wooden sailboat question

[Andrew Nason]

Hi, I'm thinking about building a wooden sailboat 22 to 30 ft (big enough for one live aboard). What designs would you recomend (keeping under concideration that I am on a tight budget and only have a little expirience with boat-building)?

[LP]

Buy a used fiberglass boat. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I don't know if there is such a thing as building a boat on a tight budget. You don't want to scrimp on materials. i.e. use substandard materials especially on the hull.. it's false economy.

With limited experience, you'll want to look at either strip-built or stitch-n-glue type builds. Both use fiberglass and epoxy. You could even track down a copy of S.S.Rabl's "Boatbuilding in your own backyard." For the most part, it's pre-epoxy and the design's don't generally use it. I'd stick with an epoxy encapsulation technique for your build though. It costs more, but you'll increase the longevity of your boat. Strip-built takes longer, but the material costs are cheaper. You scrounge through your local lumber yards for the best pieces of cedar as opposed to buying clear port orford.

gotta go

[ChrisF]

What LP said, but especially what he said first. Used fiberglass hulls needing a rebuild are a glut on the market; there will still be PLENTY of boatbuilding to do and the end result will probably be cheaper and more satisfactory.

BUT not all old glass hulls are equal. Some are slow solid cruisers, some are flighty high-strung racers, some are in between, and some are not worth a minute of anybody's time. You need to be able to answer that part of the question you asked, yourself: what kind of boat do I want?

[longliner45]

a good kit boat is nice ,,,all the hard stuff has been thought of , usually has good instructions,and is a good learning experianceI usually try to speak from experiance , I just about have a 32ft spencer done,.good luck,longliner

[LP]

Too continue though, The strip-built hull is going to take more time, but you can end up with a nice round hull from the process.

On the other hand, you can build a stitch-n-glue (plywood) hull which will be a quicker easier hull, but there is the issue of buying mass quantities of marine grade ply (and nothing less). Devlin has a book on the subject.

Look for some books on strip-building and stitch-n-glue and get familiar with the techniques.

Another area where you can save money is in your choices in hardware. If your interest is in function and not fashion (high tech gadgetry and materials), I've found that HYE (Holland Yacht Equipment) has a line very resonably priced phenolic blocks.

Finish is another area where $$ can be saved. If you can live with a workboat finish, you can avoid high-tech high cost marine finishes.

Hope this helps. The hardest part in building your boat will be in choosin the design. Take your time, do your research, and look at lots and lots of plans. Look at plans that aren't necessarily what you want or build technique. Eventually, one design will stand out as the one that fits your needs.

Good luck.

[Hunter25]

A sharpie style of hull out of plywood over frames would be the simplest to do and cost the least. Stitch and glue may be faster, probably stronger and longer lived, but much more expensive then plywood on frame. A Vee bottom hull would give more interior room and headroom at the longer end of his size range.

Anything with lots of epoxy, like taped seam, stitch and glue, strip plank, etc. or fiberglass coatings will substantially increase the cost of construction. A 22' boat will be crude camping conditions to live in. A 30' boat will provide head room and some living space. If shallow draft is not a requirement, then I would be thinking about a deep hulled, single chine boat of plywood and oil paint finishes. There are many different designs to choose from and many designers to work with, but very little about building a live aboard yacht is inexpensive. Home Depot lumber and plywood can get you on the water, but a live aboard needs to be made of pretty good materials because it is in the water all the time, which Home Depot does not carry.Try looking for a boat you like at:

(A to M) www.boat-links.com/linklists/boatlink-16.html#plans

(N to Z) http://www.boat-links.com/linklists/boatlink-17.html#top

[lewisboats]

You could look into Beuhler's plans, especially for Hagar... It may be too old fashioned styling wise for you but it caught my eye. His book is a treat to read too, I read it like a novel...twice.

Steve

[mobjack68]

ferrocement