Mold/Boat Building

[reelintense]

Can anyone suggest where I might learn the craft of mold/boat building?
A few of us have some ideas, but aren't real familiar w/ materials, or the whole process.
Any suggestions would be fantastic.
Sincerely,
Chris

[rasorinc]

In normal economic times I would expect you to get several replys to you question.
However, today, few companies or individuals are making boats. A few being laid up in the far east. I would have suggested find someone making a mold or boat and offer to work for free.
But since so few are doing anything re: boats it is time for self education. There are mold making companies but the product they turn out probably is not be transferable to boats. Schools take time and teach theory then maybe some hands on experience. To make a boat mold you must have the knowledge and education to design a safe effective product. The best become a Naval Architect. While I have a fair amount of experience in boatbuilding I always buy plans , professionally done as I do not design hulls. Everything else in power boating I will design as I know weights and balance math
and how they must be considered in boat building. I could design a hull that looks great
but would have no knowledge of how it would perform. You did not state your age or a time standard for gaining enough knowledge to design boats and therfore also molds so I can give you no hint on how to proceed. I built my 1st boat at age 16 in woodshop as a junior in high school. I since have build several more and have a 30' under construction now. That 1st boat was started in 1958 and was a Glen-L boat called flying saucer-an outboard runabout. Give us more info on your goals and you will get more replies.

[gonzo]

Are you willing to pay to learn?

[reelintense]

@ razorinc:
Where do you buy your plans? Are they wooden boats you are building?

[reelintense]

@ gonzo:
Yes...

[DOPatrick]

Reelintense,
hi my name is Derrick and im the owner of Ultra Sport Boats, new to the south texas area. fiberglass boat mold contruction is not an easy thing to do if you dont have the knowledge to do so but can be made easy with the right guidance. First of all, what size boat are you trying to build? How long are you wanting to make it? and what area are you from or going to be using the boat? These are the basic of what you need to start with. Then you'll need to know water conditions, fishing conditions or wiether it a pleasure craft. If your really interested in this, send me a reply with a phone number and ill contact u and we can disscusse it.

[reelintense]

17-18' w/ 7' beam , flats style boat. Uses: LA marsh fishing, florida bays, small rivers etc...
Live in LA, North of New Orleans...

[T_Davis1973]

@Reelintense.....I'm In The Building A Plug And Going To Be Building A Mold For A 20ft Custom Fibeglass Flats Boat, With A 8ft Beam... the Plug Should Be Finished Sometime In May...Then Will Be Building A Mold In Mid June.. Then Building Boats Right After....I Live In St.Bernard, La.... I Will Start Producing These Boats By Order Only. After We Build To Show The Preformance....Email Me If You Wana Come Help With The Mold And Building And I Can Teach You Most Of What You Need To Know....Because One Little Mistake Can Cost You BIG MONEY

[rasorinc]

Reelintense, Yes I only build wood boats so need no mold. I use fiberglass et all to prevent water intrusion and to guard against scrapes. All the ones I've built have bottom ribs and side ribs.

[reelintense]

T_D,
Sent you an email...

[DOPatrick]

ok, first of all. There are hundreds of registered boat builders in texas and LA that want to build a shallow running boat. There are several things to concider when doing this. 1. How shallow running is what you call shallow running? can you float across 3 inches of water with oysterbeds below without a scratch. on a open run, can you run across 2 inches of water on a 100 foot long sand bar with nothing below the boat. That includes the prop. how wide does your boat need to be and are you going to mass produce for sale. If your planning to sale these boats, then theres tons of coastguard regs you have to follow, as well as the fish and game office paper work. if its a catamaran stly boat it falls in another class and if its a mono hull boat then it falls in a different. Be real careful on what you do. Most small boat makers cant afford to hire a professional engineer to design the boat, the weight of the glass, direction of lay, amount of hardener, type of cloth. ect. and thus get a bad name the first few years and even sued by the buyers for not following these regs. If an injury occurs then thats jail time for the the owner of the boat manufacturer and thus going out of buisness. And of course th most important this to consider if also looks. Now after blowing your mind up i will give you the first step.

WOOD. is by far the best material in making the plug. Not just any wood, but the best. You want to use finish grade wood designed for cabinets and finish work or your going to spend weeks trying to sand and fix all the bad spots. Heres the bad part and ill use my company as an example. We have a 16 foot 6 inch boat with a tunnel that meets the specs i mentioned above...... the plug for that boat cost almost 5 times what we are going to get for the boat itself without a motor. you have to use very good lumber and brace very good or when you make the mold from the plug, you'll see the imperfections. Now, of course were in buisness to make money so you cant have even the slightest of imperfections or the boat want sell unless you give it away too cheap. also remember looks count also. if you'd like to talk more about this, send me a email and i will give you a contact number to call. patrick.derrick@comcast.net