Aluminum boat building - What are the best books to learn from?

Hi all,
First a huge thanks to all you guys contributing with all your various knowledge in this forum. It is very interesting to learn from your experiences.
I have been sailing for a while in an aluminum sailboat - have now sold, and decided to look further into the possibility of building myselves.
For sure this will lead to many threads by me in the future, but for now, I will do some further studying, and decide wheather or not to pursue this dream any further.
I have various engineering degrees, and am a quite capable constructer/welder - BUT have never built a boat!

What book(s) can you recommend in relation to building the hull, and what book(s) in relation to the interior.

Looking forward to hearing from you experienced metal boat builders.

Thanking you all in advance.

/Thomas

 

Thomas,
Are you planning to build to a specific design by a designer/NA, or will you be doing the designing yourself? In other words, are you looking for info on design, as well as, construction of Aluminum boats? There is a boat design directory attached to this site which will help you in searching for designers, ect., and there is a boat design book store with quite a large inventory.

It is also good if you can give members some idea of what you are looking for in an interior. Example; I could recommend Ferenc Mate's "A Finely Fitted Yacht", but it may/may not be useful for the standards that you are aiming for. Still, it is a good book for someone fitting their own interior.

Mike

 

Mike,
It will definately be on the basis of a specific design.
Boat size will be around 45 foot. Preferably a centerboard.
I dream of a Garcia-Salt-like-kida-boat, but surely realize that this may well be abowe my capabilities (given the round hull).
However, i would like to study further about aluminum handling as a material, welding, shaping etc.

Concerning the interior, I am mostly interested in learning the techniques of building using wood veneer and solid wood (types to use, and way of handling). I do off cause have some experience in working with wood as well, but again, I feel that it would be the right thing to first read about, and to determine if my ideas are at all realistic

On the technical side (engine, plumming, electricity etc), I feel quite confident that I posess the necessary knowledge to determine weather or not to start such big projet.
So concerning the Interior, a good book may as well be a book that describes "furniture building" using wood veneer and solid wood.

Thanks,
Thomas

 

there is an awful lot of info in the origami thread in this forum, have a look there for info.

 

Thomas,
As an engineer, perhaps you work in an industrial metal industry, or know someone who does? If so, you could arrange to have your plates rolled, to achieve the look you want. I'd recommend Ferenc Mate's book for the interior consideration, as he discusses much about appropriate woods & shaping for marine interiors.

No, the origami thread doesn't have any discussion of building in aluminum, or fitting interiors, "Robbo" is intentionally misleading you. If you look at posts by "Whoosh" or "Lazyjack", though he is no longer a member, he had much knowledge of building in Al. There are, of course, others. use the "search" and you should find a lot of info. .
Best of luck!
Mike

 

Thomas,
Some of the books I noticed in the Boatdesign.net bookstore:

http://books.boatdesign.net/boat/books.cgi?Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=1574091131&locale=us

http://books.boatdesign.net/boat/books.cgi?Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=0071443185&locale=us

http://books.boatdesign.net/boat/books.cgi?Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=0071461302&locale=us

http://books.boatdesign.net/boat/books.cgi?Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=1574091530&locale=us

http://books.boatdesign.net/boat/books.cgi?Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=1574091859&locale=us

http://books.boatdesign.net/boat/books.cgi?Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=0070053073&locale=us

I would think that there should be some good European books on these subjects, that may not be listed here. I'd ask some of the senior members from Denmark, Germany, etc. .

 

I dont do yachts but you can download some free drawings for small ali boats on our website - they might give you some idea as to whats involved. There is also a couple of links to books about ali boat building on Amazon on the site. Nothing for interiors though.

 

good onya mate, thats what Im here for. There IS a lot of info on the Origami page, much of it from opponents.

Next you'll be saying Im actually another login ID of someone else.

Seems to be a very adversarial site this, manners and common courtesy in short supply.

 

If I'm wrong, here, I apologize. But I haven't seen any discussion on boat interiors, nor aluminum boat building, other than a few earlier posts. As Jeff is funnelling origami-related posts from other threads to that one, maybe I've missed some addition. "Atlas" is an engineer, so I'm not sure you'll be able to convince him to build to Brent's "designs" though. As you didn't seem to "get" the issue with that on the other thread, I figured you were just pushing that same old mantra, so, if I was wrong, I apologize.
Mike