Timber Coast 22

Belle,

I always try to be honest when folks ask the, "Can I do this" question. Most I never hear back from, which I guess is as it should be.

If you think you can build a boat, and you persevere, you can do it. If you think it's too difficult, you won't be able to do it. Building any boat, of any size or design is a challenge, but it's not particularly technical. Mostly builders just need to take the time to research each step, get the right tools and materials for the job, and take it one step at a time. It's just like building a house or anything, you need to put in the hours banging away at it, and eventually its done.

I will also say that first building a small pram is a very worthwhile warmup to the larger build. What you learn about boatbuilding in general is all out of proportion to the time and money invested. Something like a Nutshell will fit in the TT22's cockpit.

 

Thank you Tad.....actually my problem is that I think I can do anything....but that's another story! I have the drawings for a clc shearwater sport kayak which I plan on building before the big project. Right at the moment I'm restoring a McVay Falcon...not wood, but I'm learning something about fibreglass and sandpaper. So I'm not afraid to tackle the project....but if there's some good advice out there, I'll listen to it. I've seen a lot of boats and looked at a lot of designs, but I have to tell you as soon as I laid eyes on the aluminum Troller, I felt that was for me. Nicest design I've ever seen. Kudos to you for that, and for making yourself available for advice to all and sundry. Cheers.

 

I have had the plans for a couple weeks and have almost completed my scale model. I do this with every new boat just to check offsets etc and make sure I understand the plans, build sequence etc before cutting into that big expensive pile of lumber. looks good except a couple small questions I have to send the designer. Build a model if you can do that you can build a full size one with enough persistence.

 

Nice job on the model, JimmyB116. Sounds like you have built a boat or two already. Are you a professional boat builder? Will you keep a blog of your build?

 

Kind of I guess I grew up on a boat or in a boat yard or marina.
My father owned Truant Marine building Bill Garden designed Truant 33 and Truant 37 along with many one off custom yachts. My brother owns a sail loft
My uncle is a boat builder and I was until I moved into aircraft 15 years ago.
It's not brain surgery just take it one step at a time there is more help on the net than you need, but be carful with the advice there are lots of arm chair boat builders online. And sorry but I wouldn't know how to make a blog if it hit me, much prefer a good hand plane to a computer.

 

So...not many bad surprises for you in these projects then. I know what you mean by bad armchair advice ....I believe I ran into some of it over at the woodenboat forum...seems to be some serious attitude over there from some people. Anyway, I'm going to do my best to separate the wheat from the chaff...like you say, there's a lot of good advice out there. About that model...what scale did you use...looks about 6:1....is it balsa? How detailed would you make the interior?

 

8:1 is really easy and it's just cheap burch ply from Windsor plywood and small pices of burch ripped to size on my bandsaw total cost less than $50 total.

 

LOL what ever you do over there don't mention anything but the most expensive hardwood marine plywood, bronze fasteners and west system glue or they will go nuts and tell you you are about to sink and cause the end of the world.

 

My first mistake was the words plywood, quick, and easy used together. Apparently these words used together have the power to summon Satan from the depths of hell.

 

If you want some real sport go to their bilge sub-forum and say something that goes against the grain of the hive.

 

Yah, somebody else told me that too....i'm going to have a poke around

 

I don't think the admin has any idea how biased the forum is as it seems to reflect his world view.
Too bad, there are some knowledgeable members there.