River / House Boat Design Exercise.

Thanks I did see that - I like it

It was aslo great to read

http://shantyboatliving.com/

"sigh" how I wished I lived in a country with huge lakes - rivers and water ways
living in Johannesburg sucks = one decent dam = Vaaldam
and a days drive from the sea, Durban or Richardsbay
and then
nothing

 

Have a look at this Dix design http://www.dixdesign.com/silv26.htm

or this Lavranos design http://www.lavranosyachtdesign.co.nz/my_leisure.htm

This one you will currently see on the Vaal Dam and is made in SA

It should not be too difficult to adapt the design to ply wood.

If you use the right program for design, you should be able to have it CNC cut and this will speed up the build

 

The Leisure liner was just insanely heavy. We saw the new one at the boatshow @ The Dome some two years ago. Very difficult to tow and basically expensive. I dont think they sold any.
Apparently the builder was in Knysna and they have closed their doors some two years ago.
We have one in Bayshore Marina that NEVER gets used.
Their second hand value seems to be around ZAR100k without a trailer.
Much too much a "Winnebago" on water.

The Dix house boat I dont know but it seems a lot like ther Lavvranos.

One feature that is terrible of the Leisure Liner is the standing steering position at the back. Down right awful.

On the subject of CNC cutting.
I have the programs to do DXF files and more.
Dries actually owns his own CNC router.

From my experience - in South Africa - cnc routing does not save any time, it was downright a hassle.

I had to get the drawings and files to them AND then the hours of explaining what to do and how it should be done. Backwards and forwards like crazy.
The CNC routers are usually owned by the Sign companies. They know nothing about boats and to explain it all to them was lousy. The CNC laser cutters are servicing the engineering sectors and they are even worse.

That is why I lofted the "micro" myself and then cut it by hand with a jigsaw.
It was WAY EASIER than the DAYS I wasted running around for the "chigger"
So it is definately a case of that I have been there and got the "T" shirt.

Now keep in mind that I live in Gauteng that is the business hub of South Africa - for the guys that are in other parts of the country, loft and cut by hand.

I am also fully aware that Cape Town has got CKD that sells epoxy and marine ply AND cuts CNC. Roy McBride was expensive, I got a better quality of Marine ply cheaper from Schallies in Pretoria and the epoxy sold by AMT is definately MUCH better and cheaper. The wood and epoxy for the chigger came from CKD.

SPARK1 thanks for your input and I appreciated your interest, always good to know somebody else is also looking.

 

Here's older designs from B.E., Before Epoxy, that are interesting to look at if nothing else, some could be adapted to modern methods.

This site has the Retreat, a shantyboat classic and the Gwen Of The River, Lady Of The Lake that could be outboard powered if you wanted.http://atkinboatplans.com/Misc/index.html

This site has free plans of a lot of different boats, plus at the bottom some good links, one of which brings you back to this site.
http://svensons.com/boat/?p=CabinCruisers/SunFish



http://svensons.com/boat/?p=MechanixIllustrated/BudgetHouseBoat


http://svensons.com/boat/?p=HouseBoats/BayouBelle

On both of the sites click 'HOME' to see all the plans.



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I don`t fully understand the logic behind the Dix hull design above ....

why is the cross section like a catamaran with its bridgedeck submerged ?

That seems to just increase the whetted ( submerged surface area ) hence more drag , with less displacement ( weight carrying capacity ) ?????

Why not just a scow , resulting in less draft and less drag ?

This is not supposed to plane is it ?....in the picture , it looks like a displacement craft ?

 

I look at these designs and it makes me think "just to be different"
many of these "designs" are impractical.

Over the past ten years I have spent countless weekends on my good friends motor cat. I personally find the aft steering position a no-no.
To go cruising for a couple of days up a river and see nature, you definately want to be up front and away from the engine noise.

Our marinas are full of yachts that never gets used, the hassle of a 40 footer to sail for a hour or two in fickle winds is not worth it. The mast means that they cant get under bridges and the deep keel means that they constantly worry about hitting the shallows. To convert a sailboat to a motor cruiser on a dam is a waste of time and money. So the sailboats never get used.

The motor boats - "Cabin Cruisers" were designed and built many years ago when fuel wasn't a problem. They are all copies of each other. Big aft deck / cockpit that can take 8 fishermen that are catching a cold and getting drunk, they catch anything BUT fish. The whole idea is to get drunk as fast as possible and then go home. The big engines use so much fuel that they dont go far either. So big deal getting drunk = catching fish within sight of the harbor.

That is why I propose a design that is small, light, comfortable, enough accomodation for 4 - AND light on fuel.

In my neck of the woods - the bigger the boat the less it gets used.
Mommy wanted every appliance from home, and then when she gets to the water the wind will ruin her expensive hairdo.
The youngsters of today are bored as they get on the boat. No DSTV - no online games.

Now let me tell you:
there is NOTHING on this planet that compares to the feeling of laying in a remote bay at anchor - as the sun is setting, cook some good food and a bottle of good red wine - soft music from the 60's and 70's
and just count stars
NOTHING can compare to this



so we are back to a comfortable river cruiser - and I dont know if this concept has been adressed properly FOR 2013
forget about the old nonsence that GlenL has had for the past dark ages