"Bourbon Twist" Mississipi Shanty boat

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by Juliamarie Palero, Mar 26, 2020.

  1. Juliamarie Palero
    Joined: Mar 2020
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    Location: 90802

    Juliamarie Palero New Member

    Hi y'all
    I am looking for some design plans to build a Mississpi shanty boat with a landing craft style gate so I can roll my motor cycle on and off on my next adventure. Cruising the Grand Ole Miss. From Chicago to New Orleans.
    Bourbon Twist.
     
    BlueBell likes this.
  2. messabout
    Joined: Jan 2006
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    Location: Lakeland Fl USA

    messabout Senior Member

    Juliamarie, You might be a dreamer, a serious adventurer, or a nut case, but I am going to like your stye in either event. Your screen name would imply that you are a female. That does not make any difference at all. Girls can do stuff the same as guys and sometimes better.

    There are a few books out there about shanty boat building and living. For the most part the boats were built primarily of junk material that was scavenged from refuse heaps. All to the considerable credit of their builders and users. Somewhere in my library I have a book titled: Shantyboat. It is the true tale of two people who did take up the shanty boat lure. They began somewhere around Paducah Kentucky and built their boat of whatever they could find for free or for very little money. These two people were both educated and accomplished musicians. They played classical music with a violin and and a cello. On occasion when they landed to re-supply with staples they met locals. Sometimes they played their instruments for the friendly folks. ................These two, a man and a woman, were in no hurry. During the spring they sometimes tied up to the shore and sought permission from the land owner to grow some crops of vegetables. That worked for them rather nicely according to the book. It is a beautiful story that I enjoyed.

    Enough of that nostalgia stuff........ a shanty boat needs a shelter of some sort with the ability to cook and to have some semblance of human accommodation. In your case the boat needs to have a deck that is elevated above the normal waterline of the boat. There will be a hollow space below that floor or main deck. That space can be used for storage of non perishables. You boat will have a simple ramp that is hinged at about the same level as the main deck. You can then roll the bike out by way of the ramp and ashore as desired.

    If you are serious about this kind of project, you need to know a little bit about the details of a floating object like a shanty boat. Consult Archimedes principal which is all about vessels that support a particular weight in water. First calculate the weight of the boat and all of its contents. That is the laborious part. Be aware that one cubic foot of enclosed space will support 62.4 pounds of weight when immersed in fresh water. If your boat and all of its contents is calculated to weigh 300o pounds then divide 3000 by 62.4 and reveal that your boat must have a closed space of 48 cubic feet in order to support that weight. .If the below decks dimensions are 6 feet wide by eight feet long and one foot deep you will have sufficient volume to hold up the weight. But you had sure enough better give those dimensions some room to grow so that the empty space will constitute more than twice the expected load. In that case the empty below decks space will be 6 x 16 x 1 foot and the boat will float in six inches of water which may be desirable for a barge like vessel of this sort....................you will most likely want the boat to be more than sixteen feet long in order to have some liveable cabin space and some open deck space. You do the arithmetic and tell us what you have in mind for that adventure.

    An alternative route for a shantyboat adventure is the Ten- Tom waterway that goes from somewhere north of Kentucky Lake all the way to the gulf of Mexico at Mobile Alabama. There is a book out there that describes the route and the adventure in great detail.. You can go from that route to the Mississippi or to the Ohio river or southward, which is more practical. I recommend that you find that book and study it at some length before you start building the boat.

    You go girl.
     
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  3. Juliamarie Palero
    Joined: Mar 2020
    Posts: 4
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    Location: 90802

    Juliamarie Palero New Member

    I am not a dreamer
    Anything I set my mind too always becomes reality. and I am not a nut to do this.
    I did sail around the world solo with only a sextant, compass,charts,plotter. No auto pilot
    I will never do anything stupid like that again.
    I am free
    I love love being single
    I have no baggage, because I left my baggage with chains wrap around it at the bottom of the pacific ocean.
    I am very adventurous
    I am very curious
    I am very delightful
    I am very mischievous (muah muah muah)
    I am down to earth
    I am very thick skinned.
    I dont get upset
    I do get pissed off instead.
    Den forgettaboutit
    I am very stubborn once my mind is set to do something.
    I am a perfectionist
    I never do anything without thought a plan
    I dont always read instructions
    I do wing it from time to time
    And I never do anything half assed
    Full assed sometimes then throw it away and start again.
    I do learn from my mistakes and experience.
    I dont know it all.
    And frequently ask for advice.
    I do like beer, whiskey,tequila,wine.
    I am allergic to stupid people though.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2020
  4. fallguy
    Joined: Dec 2016
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    Location: usa

    fallguy Senior Member

    Consider taking it up a notch.

    Here is a nice boat that also has a bigger sister or two, but this is sort of barebones minimum at 18 feet.

    One thing you want is fuel efficiency. It sounds silly, but the last thing you want is to run outta gas waitin in line to go thru a lock.

    The nice thing about a smaller cat is your living space is up high and you see well. The Skoota can also be built for a backup motor. I would not traverse the Mississippi without a backup.

    Skoota 18 (SK18) - Study Plans https://bateau.com/studyplans/SK18_study.php?prod=SK18
     
  5. fallguy
    Joined: Dec 2016
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    Location: usa

    fallguy Senior Member

  6. Juliamarie Palero
    Joined: Mar 2020
    Posts: 4
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    Location: 90802

    Juliamarie Palero New Member

    Thanks. That's nice I am looking for plans for Higgins landing craft style. Open bow with a ramp.In my bio I want to be able to roll on and off my Motorcyle. So I can get around and and see the sights.

     
  7. rwatson
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    Location: Tasmania,Australia

    rwatson Senior Member

    I think these might be about as good as you can do.
    From 23 to 27ft, the Bateau Houseboat plans are amongst the simplest, most flexible and good value plans available.

    The best bit about the design is that you can build any superstructure you like on the bare hull, and putting an opening in the pram bow, or some sort of ramp for the bike would not be hard.

    GT Cruiser 23 (GT23) - Study Plans https://bateau.com/studyplans/GT23_study.php?prod=GT23

    hb.jpg

    PS. Personally, rather than a opening ramp, one of these would be better for a bike. You can't always run bow up to where you want to unload the bike. Lifting it off at a jetty is more likely than finding a convenient, gently sloping, non boggy beach everytime you want to go riding.

    crane.jpg
     
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  8. DCockey
    Joined: Oct 2009
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    Location: Midcoast Maine

    DCockey Senior Member

    You might want to take a scouting trip by road along the lower Missisippi, possibly on your motorcycle. From the little bit I've seen and heard from other people there are not many spots to tie up near a road.
     

  9. fallguy
    Joined: Dec 2016
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    Location: usa

    fallguy Senior Member

    Public accesses and marinas with private landings would all suit, but you can't park there to stay on the landing in many of them...so the motorcycle is a rather large sticky wicket unless you pay transient fees to marinas often. Most people traveling downriver stay aboard. I might rethink the motorcycle. Or at least really think through the real logistics.
     
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