Where to start?

[swiftfall]

I am new to boat building and want to create a boat that will be good for fishing from, row only, approx 14-15 ft long, hold at least 700 lbs, and is relatively stable. I am not sure where to start especially styles. I have been looking at different free plans just to get an idea about different styles of boats and I am still lost. I am mainly looking for something I can use on lakes, ponds, or the Illinois River. I downloaded 2 programs (hullform and freeship plus) to see if I could design one myself, and then I realized exactly how little I actually know. Any recommendations on websites, books, or plans would be greatly appreciated.

[rasorinc]

http://www.glen-l.com/ Look under outboards and inboards. great site and great people and the forum members have built just about every designed boat.

http://www.bateau.com/

http://www.selway-fisher.com/

http://www.atkinboatplans.com/

to make the list longer....

[PhotoBoatGuy]

Being new to boatbuilding, it would be a good idea to start with a proven design. There are already severeal recommendations on this forum and drawings that have been used to build hundreds of hulls are usually revised each time one of the builders relates difficulties or improvements to the designer. In this way, you, the potential builder gain the experience of not only the designer, but also all who have built from the drawings.

If you are determined to design/build, I'd suggest starting with freehand sketches while you continue to formulate what type of boat you want to design/build. Shoot for sketching a boat every day, after researching style for a while on the web. It may turn out that while you are making up your mind about style you will either stumble onto something that's already designed or you may finalize a sketch that you really can't live without.

Once you arrive at the point where the style has been decided, then, if you find a boat that's already designed, the path is clear for you. If you decide on one of your sketches, then the course is a little murkier.

You will definitely need to know how to use the software if you intend to design the boat. You can go 2D and do all your drawings with a simple cad system (not recomended) or you can go 3D, for which you would need to get handy with your selection of free software. Believe me, having undergone several learning curves over my 35 years of designing, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's equally true that you will continue to learn and realize there is never an "end of the tunnel" as long as you continue using the software.

I don't know either of the programs you referred to, so I can't speak to them, however you'll get plenty of advice on this and the software forums.

No matter where you start, you are very unlikely to wind up with your first selection. As you progress in your thinking and planning, you will find out how very driven by compromise yacht design actually is.

Hope this helps

[ancient kayaker]

Welcome to the forum.

FreeShip is a good program for hull design and there is a lot of information in the forum if you use the search tool, or Google's site search facility.

However, the advice to use an established design meant for your intended application is good. There's significant time, expense and effort involved in building a boat and the cost of plans is minute in comparison.

Is there a specific reason why you wish to undertake the design yourself?

[swiftfall]

I only ran through the programs to get an idea of what to look for or to understand some designs better. It didn't work.. I don't really want to design my own boat, I just have not found much that I like that looks like the plans are explained well (for me), plus I am basically looking for something that meets my requirements but also has as low of a materials cost (due to my limited budget).

Just to let you know, I found a boat that someone made out of pvc, a heavy duty tarp, some rope and a sheet of plywood. http://www.instructables.com/id/Buil...al-cost-and-t/
I was looking up the cost of materials here, and it looked as if for just a little more money I may be able to make a wooden boat. So with a wooden boat I could use it on vacation or other locations other than just my family pond for a little fishing. I also like the idea of rowing for some exercise.

[ancient kayaker]

There are several popular home-construction methods for wood boats, but the most common techniques use plywood. The best material is marine ply but it is quite costly, and unlikely to be available at your local hardware store.

Regular hardware store type plywood seems to be very poor quality these days, with voids in the inner plies that reduce strength, glue that may not hold when wet and rough surface finish with loose knots that creates a lot of extra work filling and sanding smooth. Epoxy glue is the best but that is expensive too, as are the kind of screws that resist corrosion in a wet environment.

It all depends on your budget. If you are really limited then the skin-on-frame boat probably delivers the most boat for the buck.

However, for a very few hundred dollars, using the right materials, you can create a boat that is durable, worth far more than you spent on it, and will be a source of pride for a long time. Your time is also worth something and good materials will make the best use of it.

[Saburov-Design]

Look here:
http://www.saburov-design.ru/kit%20660-tx.html

[messabout]

Wooden Boat magazine has lately printed inserts about building simple cheap boats. One or more of them might be what you are looking for. Browse their website.

[eric le marin]

Originally Posted by Saburov-Design

Look here:
http://www.saburov-design.ru/kit%20660-tx.html

Are you paid to make advertisment on forums ? did you even read what swiftfall is asking for ?

[Saburov-Design]

This is not advertising, is an example of the style that may be the author seeks.
If you consider my post as an advertisement, then I deleted it without any problems.

[eric le marin]

A row boat ?

[SamSam]

Originally Posted by swiftfall

Just to let you know, I found a boat that someone made out of pvc, a heavy duty tarp, some rope and a sheet of plywood.

Don't let "heavy duty tarp" fool you. This thing could sink in a few seconds if you rowed over the right piece of flotsam. Tarps aren't really very "tough".

[swiftfall]

I like the design of the Rushton Rowboat located at http://www.dreamcatcherboats.com/Ski...oat_Plans.html

It is light enough to get it into my family's pond (even my wife could move it by herself), big enough for me, my wife, and kids, and should be good to fish from.

Anyone have any experience with this plan?