Is it possible to build a liveaboard multi in 90 days?

Going back to the first post in this thread, you do not say how many crew would be on board, what type of sailing you plan on doing or how long you would expect to be out of sight of land.
That would dictate what type or how big a boat you would require and what sort of equipment you would need to carry.
For instance if you just want to do bay or coastal cruising , as against deep ocean crossings there are very different requirements to consider.

 

Sounds like something like my Skoota 28 powercat would suit you

Please contact me via email if you'd like to discuss things further

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

The OP is asking for something fast. A flat bottom catamaran can be built in a short time. Wharram cruised for a long time in one. He didn't use epoxy or faired it either. There are many fast ways of building to a "workboat" finish.

 

The answer to the original inquiry is a resounding YES... now are we to keep going around in circles with endless dribble or move forward and discuss exactly which way is it really going to happen, in order to meet your needs?

 

Symmetrical, dory type,hulls are the fastest to build. The sheer and chine are parallel and the ends are all cut at the same angle. Bulkheads are also the same and can be stacked and cut all at the same time. Outboards for engines take the least time to install.

 

http://sailingcatamarans.com/ASSETS/skoota 26 interior.GIF



This might be the 26ft version (I saw some YouTube video of the 28ft hulls being moved and it looks to be a decent size). But my question is, why wouldn't you convert the seating area (I am assuming it is the X X part of the picture) to a bed at night? Could you store a fold away bed under part of the seat? It just seems like a lot of space would get taken up once the red bed is there. And I would rather have a little different design to the shower area, but I'm not sure. That is a lot of area to be giving up for 10 minutes of use a day. Maybe have an upside down L shape as a pocket door that would be pulled out when you want to use the head or the inside shower in privacy, and then there would be a second pocket door that would be between the bed and the head in that layout that would be closed when someone is inside. There could then be a window in front of the helm. The galley area would have to convert into a bathroom counter in the morning and evenings I would think too.

Have you thought about putting a hammock of some sort between the two hulls in the front? At least while at anchor it might be a nice place to relax. And I like transom steps in the back. I'm sure they could be added if building from scratch, but even if they weren't part of the sealed hull and just glued on to the back, it would still be fine as long as you can get into and out of the water easily.

Looking at that photo for what the minimum size would be (and is probably realistic), I am confident in my ability to finish the interior galley, and head areas. Electrical and plumbing. Everything outside would be a learning experience. I am good with wood, but I'm not sure I can make things water-tight. And I am still concerned about the time it takes. And I am not the fastest when it comes to building things. I like building smaller modules and then putting the finished pieces together to make something big personally.

http://www.torqeedo.com/us/
They are coming out with an interesting outboard next month called Deep Blue that might be perfect for a boat this size. If you could add 800-1000 lbs of solar panels and LiFePO4 batteries that is... Although their Cruise 4.0 R model could work too.

 

Is it possible to build a liveaboard multi in 90 days?

Yes I could live aboard a Buccaneer 24 with one other congenial person.
Plenty of storage room. Galley and toilet. Excellent, proven sea going ability.
I built mine from start to launch in 62 days, intending to sail it from New York to Bermuda. You cant build any sizable boat on your own. At some point you are going to need a "Helper", if only to hold things,(and sweep the floor).

 

I have revised the Skoota interior since that original sketch. Here is a photo of the new interior, taken a few weeks ago. The whole boat is modular, simply bolted together so can be transported legally as one (non oversize) load. But it isn't trailable - you need help to assemble it.

When the photo was taken the two hulls/decks were structurally finished (but not painted) and the central cabin ready to deck. Build time (one professional builder working to a very high standard) is about 900 hours to date. I'm not sure of the actual time, but we are paying him at an hourly rate so 900 is near enough

The concept is the normal one: "drinks for six, meals for four, sleeps two"
Many spouses (like mine) want a good heads/shower separate from the accommodation. The bunk is a queen size (5ft x 6ft 4in). 6ft4in headroom in the galley. It's difficult to put a window in the helm area as that is raised so the helmsman can see over the cabin to each bow.

The forward area will have a net as normal on sailing catamarans, so a great lounging area. A hammock would be awkward to hold up with no mast or rigging. There are transom steps in the sterns and davits for the dinghy

I have recently sailed on two boats fitted with Torqeedo engines. Neither owner was very happy with them

I'll write no more because, as I say, it would be better to email me direct about a specific design

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

It has been a while, but I have come up with a interesting concept in my mind for a SWATH trimaran... Maybe by the time I have a mid-life crisis in a few years I will be interested in building it.

The question I have is how do you test or prove that your design would be sea worthy enough to deal with some foul weather? My requirements would be to travel from Michigan to Florida, and then possibly to the Bahamas or elsewhere in the Caribbean. I would try and pick good weather windows to make the crossings. But storms can whip up or big waves can happen.

I am liking my design idea so far. I can build it in small 6' model form pretty easily. And the final build could be done in small parts, and only brought together in a big boat yard. A machine shop with some welders could fabricate some of the bigger parts in a few days. And a upholstery company in town could make the cushions easily. I predict that it would take less than a month to put all of the parts together. Although everyone that knows me will know that means 2 months.

I'd better start saving my money. Although it still won't be too bad. It is the electric motor, batteries, solar panels, big wind gen, chartplotter, AIS, and other stuff that costs a lot. That stuff is 20k even before you buy the first part of the boat.

It is something like this:

But the center green section would go across the entire top, and the middle would have gray beams connected to the center blue section.

 

SWATH hull shapes have a significant ammount of drag compared with a traditional multihull. The benefit of a SWATH design is that they tend to rock and roll less in rough seas (due to their small waterplane area), but the trade off is that you need a lot more power due to their drag. I forgot the exact number, but I had a feeling it was something like 20-30% more drag on average than a similar 'traditional' design (I'm sure someone will correct me here on figures)

If you mean stability by seaworthyness, the best way to find out about its stability is to get your design software or naval architect to print off some stability curves, and compare this to classification society rules. I'm not sure what the best rules to use would be, perhaps ISO:12217 - stability for small craft, or even the ABS Offshore Racing Yacht criteria. The rules are usually quite similar, so if it passes one, it will commonly pass the others.

For an existing design though, the easiest way is probably to contact the designer, and have a chat, or even better, contact some people who have built the design, and see what conditions they have faced, and how the boat went.

 

I thought it would have less drag? You basically just have some torpedoes going through the water.

I just found this website, and thought it is interesting. The CS&HS-SWATH ones look good as a design concept.
http://www.*******************/Advanced_Hulls.htm

 

SWATH has less wave making drag, but the design has significantly more wetted surface area which causes friction drag. I just read a few papers, it seems i wasn't quite right.

At low speeds (displacement), SWATH designs have more drag compared to a monohull. During the transition to planing, drag is far less than any other design, but once planing, they loose their advantage. A good paper is here,

http://tglang.com/uploads/SWATH_Developments_and_Performance_Comparisons_with_Other_Craft.pdf

Scroll down to the graph on page 13, and it shows a good graph of the performance, compared to other hull designs.

Also, Sundevil, I couldn't get your link to work, any chance you could re-post the address

 

Thanks for posting that paper. I will look it over tonight.

I am interested in the chart of different ships showing the horsepower and max speed of different types. Now, I would be in the 36' ballpark probably, so a lot of them are bigger and won't apply, but that would be an interesting graph to look at.

Here is that link, take out the spaces if the full one doesn't work again:
http://www.*******************/Advanced_Hulls.htm
http:// www. *******- ******. com/ Advanced_Hulls. htm

I think around Michigan on the Great Lakes, the waves are usually 1-5 feet, so a SWATH would make a lot of sense too. But, you just don't see them. So, there has to be something about them...

 

In the Great Lakes waves are big enough to sink ocean going cargo ships.

 

Yes. Most people don't realise that the lakes are really inland seas.
Lake Ontario is 700ft deep. Thats 117 fathoms for the nautically minded.