About landing crafts

I bet you could buy the Karen B for cheap, but might be a long trip to get it back to your home port. It's located at 65.5N, 166.8W

C.O.
http://www.rudstrom.blogspot.com/

 

Also check out SeaArk's "Transporter" series or "Special Purpose" series in their Marine Division. I imagine they're a lot cheaper than Munson, but will probably ride a lot rougher, unless you can get SeaArk to put a nice v-hull under one of them.

I believe there are a number of custom boat builders along the Mississippi River - there are at least two in Iowa. Custom sounds expensive, but you might be surprised at how inexpensively they can build the perfect boat for you. Check out Kann boats and Clark boats. There's also Oquawka in Illinois, but they tend to be a little pricier (with higher quality). AAD makes a good boat, also, but I don't know if they'd take on a "landing craft" design.

 

Some more nice LCs! And while they may be less than the Munson they still appear to be out of range. Aluminum would certaily be my first choice. But plywood for a build would be more like it. Beer, not cognac. A used one might be an option.

I might be all wet with the idea of trying to modify an existing boat.....don't know Bantaan suggested waaaay up there to off load from the side and use a ramp...

How about a motorsailor, open bow to roll on and off, and more of an aft cabin, at 27 to 32 feet with an 8' beam? Seeing those puddle duck racers with flat bottoms and leeboards make one think on could be much longer with the garvey bow. Kinda like a smaller canal boat......

The factory custom jobs, well, say they would be an option. That would be a bare boat, adding a galley, head, bunk, tankage, interior fill and electronics would be another trip to the bank. Just seems building a workboat with a cabin would be cheaper.

 

Hoping that CO is still around and how he made the reverse V bottom, aft running flat forward.

Richard Woods is going to shoot me I know, I'd really like his Skotta 28, but this seems like a quicker solution, cheap wood, just longer than the one in post 12, with a cabin and small 25hp OB. Hoping that would be sufficient as I believe it pushes the Bolger Tennessee at 32' or so, seems this could be very similar, but shorter.

Speaking of Bolger, what about using a box keel on a flat bottom, sharpie style with the bow Bataan suggested?

I know this isn't a hot topic, getting old, but we made so much progress here...Thanks!

 

Unfortunetly I don't have any photos that show the bottom on the front of my boat. Tomarrow I can try and take some if the snow is not piled up too bad. This boat was put together quick and simple. The two bottom panels are twisted in the front to make them flat where they meet the ramp. The front of this boat bashes through waves rather than cutting them.

If I did it again I would take the time to carry the vee all the way forward and add two more panels in the front that flatten out. It is a very hard shape to discribe, there is another boat in town built this way, I'll see if I can get a photo of it. If you restrict yourself to displacement speeds (you mentioned 25hp) I dont think it matters what the shape is in the front.

This photo shows a cross section of the boat in the middle. It was origionally 18' long but it sufffered some damage from being burried under 15' of snow. When I cut out the damaged section I decided to add a few feet in the middle. The photo gives you a good idea of the construction. Shallow vee bottom, flat sole, sloping sides. There are two aprox 2x6 stringers that run the length of the boat. At each station there is a rib running down the side and a frame cut out of 2x material between the sole and the bottom. The ribs land on top of the sole and there is a heavy strip of glass that runs down them and out on the sole a few inches. Having a smooth flat sole inside the boat is great. It is easy to keep clean, there is nothing to step over or trip on, it is easy to roll cargo in and out.

Check out Ren Tollman's Alaskan Skiff book for a good discription of this type of construction. One of his jumbo skiffs could probably be modified to work for you.

Like I said earlier, the ramp on the front makes beach landings much easier. The last few issues of Messing About in Boats has updates of the construction of Bolger's SACPAS-3. This boat also has a vee hull with a chopped off looking front with a small ramp. I think that this could be done on a lot of conventional hulls, giving them beach loading ability without altering their performance in other places.


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

C.O.

 

Great CO, thanks! I will look up your suggestions. It looks to me to be simple enough for me to do. That cut away section tells me alot and I like the idea of the sole being flat. I wonder if closed cell foam between the bottom and sole is a good idea? Thinking of a little security but also insulation for humidity since I want a cabin.

Look forward to more pics if you can without much trouble...much appreciated!

I think you said the sides were about 30", do you see any problem going up to 40" on the outside (as the sole appears to be about 6" at the center from the keel providing 3' to the gunnel inside)? The bottom may come out a bit keeping porporations similar. This would push the beam out above and taking the ribs up for the cabin allowing more room for the cabin walls going up about 24" and then come in with the roof say 12" with a rise of say 6" and crowning the center to provide about a 6'2" headroom at the center....if you can picture that.

Forward of the cabin, perhaps the sides could sweep upward slightly to the bow as you described. If sides could be contoured with the cabin providing a little more height a sliding or lift up hatch over the forward area would be fantastic to enclose the cargo.

Ah, yes, displacement speed is fine, If I can run 10/12 knots I'll be running as fast or faster than most cruisers, low power and good fuel consumption is more what I'm looking for for a long haul.
I realize weight will be an issue adding so much, but if you (or anyone) thinks this is doable at 26 to 28', I'll clean out the garage!

 

Lcm?

I looked at buying an LCM3 and found LCM 8 vessels to be available. That model was above my level of pain given the requirement, so I am building instead. I see a lot of interest in landing craft. I feel less ill when crafting one as a result of the widely varied interest.

Ryland

 

I'm on my last boat or two, so resale is not really an issue with me. Mine needs to be trailerable, whatever it is, so the military LCs are pretty much out...besides, cruising with one would require the military budget.

What are you building Rfleet? Got pics? How big is it and what will power it?

Seems there is more interest in LCs than I thought too, especially for the more adveturious of us. The trade offs seem worth it to me for the utility provided....they ain't pretty though.....

 

My huls were delivered yesterday. The size scared the hell out of me. She will finish out at 61 feet and be powered by a diesel, and stern wheeled.

Ryland

 

Well, I'd like to hear this story! That's going to be a pretty big pontoon boat!

Looks to me like your are in the woods and on a hill, after that gets put together, how are you getting it on the water.....or is this a Noah project (LOL)?

What's the plan for that boat?

 

It is indeed in the woods and on a hill. The river is two miles away. I will have to build it in pieces that can be disassembled for road transport in four pieces. The hulls alone weigh 16000 lbs. each.

No real plan for the vessel. I don't know where this will lead, but I am going there.

Ryland

 

That's great! Show us the progress.

 

How appropriate

I love your tag line......How true. I was struck by lightening and died in 2006. I'm getting out of the machine gun business so I can build this vessel.

Henry Kissinger and Ahnwar Sadat figure into the formative equasion, too, but thats a story for another time.

What makes this art is.......there are no rational reasons behind the creation, like so many things humans do.

Now back to business. Do you fellows have any ideas about length to beam ratio on a craft such as this?

Ryland

 

The beam length would be variable according to the strength of the span. You want it not to crack under any conditions.
I think a beam between 15 and 20 feet maximum would be the optimal size for the length of the hulls.
Tell us more about the structure you have envisioned. Have any sketches?

 

No drawings yet

I have not drawn the thing yet, still wrestling with some external factors like how to get it out of the woods into the water. I am most probably going to disassemble it to move. I need to calculate the waterline first, and determine deck height. That will, in part dictate number, type and location of attach points. I have the hulls in the yard now, spaced at 20 feet outside width. It looks skinny to me.

Ryland