Cedar Strip boat production ideas?

[JFH]

Hello,
I haven't been on in a while but, I have been busy building.
I am looking for a boat in the 18' range that will handle rough water, keep passengers dry and can be used as an all-around pleasure boat in northern inland lakes with capability of going out on the great lakes.
It must appear to be an old fashioned cedar strip (like Peterborough or Lake Craft) and if it had a modern stepped bottom that would be even better.
Out board power for now, perhaps inboard as an option. A walk-through between first and second cockpit or a solid mid-deck.

This design has to be easy to build quickly and when finished out properly, would look like an old boat that has been re-done.

Let me know what you have.

Thanks,

JFH

[Eric Sponberg]

You can try buying a kit from Saetta boats, which is a 20'er, just out this spring. I had something to do with the design. This is a retro-styled inboard and/or I/O speedboat. Constuction is in Sapele (African mahogany). This kit comes complete, all the wood parts are NC cut in 3D. That does make it expensive, but when you are finished, you'll have a beautiful boat worth twice your investment at least. As for handling well in the Great Lakes, this is a winner.

Links:
http://www.saettaboats.com/

http://www.sponbergyachtdesign.com/Saetta.htm

An alternative is to find a real classic speedboat and refurbish it. There are plenty available which you can see through the Antique and Classic Boat Society. They publish a magazine called Rudder, and there are lots of For Sale ads in the back. Link: http://www.acbs.org/

I hope that helps.

Eric

[bearflag]

Originally Posted by Eric Sponberg

You can try buying a kit from Saetta boats, which is a 20'er, just out this spring. I had something to do with the design. This is a retro-styled inboard and/or I/O speedboat. Constuction is in Sapele (African mahogany). This kit comes complete, all the wood parts are NC cut in 3D. That does make it expensive, but when you are finished, you'll have a beautiful boat worth twice your investment at least. As for handling well in the Great Lakes, this is a winner.

Links:
http://www.saettaboats.com/

http://www.sponbergyachtdesign.com/Saetta.htm

An alternative is to find a real classic speedboat and refurbish it. There are plenty available which you can see through the Antique and Classic Boat Society. They publish a magazine called Rudder, and there are lots of For Sale ads in the back. Link: http://www.acbs.org/

I hope that helps.

Eric

I have to say Eric, thats a nice looking little speedboat.

[Eric Sponberg]

Thanks! That boat is great fun.

One of my partner clients in the Saetta project, Precision Aero Marine, wants to do the same thing--NC cutting--on a Chris Craft Cobra reproduction boat for kit building. We would do a similar thing as seen on the Cobra story on my website. On that earlier Cobra redesign, I used a 15-deg deadrise bottom as desired by the client, but on the new Cobra boat, we'll use a 20-deg deadrise bottom as I did on the Saetta and the Cherubini Classic 20 and 24. We have not started that project yet, so deliverables are probably still a year or so away.

Stepped bottoms can be tricky, and on the size boat you are talking about, 18', I don't think they would be needed--all the safer for your customers.

Eric

[JFH]

Eric,

Nice boat! I love the lines and she looks very capable as a family boat too.
I use a Shopbot to cut frames and boat parts quite a bit. I think the batten seamed boat is by far better than the cedar strip but, a client of mine is hooked on the old cedar strip look.
Probably, I could take the lines off an original and adapt that design to a production boat. The kit idea is not in the picture right now.

We finished a new streamliner from scratch a couple of years ago so building is not a problem. The problem is producing a craft that is marketable along side a modern fiberglass bowrider.

Cheers,

Jim

http://www.innerbayboats.com