Hello from new user!!!!

I just joined this forum and thought i'd show pics of my boat. Its an ex-canadian lifeboat turned cruiser for the Brasd'or lakes. I'm in the process of finishing the cabin and starting the engine and electrical. I'll have lots of questions....

 

Hi, Lawrence,

Welcome aboard!

You have an interesting project. Be careful as you finish the cabin, too much weight up high will affect the original lifeboat stability and could make her very tender.

Do you have an original engine or will you repower?

Thanks for sharing your photos; there will be help here when you need it.

Good luck!

 

my uncle had 1 of those boats when i was a kid,,and as charm. has said,,,,,,,he re-did his cabin,,,,,then re-did it again. he said it was way to heavy,,,and when he re-did the last time,,he made the cabin smaller and lighter.,,,man GREAT ta see 1 of those again

 

Do enjoy and have fun
get onto the water

here is one idea to make the cabin top lighter

 

that is roll up canvas sides

 

if it wasnt for ya feet in the shot,,,,that would look like 1 big dock!! hehe

 

top heavy?

Stability is one of my concerns.The boat hauler who recently moved it estimated about 4 tons.I'm hoping most of that is in the hull.I used 1/2 in. plywood with 3 layers of glass outside and three inside for the topside.If anyone knoows anything about the original specs of this boat,I'd appreciate the info. I know she was built in 1967 in Dartmouth ,Nova Scotia by Guildfords and was a workboat on the CCGS Bernier.Thanks for the interest.

 

Ouch

its heavy

very heavy

 

yup...sounds heavy to me,,but,,let the "math" dudes pipe in,,sounds like a rocker.

 

I'd like to share experience with you, I'm now building a new boat on the basic of lifeboat too

 

Hi Lei.I'll help with anything I can. My boat is 28 ft. by 8 ft.It was built by a company called Guildfords in Dartmouth,Nova Scotia in 1967.Originally it had an air cooled Lister diesel engine.I put in a 250 Chev gas engine.I have two sets of controls,one single lever and one double lever(throttle and shift).Does anyone know which is better?
Lawrence

 

Lawrence,

I don't think one is better than the other, as long as each is installed properly. My preference is for separate throttle and shift controls. To me, they seem to allow easier control when backing and manuevering in close quarters, as in docking an inboard single screw boat, like yours. For backing into a slip, for example, you can set the throttle to idle speed or just a tad above, put the rudder hard over,and use the gear lever alone to steer the boat as you back her.

You can do that with a single lever control also, but you need to be careful not to give it too much throttle as you shift. I think there is some deadband built into most single lever controls to help avoid that.

Just curious, could you tell us more details about your engine and prop setup?

 

Hi Charlie, I got the engine from a local fisherman who had converted to diesel.I have a velvet drive transmission with a vatio of 2:10 to 1.The shaft and prop came with the boat. The shaft is bronze,maybe1 1/4in.The prop is variable pitch, made of some sort of composite material. No one around here has seen one quite like it.I wanted the motor to sit as low as possible so I had a "jack shaft"made up and installed it between the tranny and shaft,so the engine is fairly level and low ,so that its weight might help with stability. I glassed in a bearing on the main shaft after the jack shaft.Hope it all works.I'm getting a lot of help from my nephew who is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to boats.Right now he's giving me info on setting up my keel cooling pipes.Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.Thanks.
-Lawrence

 

Lawrence,

Nice thinking to keep the engine as low as possible to aid with stability. As I'm sure you've noted, there is some concern here about your cabin, as it is both higher and more heavily built than most. What is the engine model, power rating, rpm, prop dia, max pitch, etc?

 

Hi Lawrence, my two bits -

Any weight above the waterline contribute to tenderness as Charlie pointed out. This is never obvious in calm conditions, but boy, wait till you hit the swells.

I would go to any and all methods and means to moving as much weight down below or get the weight off the upper stuff. A boat can never be too bottom heavy. You should actually experience this to feel really serious about it. This is the kind of thing that makes a boat a pleasure or a nightmare...

He-he... My first impression was blimey, someone coppied the arc I must admit I don't have my glasses on... So if it hasn't got a name yet

Oh I have to mention... the Titanic was built by professionals, the (original) arc was built by amateurs Who do you trust now eh !