away, I leaned back & managed to find a spongy section of deck beam forward of the hatch! Literally the highest point of the hull & deck structure, was boggy to touch. It happens.  


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