28' Great Alaskan Off Shore Boat Build

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by Grady300, Jan 19, 2013.

  1. Grady300
    Joined: Jan 2013
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    Location: Bend Oregon

    Grady300 Junior Member

    Hi All
    This is my first post on this forum and thought some of you would be interested in what I am about to undertake. The GA is all stitch and glue construction with two main stringers made with 1 3/4" thick Versalm beam stock running from the tramsom up to about 5 feet from the bow. There are a few main bulkheads also under the deck. the entire boat will be covered in various weights of fiberglass and Areo Marine Epoxy. Below are the basic specks although I have modified it a bit adding bulwarks from the aft cabin bulkhead up to the bow giving more hieght for green water to come over the bow. I estimate the build will take 1200 hours of actual build time and I hope to do it over an 18 month period of time.
    I recently completed a 21'4" Center Console Tolman Skiff Wide Body for fishing the Columbia River and off shore on select days while I build the GA.
    Great Alaskan
    Length 25' - 28'
    Beam 8'5"
    Max. hull depth 5'2"
    Min. side height 48"
    Deadrise: aft 13 °
    Estimated Hull Weight < 2200 lbs
    Recommended power 150-200 hp
     

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  2. michael pierzga
    Joined: Dec 2008
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    Location: spain

    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Looks like a nice boat !

    Last week I was checking out a Boston Whaler. Big one. The wheelhouse had very nice detailing for window instalation, windscreen wiper, running lights, handholds, soft top curtains.....

    Might be worthwhile to have a look when you design your wheelhouse
     

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  3. Grady300
    Joined: Jan 2013
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    Location: Bend Oregon

    Grady300 Junior Member

    Wheelhouse Idea

    Thanks for the photo I really like getting other ideas from folks. I have made a lot of changes to my current plans based on comments form others. I like the lines on that BW
     
  4. michael pierzga
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    Location: spain

    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Sometimes its good to visit a boat show with a camera. Great boats are full of " form and function " detailing. When you see the detailing you think... HEY why didnt I think of that !

    I was surprised to see this detailing on a production boat like a whaler.
     
  5. Grady300
    Joined: Jan 2013
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    Location: Bend Oregon

    Grady300 Junior Member

    Yea the bad economy is forcing everyone to look a little better on their products and beat out the competition, good for us and the pocket book. I estimate the total cost of this build at $32k US loaded with good electronics and a new 175 hp 4-stroke. Try buying something comparable to this boat for 3 times that cost, no way maybe used you could do it.
     
  6. michael pierzga
    Joined: Dec 2008
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Thats a plywood boat...should be easy to build. I like Ply. Hard knocks and use damage over the years is easy to repair. Douglas fir ? or Meranti ?

    If you want to waste a bit of cash, you might investigate foam core for the, wheelhouse and interior funiture. Costs double, but Its saves weight and adds a layer of insulation to the boat. Not bad on a small boat in cold water
     
  7. Oyster
    Joined: Feb 2006
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    Location: eastern United States

    Oyster Senior Member

    Howdy Grady, I would also agree on the foam core cabin, both to reduce weight and to also insulate the cabin for multiple seasons where sweating comes into play, if you use any heat or sleep inside the boat.

    This is the trunk cabin that I did on my cabin cruiser.

    [​IMG]
    I did the entire main cabin in the same manner, even sandwiching the divinicell with white cedar and a skin of 4mm on top. All of the border was solid laminated plywood and faced with a lipped moulding for deflecting all water aft and over the sides.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I also incorporated small liteweight beams in support of the cabin roof, which allowed me to walk on top and gave me an additional luxuray for carrying any dinghy or gear on top without a worry.
    The beams weighed little to nothing but were really strong with the crown in them. I used white cedar and faced them with one veneer of mahogany.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Hope this gives you some food for thought as you proceed. Even the cabin sides were sandwiched foam. When all said and done I did the entire top and all the cabin parts weighed in total of about 80 lbs. for an eight foot long by on average of about 60 inches wide protected area.
     
  8. Grady300
    Joined: Jan 2013
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    Location: Bend Oregon

    Grady300 Junior Member

    Oyster
    I agree I was thinking about using it for the lower cabin. The pilot house will not need it because I do not plan to totally enclose it.
    Very nice joinery work you did there I am impressed. I plan to use a bit of mahogany bright work on the interior the rest will be two part epoxy paint.
    The hull will be built from BS1088 Okoume it paints up real nice a lot better than Fir. Saves a ton of fairing and I hate sanding and long boarding. I will be going for a ten foot finish or better. I plan on making some custom large sculpers to help bail the deck should I take on any green water. I will also have a raised combing around the fish deck so any water coming over the bow and down the Bulwark will not end up on the deck for the most part.
     
  9. Oyster
    Joined: Feb 2006
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    Location: eastern United States

    Oyster Senior Member

    These days the Okoume has been questionable when it comes to quality. Its not as durable and some of the guys on the east coast are selling Garnica in lieu of the Okoume, which has been running a bit heavier, with less than perfect faces and even veneers. I switched over the the Meranti and was really happy with it, even without glassing it using the two part primers on the faces. But thats been getting harder to get lately. Some of the last stuff was some of the oriental stuff with the strings in the inner cores. There is some great Sapele plywood around, and not a lot more than the true blue 1088 Okoume.
     
  10. Grady300
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    Location: Bend Oregon

    Grady300 Junior Member

    The Okoume I have been getting for the boat kits I sell is still pretty good my supplier has a good source.
     
  11. michael pierzga
    Joined: Dec 2008
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    Location: spain

    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Plywood is no different than timber...sitka spruce is great wood, but you wouldnt build a whole boat from it.
    I like the mix and match approach with ply. Okoume for the big hull panels , because its light and nice to work with, then Meranti for trouble areas like the transom and parts of the boat that will be pierced by fasteners.

    What is the ply skin thickness on your 25 footer?

    And what is this vesalam stuff ? Obviuosly an engineered wood product. is it Douglass fir plywood ?
     
  12. Grady300
    Joined: Jan 2013
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    Location: Bend Oregon

    Grady300 Junior Member

    Versalm are a Bosie Cascade engineered laminated beam made from Douglas Fir it is 1 3/4" thick the plans call for 9 1/2" tall but I will go a few inches bigger to raise the deck. I like to slope the deck towards the stern like 1 1/4" in 8 feet for better drainage and easier wash down out the sculpers. I will custom make oversized sculpers like 1 1/2" x 5" There easy to make with fiberglass running from the face of the motor well about 18" long then out the stern. For baffling I use an inside ring smaller than the outside ring is 1/4" bigger made with a good plastic ( forget the tech. name of the stuff) then put a good rubber baffle between the two for one way water travel. It's easy because I can precision cut them on my CNC. This is one other reaso I raise the deck to be sure the sculpers are well out of the water

    The side thickness is 9mm, good point using Meranti on the Transom it is a bit stronger than Okoume. The transom calls out 12mm ply built up with various pieces to 1 1/4" or 32mm. I plan on starting with 19mm ending up at 38mm.
    The beauty of this design is I only rally need 175 HP but will probably go with 200hp just for a little extra power if needed on a sloppy day out on the great PNW pond, it can get pretty ugly real quick.
     
  13. 805gregg
    Joined: Apr 2010
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    Location: Ojai, Ca

    805gregg Junior Member

    Looks like a nice boat, what do you think the build time will be?
     
  14. Grady300
    Joined: Jan 2013
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    Location: Bend Oregon

    Grady300 Junior Member

    Build time

    I am estimating 1200 build hours, I am normally pretty conservative. Mt Tolman Wide Body is a 21'4" CC boat and it took 412 build hours so I am thinking this boat is three times the work. I attached a few photos of the Wide Body below. I just need to get my windshield ordered
     

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  15. Grady300
    Joined: Jan 2013
    Posts: 38
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    Location: Bend Oregon

    Grady300 Junior Member

    Update on 28' GA Build

    Things have been very busy been to two boat shows selling boat kits for the Tolman & Great Alaskan boats. Worked out well so far got 4 kits sold.
    I sold my 30' Grady White that will help finance the my current GA build. This build is replacing the Grady and should get at least 3 times the MPG on fuel. I have been tied up every weekend since the end of January but the wife is leaving this Friday for 5 days so I plan to get something done on the build.
    So far I have the bottom ready to glue up sitting on the building jig all stitched together ready for the huge fillet seam. i hope to have the bottom done in the next 7 days with the chines attached and the inside fiber glassed.
     

    Attached Files:

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