Finding plans based on specifics

There are many strategies to speed up construction, including the interior, but they all have drawbacks of some sort, there is no "best thing ever".
Just for fun, I can enumerate some, including the compromises one has to make:
1. Making the cabinetry part of the framing. Main advantage is weight saving, secondary is having most of the interior installed before the skin. The main disadvantage is limited flexibility, the interior has to be built as designed and has to stay like that for the entire life of the boat, and is normally plate material. Secondary problem is having to loft the entire interior, and while this is easy with 3D modeling, it's not for free. The construction speed is debatable, cutting is fast but filleting and taping everything in can be tedious. Usually only minimal or even no temporary framing is needed.
2. Having the entire interior CNC cut and finished remotely, ready to drop in as complete units. This is possible not only with plate materials (plywood or cored composites) but also with solid wood. The apex of this method is using a rot resistant ply with cabinet grade faces, no edge trim and wax or oil finish.
It's fast because you can assemble and finish in the bench, but you pay for it in the design stage, every single component has to be modeled individually. Attachment can be fast, it's either spot glued to the hull, or screwed to dedicated brackets or the framing.
3. CNC cut framing. Similar to sawn frames (single, double or triple), futtocks made from solid wood, plywood, or a combination (including metals). The bevels can be precut, but you either pay for more design work, or a 5 axis CNC. Depending on CNC size or design skills the same is possible for the longitudinal members. Minimal or no temporary framing.
4. Laminating the framing in mold. This is similar to steam bent framing, the veneers are glued in a ribbanded mold. The confident boatbuilder uses actual planking strips for ribbands, staples and glues the veneers to them one at the time for each frame, then cleans them up in situ with the sander. Afterwards he closes the gaps between the ribbands with more strips, or with cold molding. The less confident builder uses temporary ribbands and removes the frames and floors for dressing.
5. Single layer strip planked skin with no structural glass. It's heavier then other types of strip building.
6. Dry strip planking. Strips are machined to ensure a gap, then thickened epoxy is added. Consumes more epoxy then other forms of strip, can be slightly heavier but it's not mandatory, can not be finished bright.
7. Using composite nails/staples as temporary fasteners. Wooden nails are also available and are shear resistant. The fastener and the guns are not cheap.
8. Infusing the glass over the wood.
9. Powered longboards.
10. Use the thickest veneer that can take the bend.

Of course some people insist on planing all strips and veneers to uniform size, machining bead and cove, putting diagonal veneers over strip, using many layers of thin veneers for cold molding, longitudinal outside veneers to simulate carvel, etc.

 

#9 above would have saved me about two weeks and lotsa pain!

 

Its not actually a bad material, it just has to be done right, and plastering day can make or break a boats future. Welding is a lot easier to learn than crafting joints in wood, and for a 50ft boat, depending where you build, steel is often "cheap", relatively. The systems that go in the hulls cost the same.
It is a spiral, the heavier boat needs bigger sails, a bigger engine and heavier gear, anchors etc. You can still get your 50ft boat but with a much lighter displacement, at less cost in hull,rig, engineering etc etc. I have seen a few "cheap" McGregor 65for sale, and its only the deep keel that limits it, at least for me as a cruising boat. I know someone who had a 55ft wood pilot cutter built for charter in the US East Coast, but its 7ft draft was found to be a bigger issue than expected and the boat came back to the UK.

Im sure Tad would love to draw you up something with a long shoal keel and a centreboard, not a bad compromise when engineered right.

 

Those people who insist on making 4+ hulls have my admiration. Its just not like laying up layers of glass on top of each other. I would not build that way myself, fabric and epoxy tech have allowed a single layer strip hull to have one layer of something like S glass, and still be as strong as the multiple layers of veneer.

 

I'm a bit confused here, are you saying a steel boat would be lighter and shallower than wood? I'm also looking forward to a response from Tad, if nothing else because I really appreciated his views on life in his website blog.

 

It depends on size and method of construction. At 50' and beamy, it becomes competitive with carvel planking. Cold molded can be lighter. Steel is a tough material and relatively easy to repair. However, wood is also relatively easy to repair in the field. I consider ease of repair one of the important things to consider in a long distance cruiser.

 

I hate to say those immortal words....but..."it depends". I have been aboard ferro colin archers that came out lighter than the wood equivelant, but if you have been aboard an original and seen how they are built, easy to see how that can be done. So yes, a steel boat can be built light, but generally they are not. It IS heavier compared to planking, but often, again depending on design, the backbone can be lighter than traditional wood. If you are familiar with Beauhler stuff he shows some of his big boats for both wood and steel based on the hull and the steel boats are usually heavier. At the end of the day, displacement is always going to be displacement, so for the same weight, you would usually get a slightly smaller boat in steel (either length or beam), compared to a wooden hull that is NOT built like an old Colin Archer. If the boats are substantial enough a steel and wood boat can be the same displacement, the biggest difference will be the amount of ballast they carry to float on the same waterline, generally the wooden boat will have a better ballast ratio.
I helped put a new bottom on one side of a 30ft steel boat that came out of the water because of a "few pin holes",in 3 days, that would not have been possible if it was wooden. I have found wood easier to live with, but i expect a new steel boat painted properly from the get-go and maintained, would be a nice way to travel with good peace-of-mind potential against hitting something or being hit.

 

If no mention yet, Roberto Barros designs do steel,alloy,grp and wood.

boat plans for centre cockpit and swing keel sailboat (bgyachtdesign.com)

 

That's a beautiful plan for a boat. Their Polar 44 would fit the bill nicely too. Thank you the the site link!

 

I am searching for an article on a tabloid cruiser DIANE designed by Wm. Garden. She is design #605 and is 18'6" loa. very similar to his Vashon Island cutter. Can anybody help me please. T.I.A. Rayman

 

I don't think I know of an article on the design but it features in one of William Garden's books on design.You might find a copy on a site like Abe books.