My one sheet steel boat project

[hobo_hut]

UPDATE!!
The boat is done!!! A little over a year after the first cut this project is finally over. The actual time spent working on this project was short. I'm guessing about 30 hours of work. I had the hull cut and welded in one evening, then about a year later I added the flotation compartments and painted everything with in two weekends of work.

I brought a GPS with me to see how fast I could go...it was a little disapointing. I could cruise at 3.5 with little effort. To get to 4.5 I had to really put some muscle into it. I was expecting a cruising speed of 4 knots. Sometimes its better not knowing I think.

I decided to add a sail rig to it, just because I had an old snark lateen rig laying around. No centerboard or daggerboard though. The boat really is for down wind only, originally I was just going to use it in rivers, but I thought some versatility would be nice. The sail worked way better than I thought. I could easily ghost along at 2 knots even though I could only feel the faintest breeze. Later the wind piped up a bit and I was able to do 5.5-6. I was even to able to sail upwind when it got gusty. I was really surprised how well I could up wind with no board of any kind. All it took was some induced heel. When I say up wind really I mean at about 70 to 80 degrees off the wind, still able to point way higher than I would have guessed.

[rwatson]

The performance would be about right for a heavy 11ft boat with canoe ends.

Sometime in the future, you might be able to take advantage of steels greatest ability - cut it in half and add another 4 ft in the centre - so much easier to do in steel than any other material, It would make the performance significantly better, while only adding to the weight by a little.

[cameron.d.mm]

A very nice looking boat, with that charming utilitarian look some small boats wear so well.

And just think, it could be around for a long time to come.

[MoTag]

what software used to do this metal sheet boat ?

[jbowthorpe]

Hi, I was wondering if you'd be willing to share the plans for this boat? I have just found a sheet of stainless in my stores and would love to put it to good use - I can't think of anything better than this! I'd be happy to credit you in the build and send you pictures of the finished article.
If not, I completely understand - could you tell me the name of the software that you used?
All the best,
James

[hobo_hut]

I'd be fine in sharing the plans. Just PM me your email address and I'll send you the files. I used carlson hull designer and freeship software to design the boat. I would however suggest making some changes to the design as I have found the most comfortable seating position is too far forward of the center of buoyancy. I would also add a bit more flare to the top, thats just me though. This should be an easy fix, and half the fun of building a boat is designing it. I made countless paper models before I settled.

[jbowthorpe]

Hi Hobo - I'm so new I'm not even sure how to PM you! My email is james (at) globecycle (dot) org - I have no fear of others knowing this address!
Many thanks and I will keep you updated.
J

[welder/fitter]

Any photos of you sailing her, hobo_hut? Most impressive!

[cor]

The boat looks great. As long as you maintain the paint it should last forever.

C.O.
http://whatsintheshop.blogspot.com/

[hobo_hut]

No photos of the sailing rig yet. Ive ditched the old sunfish rig and have made a new balance lug rig with more area. Also all the spars fit in the boat now which is much nicer and I should get even better light air performance. I won't have photos of the rig for awhile as its now bitterly cold here. Hopefully we will get a break and I can go out and take some photos so you all aren't waiting for the next three months.