Amateur Steel Boat Building Website

I always had this idea of a website intended solely for the amateur steel boat builder, as this type of information is far and between on the internet, and books are usually very dated and boring.
Nowadays the buzzword in steel boat building is radius chine; do a Google search and see what you will come up with This lack of information made me decided that now is the time for just such a website, but I had a problem. What format to present it to make it user friendly to amateur and pro alike was one of them, the other is that I have no idea how to create and publish a web page.
However, I took the plunge and start the hard way by trail and error and I am now pleased to share fruits of my labor with everyone that is interested.

This website cover the whole spectrum of steel boat building, from decision time to sail away. All types of steel construction is covered and my personal favorite page is "turning of hull". It is even linked to its own discussion forum.

The link: http://www.steelboatbuilder.com/

Please, let me have some feedback and maybe I can make it better still.

 

Wynand,

The fact that I am the first to reply, on a "boat design" forum shows, to me, the illogical disinterest in steel boats.

An acquantence of mine, Capt. Nick Smith says "no deal, without steel". He will not hire on a non-steel boat. As his area of operation is the Arctic, I fully understand his reasoning. He currently is the capt. of the Belvedere. That is John R. Bockstoce's boat. It, with John, has made an West-East transit of the NW Passage.

Most of my watertime has been in the high lats also, Labrador & SE Alaska.

Steel has really come into it's age. With modern coating systems & dedicated/educated designers, it is hard to beat for many, if not most, applications.

I will definetly make use of your site. Thank you for the effort & interest.

Take care.

TGoz

 

Great Job, Wynand, and I am sure that will grow over time into a nice place where people meet. It takes time and work, but it's well worth it.
Good luck and fair winds!

Just 2 small technical hints:
- it might be nicer to open the new page in the same window - now, if it opens in a second window, and on that one you then hit the "home" button, that opens yet another one and so on..
- you should edit your meta-tags, so that the site name appears in the browser window caption instead of the default ""untitled...", that will also help make your page more relevant for search-engine crawlers

 

thanks Gerd. Pages now opens in the same window and I will get the meta tags sorted out soon as this mean I have to publish every page again (time) but the main index is sorted out.
The turning of hull page is now fixed and I added some fitting out pics as well under painting chapter.

By the way Gerd, how about some of your Origami method added to this?

 

Nice web site. I wish you success with it. Have you looked at The Metal Boat Society http://www.metalboatsociety.org/ ? You might want to post your sight on thier forum. They would certainly be interested.

 

Well done Wynand
I had a quick look , will read it all carefully later.

I must admit I wouldn't know where to start to make a website, is there a how to build a website site that you can recommend?

Cheers

 

Thanks Wynand

Most websites these days seem to be for monetery gain it is indeed a person of great character who spends his time helping others free of charge.

I would love to build a steel boat but I feel the boat has to be fairly big to warrant the extra weight of steel and this means having the area to build it.

One day I may find the area and start welding.

Poida

 

Thank you all for the kind words.

Mike, I used BlueVoda software that you can download at the following link. Nice video tutorials and notes. The software is supplied free of charge but the crunch is that you have to publish with them - as the software is not compatible elsewhere.
That said, it is really user friendly to use and one can actually make very impressive web pages, but I opted for a simple format without much "clutter"

http://www.vodahost.com/tut_bluevoda.htm

 

A really first class effort Wynand! Although I’m a stitch and glue cat man, I can certainly appreciate the time and effort that you’ve put in. Well done fella!

 

A very nice website Great pictures. I think closeups, well lighted of specific joints, etc. is helpful. Also, (maybe I missed it), a list or links of proven, reliable products and suppliers would help. A "what I use or what works for me"database will grow & be very valuable in the future.
I really like the menu driven page selection. Boy, if you have the energy to ride herd on this, I see it becoming a popular site. will this site have provision for those who have never struck an arc or held a grinder?
I've definately bookmarked it! Thanks,

 

Wynand,

Very nice site! I am sure it will add to the better understanding of steel boat design and building. And thank you for the link, I really appreciate that. I'll see about returning the favor.

Regards,

Eric