he first golden rule when considering buying a wooden boat is… don’t. The second golden rule is that if someone offers to give you a wooden boat for free it will cost you even more. The third golden rule is that when you’ve fallen in love with that beautiful sheer line and honey-coloured varnish and hand-crafted cabinetry there really is no point in getting a survey, because you know that unless the marine surveyor says it’s planked in low-grade kitchen-carcass chipboard you’re going to buy it anywaay. And that’s exactly
