need some advice

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by txaggie08, Jan 13, 2005.

  1. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Txaggie08
    There's quite a bit about boats you clearly need to learn about before you plunk down hard won cash. There are thousands of well beat deep "V" boats available in need of some engine work and a depth sounder. You can find them for a few hundred bucks to as many thousand you'd like to spend. The guy behind my property has an '88 - 22'-23' center console, off shore WellCraft. It needs a new steering ram installed on the bracket mounted motor, but is in good condition on a nice trailer for $3,000. It'll get out there and back for a lot less then building a design you know little about with skills you'll need to acquire as you go. Better yet log on to some of the current web sites of manufactures, building boats in the size range and style you want. Get the prices for their new models then cut them in half. If you can afford that then build your boat, if not find a beater and fix it for usually a fraction of the other way.

    Richard Peterson
    "Building Jigs" or strong backs are typically application specific, meaning they are designed for the boat they support during the construction process. Small boats can have simple 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 braced box like structures, I make them with casters, but each is designed around the type of boat, the building method and incorporate features to help with some techniques.

    Most plans cover the strong back, usually a ladder frame with legs and braces. Larger boats require a much stiffer arrangement. Will the boat be built upside down, method of planking, will elements of the strong back or cradle be left in the boat as bulkheads or other structure? All questions requiring answers, that govern the "building Jig" design.

    It should be simple, strong and not likely to flex as things get pounded, slammed, pushed, pulled and forced into place.

    A jig for a glued lapstrake hull will be quite different then the same hull done in ply over frames. A cold molded jig will be very different then a carvel or batten seam hull of similar dimensions.

    Putting a boat on the trailer should be one of the last things done, just after bottom paint if it's anti fouling as you'll need to launch pretty quickly to preserve the coatings effectiveness. I just moved a restoration back to her trailer, though she's not finished. It's reassembled structurally, but the interior isn't finished, nor the engine, trans and raw water plumbing. This is a reasonably large boat and having the ability to wiggle the trailer as I lower the engine/trans assembly into the bay, makes life a lot easier. It was removed with a bucket on a tractor, but I'd like to be a bit more precise when installing it. The rail is way to high for my 2 ton engine picker and it's a inboard, shaft boat. Screwing the ceiling and cabinetry back together shouldn't take long or stress the boat while on the trailer.

    You generally have to figure ways to solve problems as you work. This is one of the things I truly enjoy in this type of work, running up on an issue and solving it, sometimes in very inventive ways.

    Moving a small boat may require some beer and friends one afternoon. Moving something of some size can require a bit of thought. I've a number of methods of moving things, jacking and shoring, chain falls rigged over the boat on a tripod or bracing system of some sort (I have several large oaks for just this use), tractors, backhoes, front end loaders and the occasional crane.

    As a rule I like to keep control of a project, so it stays in the shop until it's ready to go on the trailer and get splashed. If a client's boat gets on a trailer and is still weeks away from a launch, they get up your butt about it getting wet. This can be a distraction, they also think it's now okay for them to climb all over it and start outfitting, loading, supplying, etc. which usually isn't the case. Paint needs be well dry before a fat guy walks around on the deck. Trailers also don't support boats as well as cradles or water, so working with one on a trailer will possibly cause damage. Now you can build a well supporting trailer that does little damage, but very few really are well designed.
     
  2. artemis
    Joined: Oct 2004
    Posts: 410
    Likes: 15, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 267
    Location: USA

    artemis Steamboater

    Boat Designs

    That being said, I suggest you visit http://www.atkinboatplans.com/ and go to the Inboard Utilities and Runabouts area. The Atkins (William and John) represent 60 years of small craft design with over 800 designs. At least 300 were done for Motor Boating with the home builder in mind. Just one caution - Billy Atkin said, over and over, don't change a thing - that's true with the Atkins' designs. But if you follow the plans and instructions, you'll have a boat that you can enjoy for years and will be RELATIVELY inexpensive to build.

    Ron Fossum
     
  3. txaggie08
    Joined: Jan 2005
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    Location: College Station, Tx

    txaggie08 Junior Member

    not changing ia thing would preclude putting in baitwells, livewells and the like? or just not messing with the structural part of the boat? Just wondering.....this was actualy something i wanted to talk about in the first place. some of those boats actualy look like better designs for what i want(we fish live bait with rods in holders mainly anyway .........a low lying runabout make for a better spread). Can most designs have livewells/baitwells added on deck? just curious.
     
  4. artemis
    Joined: Oct 2004
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    Location: USA

    artemis Steamboater

    I don't see why live baitwells would cause a great enough change in load distribution to affect the design of boats in the Atkin style. I mean, if you're talking over a couple of hundred pounds, yes they would. But under that is just like a person moving around. But if I'm wrong, I'm sure someone more expert than I will comment (hint).

    Ron Fossum
     
  5. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Depending on the location of the wells and the size, you could easily add a few hundred plus pounds to a design when they're full. This means one of your fat fishing buddies will have to stay home. If it's put in a poor location, then it could adversely affect trim, causing performance and handling issues to crop up. The Atkins designs are a bit dated, you'll see a few on the Glen-L web site, but they are sound and well proven. Skiffs and utilities of the size you're interested in should have little difficulty carrying wells, though it wouldn't be wise to place two 20 gallon wells in the eye's of the boat.

    The selection of a design is the most critical stage of the process. You can build a design well suited to you or poorly suited to you, without knowing it until you use it. Narrow down your ideas to a few design types and try to get rides on these types. This way you'll build what you need, not what you desire.
     
  6. txaggie08
    Joined: Jan 2005
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    Location: College Station, Tx

    txaggie08 Junior Member

    HAve another question on another design i found on glen l. what about the double eagle? it claims on there sight it is geared well towards the newer builder. its also light enough to be towed fairly easily, and has ample room for the style of fishing illd want to do. I had looked through the plans on atkins and none jumpe out and smacked me in the face right away, but then again i dont know that much about choosing them. i kinda liked the looks of the sand dollar, but im not shure shes exactly the style of deck layout i was looking for.
     
  7. B. Hamm
    Joined: Nov 2004
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    Location: Rockford, IL

    B. Hamm Junior Member

    Gotta remember that even fresh water weighs about 60 lbs. a cu. ft. Salt water's about 64. So if you had a well that's 2'x2'x4' which isn't all that unusual you're adding nearly a half ton of weight. That can effect the trim on almost any boat.

    B. Hamm
     

  8. txaggie08
    Joined: Jan 2005
    Posts: 11
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: College Station, Tx

    txaggie08 Junior Member

    actualy wouldn t weigh quite that much(bought nine pounds per gallon)
     
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