O-1 so far

For those who have just joined us, or have re-joined after some absence, O-1 has moved on quite a bit of late, so here are the design objectives to date, taken by the poll results:

Size 29 - 32 feet.

1 Coastal hopping
2 Trailerable
3 Range 300 miles
4 Crew, 2 minimum
5 Price range, under 50K US, for home built.
6 Must be able to carry on a normal conversation at 3/4 throttle.

1. Max speed 25 - 28 knots
2.Max Cruise 20 - 22
3. able to maintain planing down to 12 knots and economical to operate throughout its speed range

Later we could give consideration to the GTi Expre$$ version.

That's it so far, but there are a number of threads actively running at the moment. Speak your mind - say your piece - and join in the fun!

Thanks Will.

WoW 100 posts!! (had to bump it up!!)

Im a new member and have no say in your boat as youve designed it but how can you say a boat that is 29 feet long is trailerble? Is that a joke? What will you use to tow it?

1st up welcome, Dutch....and if you're prepared to have some input, then you have as much say as any of us as far as the remainder of the O-1 project goes (at least, that's the way I see it..)

As for the trailerability goes, if you cast a look back at some of the earlier O-1 posts, you'll see that we debated this at length. The group decided that O-1 would be a trailerable cruiser (as opposed to a trailerboat). Width is restricted to 2.5m (or 8'2"), length, whilst restricted in some countries is effectively restricted by practicality. Weight is the primary consideration, however, and if O-1 ever progresses beyond this conceptual stage, then a light weight boat will be at the top of our design requirements. So long as the weight is kept down, there are plenty of vehicles capable of towing the boat.....

Thanks for the information Will. I still got to wonder who is going to want to be hauling a 29 foot tub around- with the extra length created by a trailer youre lookin at a minimum of 35 feet and something big enough to haul the whole thing will have to have some *** to it, and will probably be a min of 15 foot long itself. It'll look like a dang caravan gong down the highway. Some one might be willing to carry the thing from place to place, but I sure wont be one of them. Gonna take a hell of a ramp to launch her from too. Shell be fun in tight spots!

Dutch,

I will try to make this simple, no fancy words. If you want to understand O1 go back to the first post and read the whole thing. You will find that it is an exercise and that we started with an agreed upon wish list that the design had to have. It is about the process not the boat. You will also find that if someone didn’t like something they offered a constructive alternative. Everyone is welcome to join in if you have something constructive to add. Just stating the obvious is a waste of time.

Gary

Its not about the boat? Is this a collective circle jerk then?

Ok here is something constructive- shorten the maximum length down to a more managable 25 feet.

The dimensions for O1 have already been set; if you had read the thread you would have seen that. If you want a different boat feel free to start your own thread. If you read this thread maybe you will learn a thing or two about boat design and all the decision involved.

Gary

So this is all about an imaginitive boat? In that case make mine a 50 footer and well set her up on a trailer and cruise the interstate looking for creeks and ponds to wet her down in.

Dutch,

I don't quite understand the problem. I was one of the original contributers to the exercise and learned a lot from the others involved. My registration got lost in cyberland but my name is Tom Lathrop.

My design contribution was for a cruiser of 24 feet in length and of lower speed potential than some of the other members of the group so I agree with some of your comments as I also do not want to trail a 29 or 30 footer.

Frankly, I would have been shocked if a single design real design had resulted from consensus of the group. I suspect that the drop in activity on the project is the result of each one taking a different path from the others. Nevertheless, there were several people working on their own designs and I expect they all benifited form the exercise. My own boat was trailed over 4,000 miles this year (behind a 1988 Dodge 318 van) and cruised far from home in Canada. We are very happy with it even if it does not conform to everyone's idea of optimum.

If you wish to submit your own thoughts or proposal for a design, perhaps it will draw out some comments. As Gary said, the first thing should be to read through the whole thread(s).

I'll repeat it yet again Dutch - go back and read the thread from the start...... and coming in with lines like "collective jerk" won't make you any friends around here - we're in for constructive criticism, not insults
As far as towing a 29 footer around, I recently trailered my Searay 270 Sundancer (29'10" LOA) around 3000 miles (yes threethousand ) up the east coat of Australia. The tow vehicle was a Holden Suburban (Chevy) with a 6.5L turbo diesel. So I know that it is not only feasable, but also practicle to tow such a big rig around. Option One is expected to be significantly lighter than the 4.1 tons that my boat / trailer weighed too. Granted, there's a little more involved than when you strap your roof-top dinghy onto the car and zip down to the lake for a days fishing - but that's not what O-1 was intended to do.

....gee Will....towing a barge like yours across the continent must have been a swell way to spend your vacation...I understand now, why you guys are designing this new " boat of your dreams"......

As a matter of fact, it was a great way to spend a week or two - that's why I've done it 5 or 6 times now.
O-1 was never my dream boat - and as Tom said, it probably wasn't anyone elses either - it was an exercise in collective design. Done just for the hell of it. If someone actually went ahead and built one, then all the better.
O-1 is stalled right now - but over time, I still believe that we'll bring the project to fruition....with a little bit of positive input that is...

I have for years wanted to buy a camper/trailer for vacations, but when I look at the cost I find renting first class accomodations and driving a car rather than a pickup to be more cost effective.

$50k is about $10k per year (cost of money, insurance, ...)

What does it cost to rent a 29' boat in the class you are designing?