Hello, Me and my Father have decided to build a Cabin cruiser. some info needed :)

Hi guys.

Me and my dad have decided to build a cabin cruiser finally after thinking about it after a while.

We decided on the

http://www.glen-l.com/designs/cruiser/tempest.html


From Glen-l.com We havent ordered yet so be welcome to say if glen L sucks. we just liked the design. (please check the bill of materials for a few questions on the websites page.

The boat is 27 feet long by 9'11" wide.

Plywood construction since what me and my dad were looking at doing a complete fiberglass hull would to expensive for the epoxy (or so it seemed) any information on that?

We are sorta on a budget "not really but sorta" But we want to finish up the boat fast!like 3-4 months. I think that would be doable.

Just posting to get an idea from you guys, can you give me your thoughts about the boat and have any ideas to make the boat building go faster?

Thanks guys really appreciate it

 

That boat will take between 2500 and 3500 hours to do a decent job of. That's construction time and does not include time spent finding parts, figuring stuff out, or redoing mistakes. A smaller boat that can be built in sheet plywood will go quicker. The double diag. planking on this hull will add lots of hours. I would suggest building a small boat, build it quick, find out how much fun it really is, , then go for the bigger one.

All the best, Tad.

 

ouch.. i was thinking like 1000 hours max.

so if i was working 6 hours a day on the boat for an entire year id only get in 2100 hours

How do you come to that huge amount of time?
Its sorta surprising.

Is going with a different method of building faster such as fiberglass?

again thank you for any info you can give out

 

Listen to Tad. He is wise. Especially about doing a small boat first to see if this really is something that you want to spend every evening and weekend doing for the next 12-18 months. It's the best thing ever if you like it, phenominally expensive torture if you don't.

 

It’s common to look at a project like this and underestimate the time needed for completion. Once the hull is done the work is just beginning. If you need a boat in a short time, I would look to buy one. It might even be cheaper. If you want the satisfaction of building your own, then allow enough time to do a good job.

Gary

 

The interior of a boat is what takes most of the time. I can strip plank the sides of a 54' powerboat in 4-5 days with two people. However, it takes 6-8 months for the deck and interior. I think Tad's estimate is a bit high. It depends on wether you want to build a boat or a yacht though. For example, if you use permanent bulkheads as construction molds and everything is painted and finished "work boat quality" 1000 hours is reasonable; even for a beginner. What usualy happens is that the add-ons an modifications lengthen a project to twice or more of its original time. If you can stick to plain and simple it will make your project more enjoyable. It is good advise to build a small boat first to get the hang of it. Something like an 8' dinghy would be a great starter, particularly if you tow or carry it on deck later.

 

Hmm its nice to know these things

Thanks guys very informative appreciate it