CAT Design/ers needed

[vinnyt]

Ok new to this site so please help if you can. I'm planning on building an aluminum CAT power boat for fishing. 32'-34 feet in length and 10'-12' feet wide. Any one now where I can find info on designs and layout? I've walked the docks and talked to some aluminum mono hull builders, which helped. But I want info on spacing and angles. Please help if you can. Will trade fish for info!

[CORMERAN]

To vinnyt :

We built a sport/ fish catamaran - at 25' x 8'.
That topped over 40 mph.
This vessel design can easily be extended to:.
( twin 150 Merc. O/B )

- 34' x 12'.

The offer of fish, in the distant future,
is tempting........ however...

This successfull project was the result of
many years of study and research.

Why do you expect people to give away such
hard earned knowledge ?!

Especialy, when a poor choice in deadrise angle,
or a badly designed tunnel between the hulls,
or a builder delivering an over weight craft,
- can turn a potential greyhound into a very
sick dog.

Cheers !

[bilgeboy]

I was thinking of building a small boat this winter myself, probably not aluminum. Maybe you should rephrase your question, though, for a better response.

Is there anybody interested in sharing ideas on boat design and construction at a web page dedicated to the sharing of ideas on boat design and construction?

Mike

[Stephen Ditmore]

Someone should be able to calculate your scantlings using the program HullScant, available at http://www.wumtia.soton.ac.uk/software.html

Concerning ideas & guidance, my suggestion is Bilgeboy & VinnyT talk up people in their own areas and report back to each other here.

Multihulls magazine is in the Boston area, and designer Chris White is also in Massachusetts.
http://www.hydrocompinc.com/ is in Durham, NH
http://www.shipmotion.com/ is in Portland, ME
The Landing School is in Kennebunkport/Arundel, ME. Perhaps a student will volunteer to design your boat as a final project, under teacher supervision.

The following are in California:
http://www.morrellimelvin.com/
http://www.waterplane.com/ (Tim Kernan used to work for Morrelli-Melvin)
http://www.mshipco.com/
http://www.knightandcarver.com/NewCo...ion/?c=MShip80

The Australians have done good work in aluminum catamarans. Go to http://www.baird.com.au/, click on Marine Industry Links, then on Vessel Designers and Builders.

I also like what this Pacific NW company is doing: http://www.mooseboats.com/

Sometimes suppliers can help you out.... Hamilton Jet, for example, or FormSys, Australian developer of MaxSurf software.

Refine what you want, post specific questions here, and I'll try to steer you in good directions.

Good Luck!
Stephen

P.S. Are you trying to actually have this boat pay for itself as a commercial venture? I've been working on a fishing vessel economic optimization spreadsheet. If you'd like to be a tester, write me at stephen@fraplaster.com.

[StianM]

If you give me the desired mashurement in metric scale I can give it a try just for fun.

Don't blame me if it's horible to ride the waves.

[Stephen Ditmore]

Here's a good article about an aluminum boat project and the steps needed to bring it off:
http://www.proboat-digital.com/proboat/200604/
Click "Pages" at the top, then click on page 12.

Here's a guy designing and building interesting FRP catamaran hulls at a reasonable cost (you can buy hulls from him and do the rest yourself!): http://www.skimmercatamarans.com/

Steve Baker, who participates in these forums as SailDesign, might have a thought or two for you. He's in Rhode Island. Another California designer who would be qualified to engineer a multihull is Jim Antrim. Both Baker and Antrim are past winners of the BoatDesign.net design award.

Cheers,
Stephen