37' lobster cruiser going into the shop

[Smartbomb]

This gem is quickly coming off the boards and going into the shop. Her topsides are Ellis-ish but the hull is 100% Maine lobsterboat. I'm going for classic design but modern appointments and features. 20 years ago, I owned a 1950 Jonesport 30' cedar-on-oak open cockpit workboat very similar to this hull, and while it was my dream to take her to this level of topside finish, I ultimately sold my whole business to a local, including 250 traps and got out of the lobstering business, and just in time.

This as-yet unnamed vessel is 37'-1" LOA and beamy at 12'-0" OA. She draws 3'-1" by design and I'll power her with a single fresh-water cooled Volvo Penta 5-cyl diesel, probably the D3-190. I'm going for economical, stable operation, and not terribly concerned about speed or I'd have picked a different hull style. By design she should do 18 knots cruising but with the right horsepower I could open it up to much more. I'm primarily concerned with open water safety and ability to safely take rough seas, hence the high bow lines and substantial flare. She'll be cold-molded in MG ply to a hull thickness of 1 1/8" and glassed. Fitout is still TBD but I'm imagining teak decks over FG and mahogany ply interior if there is enough $$ left over after the important stuff is done.

Accomodations are ample for extended cruising/liveaboard but not crazy. There is at least 6'-3" headroom everywhere and comfortable sleeping accomodations for four adults (two aft, two forward) and three kids if you count the sectional sofa and convertible bunk dinette. She's got most of the creature comforts you'd expect on a larger vessel - dishwasher (an ingenious under-the-sink model to save space), oven/range, stack wash/dryer and stand-up shower. She'll hold a power plant up to 1500 lbs but since the D3-190 is only ~500, I've got some capacity for additional gear without taking a performance hit.

I'm planning to live aboard her by myself. As a divorced parent of two cats, I have the flexibility to live pretty much anywhere I want, and I'm sick of rediculous real estate taxes as well as the upkeep of a large home. I'm liquidating my construction business to pay for the boat in cash, and taking a full time no hassle job in construction management for a firm in Boston where I could probably hang out until retirement. I'm really looking forward to a life without mortgage payments! I'll be tying her up in seasonally in Salem (summer) and Boston (winter), and spending warm weather weekends/vacations cruising the Cape, Islands, and the Maine coast. When I'm not cruising, I'll have a fantastic waterfront two bedroom home - perfect for a single guy like me!

Comments are welcome but I'm not interested in being pilloried. I'm a fairly experienced builder, confident in my skills and comfortable with a project of this scale. I've built much larger and more complicated terrestrial projects, so while this might have a learning curve it's not going to be outrageous. I'll also be subbing out work that is either not fun or not my area of expertise (i.e. engine/manifold install, electrical, etc). My schedule is aggressive - hull/timbers & FG before cold weather, topsides enclosed before snow flies, and fitout through the winter with a late spring launch.

Here are the very basic schematics. I'll post working drawings as they come along:

Accomodations Plan:


Starboard Side Elevation:

[Figgy]

Looks good, but I think I'd lose the fwd. cabin (bunks) for something more useful. I've always liked the idea of a small work space, but it doesnt work for some people. Otherwise, call me when you get up here
-Fig

[Smartbomb]

Thanks for the reply. I am always trying to get friends/family out on the water with me, and since I hope to spend a good chunk of the summer out in Wellfleet or back home on Westport Island, I'd like the extra sleeping space for adults. Then again, I don't want to make them TOO comfortable

Where do you hail from?

[Figgy]

I'm in Scarborough for now, just south of Portland. I love it here!
I'm no designer (yet), but it looks like she sits kinda high in the water. With such a large profile I'm not sure she'd be stable in rough seas.

[Tad]

SmartB,

Have a look at my Power Boat Design article, find a design called White Pine. She is a 38' by 12'7" cruising yacht takeoff on a Maine Lobster boat. The main difference in the hull is that White Pine has her engine much further aft that the typical Lobster boat, as your arrangement above will also require. This means the form needs to change to move LCB aft, deeper transom and finer forward. You will also need to move the rudder and prop further aft. Note that draft is about 3'10".

White Pine weighs about 21,000 pounds and her top speed is about 15 knots with 300 HP. Cruising speed 12-14 knots, your performance will be similar.

Find the article here (bottom of page) in pdf form http://www.tadroberts.ca/about/publications/

[Willallison]

I would concur with Tad - 18 knots out of a single 190hp diesel seems somewhat optomistic.
BTW - Tad - I couldn't find the link to White Pine.....

[Tad]

Will,

The lines of White Pine are buried in the article " Powerboat Design: Form and Function and Their Effect on Performance."

Just click on the PDF button.

Eventually all the boats will get their own pages on the site.

Tad

[Willallison]

Ah - got it now - and I recall the article. I remember reading it over and over at the time - and I've referred to it a few times since...
Web site's looking good BTW