River boat design

Hunting for ideas here, for two people to live a comfy life aboard a river boat that has oodles of room, could run on electricity with outboard back up, be pet compliant and last for many years , how would you do it?, i wish to self design, I reckon on twin pontoons probably glassed ply, need a starting point, this is not my first dance with building boats, need ideas from those who have done it, doing it or contemplating doing it

 

hi timetogo, I am first and foremost a catamaran man and have designed a few river boats but what sort of size are we talking and what speed, accommodation etc. do you want top deck use or are we talking small trailerable and a few months at a time or permanent liveaboard. Your forum name also says it all, how much time have you got to go, and how much time do you want to spend building versus enjoying. Not that you wouldnt find being covered in itchy grinding dust jammed in a small hole fun,I just thought you might enjoy cruising up a lovely peaceful river more. check out mundoo river cruisers they are a development of the famous tennessee design by the great Mr Bolger. or are we talking something bigger here. I dont see the value in ply anymore, foam and glass is nearly as cheap and the build process is much easier and the interior much smoother and easier to fair/paint etc. And best of all they get good resale and no rot. I have designed some smaller trailerable cats with minimal accommodation that are optimised for two people, full kingsize bed etc. they are designed to do double duty as a caravan so I can do lake Argyle, Lady Musgrave Island or the Murray whenever I want. try to narrow down your specs a bit more and you should get a lot more help on the forum. There are some really great designers on here and lots of really knowledgeable amateurs but they need somewhere to start. A bit more info and I may be of more help.
Cheers

 

Oh really ? Where do you shop. Some links would be great. I cant find foam sheets cheaper than plywood anywhere in Australia, and you use a lot less lass on plywood.

 

I can't find foam in the USA cheaper than plywood either, then there's the additional cost, materials and effort of making it a structural element.