Old people can answer this question! : )

thanks I took a lot of time picking it
I was considering a slightly smaller friendship sloop
but think Iv finally settled on the schooner
and you are absolutely right about the temp and humidity and all that rot
drives me nuts to have to consider for expansion in any large measures
also makes a great case for building inside
even a large structure needs be constructed if at all possible inside
thats one thing I am dreading about building the coaster
renting the space for gods only know how long it takes to complete the hull

 

oh Boston, a boat like that could be built easily in twelve months.........or maybe 3 years........such is life. Nice project for you.

 

Im very single minded when I get into a project

Ive built 2500' customs myself and two other guys in under a year
from the ground up
been thinking on this for a long time
Ill be waiting till I have enough to get the hull complete up to and including finish no rig
Ild work most days all day till complete just like it was a custom house I had contracted
Ill hire one carp and have him do the bulk cutting and shaping raised panel shaping and glue ups stuff like that
Ill do the styles and rails on the finish and all the fitting
Ill need him on the bending
maybe a part timer to come in and clean up end of each day
was thinking of having the lofting done by the designer and fair it on the molds
going to steam bend over stringers on a laminated keel
otherwise all is solid
Ill build a jig to space the mortises for the ribs and use another to rout them in
once the ribs are in Ill complete the laminated keel locking them in place
Ill build a steamer capable of doing batches of say forty pieces at a time
might do a marathon bending just to keep the steamer going full tilt
( see how long we last hard at it, if we burn out we can take twelve and come back strong )
planking is red ceder over white oak and minimal glue as Ill be staining the skeleton once I roll it
was thinkin full time the two of us could have it rolled upright and the topsides on her in six months
oh
I got a great trick for beveling planking
place the plank in place square and run a router up the seam on a guide
makes a perfect fit in the time it takes clamp the guide in place and plow
works like a charm or at least it used to
never tried it on 2" plank before
could be interesting
got a similar trick on the scarfs

rigging this thing Ive got no clue how long that will take
nor do I know how long the engine and electronics will take me
I do know Im going to hate drilling holes in my beautiful hull
but the woodwork I got down to an art
will have it upright in stalks in six maybe a little longer depends on how crazy I decide to get with say raised panel round over doors and bulkheads trim and so on
basically if I keep it simple I can pound it out
if I get tricky it will take longer

dam that rambled
sorry but I get all antsy just thinkin about it
been itching to get after this for years

B

dam I should just erase this

 

jeez thank gawd i am not alone

to find a suitable "building space" is turning out to be a nightmare for me

 

Im dreading the 2000 a month or so fee
thats why Im going to go hells bells to get it flipped and out of the building soonest

am hoping I can find somewhere cheep cheep cheep
there are lots of empty ware houses at the moment
just Im not ready to go for it yet

 

I bought a second hand tent 5x12meters (17'x40') with 2k€. Now I'm isolating it 4'' from the inside. Last two years I've had reasonable building weather smth like ~2month/year.. It makes me wonder what the heck I'm doing so far north (70N)

 

Boston.....note you don't have to have a huge empty building to start a boat in. You can do the lofting (or have someone do it in a computer) and build parts for a long time before getting the big space to set her up in.

Parts like frames, floors, stem, transom, deck beams, house parts, hatches, tanks, mast steps, engine beds, backbone parts, ballast keel, etc.....

 

you're right but isnt it more accurate and quicker to build on the molds
Im thinkin of spending some time on the molds making them dam beefy and jigsaw like complete ready to accept bulkheads, stringers and keel and so on
I want to pick up that first stick of wood and go balls out till I get her flipped and topsides decked and sealed hull ready to roll out

I was thinking it best to set in the bulk heads, laminate the keel on the molds up to the bearding line and then carve in the frame pockets ( mortises ) install the bents, bring the keel up to flush with them and then plank, completing the laminated keel once I can lock all together

feel free to correct any perceived errors in my planned process

money aside I want her done from the minute I start and would rather pay an extra month or so of rent than take a year building bits and pieces in my spare time

once I own a pile of timber Ill start a thread on building the Sophia Christina
picture guide to building a small schooner kind of thing

 

If your design has keel pockets, which receive frame heels, then it's a very poor and quite antiquated design and building methodology. Pocket anything in the bilge and you'll have rot in short order. It also has a tendency to "cantilever" the frames over the first stringer, which usually breaks the frame between rabbet and second bilge stringer, leaving the garboards with little support.

 

no I was referring to ribs mortised into the keel

unless I misunderstood you completely and locking the frames into the keel on a wood build is somehow not ok

 

Sophia Christina will take a minimum of 12,000 man hours to finish bare bones. That is with one guy who knows what he's doing and another who does not. Clean up is extra. And that's the hours to cut the pieces and put them together, with no extra to find the pieces and bring them to the shop or figure out how they go together.

You're talking about compressing several man/years into 6 months? Try 8-10 months of 10 hour days, 6.5 days a week. Yes, I know you can do it.

Build a smaller boat and see how it goes.

 

Ribs and frames are interchangeable words. Yes, ribs pocketed into the keel, is a very bad design consideration. My construction drawings of Sophia Christina show the frames lying on top of the keel batten (as they should), not pocketed or mortised. Do not change construction details without a complete understanding of the forces and engineering involved.

I'm also in agreement with Tad in that 12,000 hours would be a conservative estimate of build hours. Which means 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (a man has to rest), 52 weeks per year until it's done. That's a little shy of 6 years, continuous effort without holidays or vacation.

 

youch
I dont have info other than what is provided on Ted's site for her
Ive done frame over keel and a keelson many times as a kid
but was thinking on a laminated keel ( Ive not worked with anything but solid other than in home construction ) that is lathered in epoxy anyway
it would be stronger to build the frames into the keel I would think rather than leave what amounts to blocking out from between them
I was thinkin everything being buried in epoxy anyway it would prevent water from infiltrating the joint
also I'm going with white oak on the skeleton which is highly rot resistant ( yes I know about the epoxy considerations of white oak )
so I was thinking it would be ok
glad you guys mentioned it and would be more than open to hear any additional you may have

have not got a construction method set in stone
but I was thinkin that Ild use full length steam bent for the ribs locked into the keel
am actually dying to see the prints for this boat
but want to wait till I have my budget fully set aside before I purchase anything

start to finish this project is going to take one year come hell or high water
if I have to hire more guys so be it
but its on a one year time frame
was hoping to roll out of the shop in six months and finish in the open
that may not work out so well but Ill see how its going at the six mark and make my decision from there

 

my theory on how long this is going to take is a best guess based on things Ive built before although Ive not taken on a large boat project as an adult
I do remember that my grandfather and father were interminably slow carpenters
drove me nuts
although at least Robby was accurate as all hell

my last log home was 3200 sq ft and I built it with one helper in less than a year
I aim for less than a year on everything I build




a picture of a screwed up stairway



picture of Henry
this was my helper on the job
between us we did the foundation log ******** roof chinking all the elec plumb heating drywall and everything else you can think of
guy worked like a dog
he was great
got him for 25 hour and once he was done with the project he got on with one of the bigger log contractors as a supervisor and ended up at about 40 pr


hears yours truly working into the wee hours trying to get things done on time


in the end I didnt learn how to get such a large project done by not listening to folks on my way up
so I appreciate the info as to hours
I think Ill contact Ted again and see if he can give me an estimate of man hours
to my eye seeing the frame and given the planking style Im just not seeing three years two guys
and given that you folks are highly recommending I just go with the construct style indicated and not try to beef things up any
this looks like a pretty straight forward easy build

 

"Beefing things up" in a static load situation, like a house means you just pay unnecessarily more for materials. Beefing things up in a dynamically loaded structure, like a boat, means you impose increased stresses on the other structural elements plus pay unnecessarily more for materials.

Making things heftier in boats almost always results in a weaker structure, unless you started with a lightly built boat. Ted's design is not likely built, quite the opposite in fact. I strongly recommend you not alter the structure's scantlings or at least discuss all the proposed changes with him first.