Restoring an old cedar strip boat

I'm looking at a 1949 20' runabout outboard . It needs a full restoration but has never been fiberglassed. 
 Am I completely out of my mind? I've built some smaller wood boats but never tackled anything this big. Should I just jump in or run?

Can't say without pictures.

I would say it depends.    how long as it been out of water?  is the wood all shrunk, dried and cracked?

In reply to Wayslow :

Is it Cedar or Cyprus? Many from that era were Cyprus. Either way, price out the lumber before committing. You might be very surprised. 

It's not really a situation where you can get away with a substitute wood. Woods under the water line need to be the same so they soak and expand the same/similar. 

Here's a link to the local guy for wood boat restoration... 

http://www.homesteadhardwoods.com/random.html

John Welsh said:

In reply to Wayslow :

Is it Cedar or Cyprus? Many from that era were Cyprus.

Or Cypress.    They could have been made of mahogany or a number of other woods as well.  

It all depends on the condition of the boat, your woodworking skills, and if you're up to the ongoing maintenance that will be required.  I've always admired them (I once owned a neat old cedar strip boat myself) but ultimately they're more work than I was willing to put up with.

Didn't someone on here once say that to own a wood boat you must understand that over years of ownership you will complete replace the entire boat one board at a time?  Not for me. I'd rather go boating. 

There are ways of making a wooden boat less maintenance-intense.  It was different in the 40s/50s when your only real choice was varnish.  With modern epoxies, urethanes, and adhesives, it's much easier.  Still a challenge, but not nearly as bad.

I've personally only owned one wooden boat and it was completely bulletproof... until it wasn't.  I went to the dock one morning and it was hanging by the mooring ropes with just the top of the engine cowl above water.  It was fine.  We got it up and on the trailer.  We dried out the motor and got it running right away.  I let the boat dry for a week or so and patched the leak.

From what I understand, as long as the existing wood is still solid, you have a good foundation.  Replacing wood is not only expensive, but it takes one heck of a skilled artisan to do it.  If the wood is solid and you can get a good, durable, modern finish on it, you should be OK.  I think the go-to is a special sprayable epoxy these days.  It's not unlike fiberglass, but instead of glass cloth, the epoxy bonds with the wood and more or less makes the hull a big clear plastic shell over the wood.  As long as you continuously check for cracks and keep the water out of the wood, it would be a fine boat.

Granted, wood's inability to bend on multiple planes means that the hull design can't excel at much.  Think of it like driving a 1950 Chevy.  You have to love the novelty of driving an old vehicle, but it doesn't compare to the comfort and easy driving experience of a Camry.