Boat weight question

[alan white]

I remember a fellow who bought an unfinished cold-molded 50 foot sailboat. His plan was to sail the world with his family. I went by to say hello, and see the boat in progress. What I saw I had a hard time stomaching.
Aluminum storm windows for ports. A cute half-barrel hatch. one bulkhead (a major one!) cut in to three inches of the hull to accomodate a water tank.
Regular family room furniture, fake brick, telephone pole mast, single shrouds, and on and on. The wife, who I met first, said, "Oh! You must be looking for the "captain". the whole family referred to him thusly--- the captain.
Woodenboat magazine hadn't mentioned this project, for good reason.
I was caught wondering, should I stop them? The kids, all happy as clams, helping out, the wife and husband motivated, smiling while they built their family's coffin.
I said nothing, figuring the coast guard would likely not give approval (hopefully they'd have reason to board, or maybe some law would apply to commissioning.
I didn't even advise, not that I was asked. No doubt this man had shoed away more than a few advisers already.
I often wonder what happened with that family. My hope is they landed safely and the authorities condemned the ship, or some angel was protecting them.
Never before or since have I seen such an immense gap between ability and ambition.

[marshmat]

I wouldn't be so hard on taped-seam techniques for first-timers.... my first boat (a Bolger/Payson) design was done in tack/tape construction, I started that in grade eight.... now in her seventh season she's still in excellent shape. And that was before I knew a damn thing about resin- she's done in polyester. Now that I have a bit more experience, I instinctively go for epoxy for everything, it is vastly better.... but it is quite possible, with care, to do a good job of a goo-n-glass technique the first time.