what do you think of this one? (river cruiser for relaxed cruising)

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by jeffb957, Aug 6, 2015.

  1. jeffb957
    Joined: Dec 2013
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    jeffb957 Junior Member

    Hello all,
    I'm still looking at boat designs, and deciding what to build. The wife and I have discussed what we want extensively. (In fact we have discussed it WAY more than she wanted to. Her last input was, " just build something already. I'm sure it will be fine.")
    We want a river cruiser for relaxed cruising on rivers and protected waters. I found this design, and it has much of the look and accommodations we are looking for. So, has anyone ever built one of these? Any comments on the design? The designer says the beam can be narrowed to 9 feet to make it trailerable, and length stretched to 30 feet, which I would surely do. Most importantly, the designer has a very encouraging manner which I like quite a bit as well.
    Thanks
    Jeff
    http://www.georgebuehler.com/River%20Walker.html
     
  2. TANSL
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    TANSL Senior Member

    You can reduce breadth and decrease length all you want. It just depends on how uncomfortable you want to make your boat.
     
  3. jeffb957
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    jeffb957 Junior Member

    Ok..that's an interesting response. Care to elaborate? As I understood it, reducing the beam to 9 feet, and increasing the length to 30 feet gets me to better than a 3:1 ratio. I was given to understand that increasing that ratio would make the boat ride better, and increase fuel economy. Of course a narrower beam does give away a small amount of stability, but the designer did not seem to think that was a meaningful factor. Am I missing something here?
     
  4. rasorinc
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    rasorinc Senior Member

    I am building a river boat also but wanted to be able to go offshore in fair weather and set some crab traps and fish. I live near Albany, OR I also plan on going up the major rivers in the US plus many smaller ones and lakes and will live aboard at least 6 months a year. My boat is 8'-6" X 30'- 6" I envision running in shallow water so the aft 16' is a flat dory hull then the frames angle up from 3/12 pitch to 6/12 pitch and the bow is 45* I will power with a main outward from 60 to 100 hp. and a high thrust 10-15 hp kicker engine which will get lots of hours. Need a larger main for currents and to get away from changing weather. Good luck and keep us informed. Stan
     
  5. Rurudyne
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    Rurudyne Senior Member

    For a shallow draft boat with substantial topsides the use of leeboards might really help when the wind starts blowing. These aren't as visually out of sight as a (offset to a side and tucked under some cabinets or whatnot) centerboard might be but represent the least elaboration on the design (no centerboard case).

    You might look at Triloboats for comparison. These lift the stern out of the water rather than have a submerged transom.

    Adding a fake transom of this form would let you use an engine well and tuck the outboard out of sight. Here's a more involved addition of a fantail stern to a Tubby Tug that I recently came across which may help on some of the details of such a modification ... just imagine the simpler square shape instead of the relatively fussy round one. https://www.glen-l.com/picboards/picboard17/pic1028a.html
     
  6. TANSL
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    TANSL Senior Member

    In my opinion, a boat like yours, to "relax cruising", should be designed to achieve the greatest possible comfort, within a zone of reasonable consumption. The speed can not be too high so that the consumer should not be a problem. But I assure you, if your boat does not have the necessary stability, you will end up sick of it.
    But you are the only one who knows what you want to achieve with your boat. Show your SOR to the designer, and he'll get the boat that best suits them.
     
  7. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    The River Walker isn't the best choice for a cruiser. It's heavy, for her size, which means you have to buy, install and eventually push this mass up current, none of which is economical, compared to other designs. This style of boat would best be described as a shanty, which is little more than a box like house, stuck on a barge hull.

    Look into some other designs, such as Glen-L.com, Bateau.com or maybe even my riverboat series, which are designed as river cruisers, not houseboats (big difference).
     
  8. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    The submerged transom does not favour efficiency at the dawdling speeds mentioned in the text, it would have worked a lot better as a slow conveyance without the straight run aft.
     
  9. jeffb957
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    jeffb957 Junior Member

    Well, I emailed the objections raised to the designer, and he confirmed that they were correct. It seems that this is a boat not meant to move very often, very far, or much faster than a brisk walk. *sigh* It seems that whenever I see a superstructure that I like, it's on a hull that won't perform, and the hull that will perform won't accept the superstructure I want. Pretty frustrating
     
  10. Rurudyne
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    Rurudyne Senior Member

    I would point out that, while a small boat of this form will be for sheltered waters, some of the issues with moving economically can be addressed by added length to obtain a longer length to beam ratio as well as adding a modest amount of rocker. People point to a 6:1 but if I recall the graphs occasionally posted there are benefits at 5:1, just not as much.

    Just adding length, under 5:1 LBR so you retain sufficient beam, will help your cruising speed some.

    Somewhere around here are pictures of a very long type of river boat that also narrow to fore and aft, retaining the blunt bow ... Just a bit less of it. That means having a your cabin be a lower percentage of LOA but that can help a boat's looks too (plus there are always Bimini tops).

    The cabin you like need not change. It may just need a somewhat longer box under it.

    Found it: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/bo...seboat-floating-home-23987-11.html#post679689

    edit2: I remembered seeing this a while back, http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/bo...ted-building-houseboat-2582-2.html#post280132 ... while it seems like it has a flat sheer that isn't hard to fix (the boat you point to has a nice sheer) and it's still mostly a box.
     
  11. Petros
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    Petros Senior Member

    nice boat you picked out, I like the design. but as pointed out, it is not a cruiser. perhaps you can get a competent designer to use a proven cruiser hull design, and adapt that kind of cabin that you like to a better hull. There is no reason that could not be done, but you need some professional guidance because you do not want to create something that is unstable or unsafe to use in normal operating conditions.

    It will cost a lot more than stock plans, but it will still be a very small fraction of the total amount of money you will spend on materials for such a large cruiser. Better pay for competent design than risk ending up with something that does work well after you spend all that time and money building it.

    Good luck.
     
  12. rasorinc
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    rasorinc Senior Member

    Jeffb, my core living area is 12' x 7' and contains a bath with toilet, sink, and sit down shower. Also a 7' long sofa 33"deep and a small washing machine 2' wide'. I'm debating if I want to make the sofa with a bunk bed above. On the apposite side I have allowed 3' for the captains chair, 3' for a desk and chair and 6' for the oven/range, sink area, and a 7 CF refer and freezer. The sofa will have 3-26" wide pull out drawers under, The rear deck is 7' x 8' with a hard roof and side netting and roll up soft vinyl so is waterproof. There will be a 7' sofa /queen bed there--rest is open. The 10' forward area to the Bow will have a 3' for locker and a 7' long and will sleep 2 in a queen. there is 4' headroom in this area the rest has 7'-6' plus. this will show you what you can get into a 30' boat + lots of hatch storage under sole. Fully insulated to R 10 and has heat and air. Hope this encourages you to do it. Also has good view windows and a forward leaning windshield. I've stolen some elevation ideas from this Beauty. http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/8406
     
  13. jeffb957
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    jeffb957 Junior Member

    Hello PAR
    I've been looking at Chiusa and Egress. They are both lovely boats. What is the assembly method? Would I have difficulty building one of your designs in my backyard in a portable garage tent? Would the lack of a level concrete floor be a problem?
    I have sufficient woodworking skills that I can build furniture with mortise and tenon joinery, or either cope and stick, or half lap for doors and such. I have a workshop with all the major woodworking machinery except a jointer. I use a planer sled for the big stuff, and a 14" jack plane to true up edges for edge gluing. Am I lacking anything I would need?
    Finally, a modification I see that I'd like to do with the raised pilot house version is to raise the pilot house roof enough to put a rear view window on each side, and mount a window A/C unit in the middle , so it is above the main cabin roof. Do you see a problem with that?
    Thanks
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2015
  14. jeffb957
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    jeffb957 Junior Member

    That's a very pretty boat :)
     

  15. Rurudyne
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    Rurudyne Senior Member

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