Maybe I'm a Dreamer...

When I was seven years old, I remember going with my best friend and his father to see a wooden sail boat being built. When we walked into this barn, I stood there looking at this huge planked ship that seemed about the size of Noah's ark in my estimation. Over the years, I have occasionally seen big boats being built on residential properties and thought to myself, I wonder if He will ever get it finished ,and when he does, where he will go? I spent last night, looking at Nick Branson's "Luxe Motor 34" and spent a great deal of time working out the logistics of how I could take on a project of this size in the back yard of my small residential (45' x 145') lot. I supposed I could set two wide flange beams spanning the width of the yard (laser level) and then construct a gantry crane on trolleys for erecting plates. Temporary structures (tarpaulin) could keep the weather out as the hull was fabricated. "What would the neighbors think?" Who cares. a couple of years from now, when she was all fitted out, I could call a crane service and have her hoisted out and taken to a suitable launch. So be it if I had to take a chain saw to the corner of the house to get her out! I guess its a form of escapism. I see myself anchored on Desolation Sound, all done with my working career spending my days I see fit. Maybe I'm a dreamer, but it gets me by.

 

Three to four years of full time labor, with help sometimes, I think you could do it. Fantastic canal/river boat if (looks like 12 ft) isn't too wide. While a slow moving boat, it would probably not need more than a 20 hp diesel to cruise at 5 knots with good economy.
Good dream. Your two year estimate is way low. Way low.

Alan

 

Hey Alan, I should have written "a few years from now". The Luxe Motor 34" is 33.5 ft. Ola. x 11.4 ft. beam x 2.5 ft. draft x 6.2 ft. air draft. Displacement is listed as 9 tonnes. I am sure this would be a suitable hull form for the Georgia straight as it is a Vere bottom and qualifies for category B of the R.C.D. I have no ambition to go out in open water as it is my intention to spend my senior years loafing. I emailed Mr. Branson regarding the price of the dxf files but got no response. Incidentally, regarding the Diesel power, we just completed a 100 gallon batch Bio diesel reactor prototype at work, we are in the process of refining our process. Perhaps I could fit a skid system on the barge and supplement my retirement income selling fuel to thirsty boats. Completely biodegradable. That's a ways off, I'm only 42. Never too soon to start though.

 

Dick, you do see so many hulls built, especially steel ones but they never seem to go any further.

I've ofen wondered if that is because to build the hull, you can do it a bit at a time, but then comes the time when it has to be sandblasted and painted, and that is big bucks, something they may have not realised when they started.

Sand blasting something in someones back yard requires shrouding to retain the dust and the fumes from the paint. Huge cost.

Probably home builders would be better off building in timber for that reason.

Poida

 

I would sandblast and prime after profiling, as far as thats concerned, Old Trent across the way from my shop would sand blast the plates for a reasonable price. We have a 6 ft. x 12ft. high definition plasma table at my workplace.Larger plates could be outsourced. say, 4000 pounds of steel at $1.00 / lb CDN. The shell being 1/3 the cost, would put you under $15000, pad by 25%, youre in for $20000. Not a bad investment.

 

Hello Dick

It all starts with the dream. Remember whatever you thingk it will cost.... double it... and figure it will take you at least twice as long as you originally thought.

Dan

 

Hey Dan, Are you out cruising on your Trawler? You are absolutely right. I have a tendency to grossly underestimate the cost and labour. Although, the cost of steel is still very reasonable that is only a fraction of the cost as fit out takes up the lions share. Greenseas 2 has a very interesting thread I have been following on the design forum which initially sparked my interest. According to Bransons sight, the "kit" cost equates to about $20,000 cdn. for all the steel profiled, shot blasted, and primed. Of course it would only be practical to profile plates on this side of the pond.
Thanks for your reply.

 

Hello Dick

As of now my boat is sitting on the hard at seaview east boat yard on lake union. I have to do aprop change as the prop that I originally put on was abit oversquare so not getting max rpm also putting in a depth transducer and giving the hull a good looking over. I built the mast this last spring in my home garage and just put it on. I am attaching a couple pictures to this post of the boat with the mast being installed (thats me in the crowsnest and father in law helping) and on the hard here at the boat yard.
The beauty of a kit boat especially for someone just embarking down the road of boatbuilding is you can easily know the cost of the steel. Also if other boats have been built using the same kit you can talk to other builders to obtain costs and tips about the kit . If your the first one though things can change and more is unknown. Also when building your own boat don't build it so one off that it will only appeal to you in the event you want to sell it later. I say this because you usually wind up with a huge amount of personal financial reasources in the vessel. Also remember that the steel portion is onlya part of the overall cost. I think your on the right track. Your experienced in welding so I am sure you will do a nice job on the hull hopefully you won't have to do any fairing as it is time consuming and expensive.

 

I guess that is the burning question. Although I find these barges very appealing, they are foreign to this part of the world. In the event of a resale (as in my experience everything is eventually sold) could you recover your investment? Your trawler most definitely would because it is a very sought after form of vessel in the Pacific N.W. Would a dutch barge have a market ?
The last thing you want to invest a lot of time and money in is a novelty.

 

Hi Dick,

Personally I'd go with a design type prevelant in your area. A smaller trawler would always be highly sought after. A Barge type is going to have a niche market. Might take along time to sell and not fetch as much as a Trawler, of comparable size.

Not wandering to far from a basic below decks layout is also a wise suggestion. Boats the size you intend on give plenty of layout options though.

If you would like the names of several good books on steel boats, IM or Email me.

Take care.

Tim

 

Dick

Have you looked at Trevor Bolts precut kits. He has some very nice looking designs as kits that would be fun to build. He is right in your area so you could talk to him directly. My advise is the trawler style as that is the way things are going these days in the states and I am sure in Canada also. Build what you like though just think it through don't let the dream narrow your choices.

dan

 

Hi Dick,

Yes, you are a dreamer. But that's ok......

We are currently building a steel boat in our back yard (some pictures in our gallery). We are out of town with a 4 acre lot and only one neighbor about 500 ft away from our building site.

I would not suggest building in a residential area due to the amount noise you will be making over a long period of time. It really isn't fair for the other residents in the area. Grinders on a steel hull may sound like music to your ears, but nobody else will be very thrilled.

Your boat is a such a size that the hull could be built in an industrial setting and then transported to your home for fitting out.

We had our parts NC cut, this is the way to go. We also pre blasted the hull plate inside surface to reduce blasting time inside the hull after assembly is completed. Mill scale is tenacious to remove, but primer will come off with a fast brush blast.

If we were doing it again from the start we would put up a semi permanent shelter. This is not to protect us from rain - but from sun.

I find the dutch barges are very appealing and I believe they will have a strong future in the North American market place. There are many inland waterways that would be a good fit with this type of vessel.

Cheers,
Mark Ovenden

 

I'll second that. A lot depends on your curcumstance

For my resources I was very fortunate that a good friend said to me "you are **** crazy Greg, there are lots of hulls out there, start with a semi complete" On investigation I found lots of failed projects and secondhands that could be had for scrap value. You know how bad steel can look when neglected, and it is easy to repair. Im not suggesting you buy a pile of rust, make sure you know exactly the extent of plate replacement. Anyway, just an option

Oh, and you MUST be a dreamer, sometimes getting there is more fun than being there

 

The interior layout looks very nice on that boat. The style is interesting and its nice to see something different around here. I'd personally want something faster (to get out of the weather) for trips up to Desolation Sound as I've seen some ugly conditions up that way.

If considering resale value, there is a small market for the old style trawler type of vessel with very low fuel consumption. My concern on resale would be that it was home built and steel. I haven't run in to a lot of people in this market that are big steel lovers.

That said, I have found many in the market for a slow and steady trawler do a lot of homework so the steel hull may work out for the best. Plus, I believe the area is aching for different styles of boats, specially a boat with character.

Finally, as alaskatrawler mentioned, Trevor Bolt does have some nice designs. It would be interesting to see if he could cut down his 50' classic troller design to fit your needs. He might be a good person to talk to and being local he may have some insights.

 

Hello Dick,

Regarding the Luxmotor 34 . The approx cost of a kit. Below are my prices for a Luxe motor 34. Cut from Lloyds grade "A" steel, pre-blasted and epoxy primer, approx USD 17,782. The downside its ex works in the UK!

Shipping kit by 20ft container to North America probably $1500? But surely easier/cheaper to have it cut locally? Use of cutting files for single boat $2800. Plans assembly drawings technical files included.

http://www.dutch-barges.net/luxe_motor.html

Also do Trawler yacht kits but are more complicated:-

http://www.dutch-barges.net/trawler.html

Glad you like the design. To build a steel boat using a kit is the way to go.
I guess other companies prices are similar per ton. So just promoting steel kits!