Catamaran plans, who have I forgotten ?

Ed Horstmans 34' cat would put you in the size boat as Romany but looks a bit lighter and is already converted to foam . I am sure Ed would let you scale the 27 up 10% in length only which would put you at close to 30' . You might be able to talk him into letting you scale the beam and give you the box beam scantlings for the 34 or one of the tri,s .

 

I like EH's boats but none fit the accommodation I need. If I went for one of his boats it'd be the tristar 31 trimaran. Even so it's carrying capacity is low...and the spaces are close together, bed/galley/head. It just doesn't solve any problem.

Robin Chamberlin's 32' trimaran is sort of a development of that idea. Beautiful boat but same issues...

 

Interesting Mr Woods is not game for this. To be clear, I was suggesting spacing the bulkheads 4% closer and not changing anything else. Waterline beam and overall beam would remain intact.

Okay. Still, choosing a boat that just fits under the 10M threshold makes me think you are simply rationalizing the maximization of value instead of choosing the boat you need and can finish.

Fair enough, no plywood. You've been threatening to build a coastal cruising boat on this site for over a decade, so I'm just trying to goad you into starting something, anything. My intent is to be helpful even if I come across as rude.

 

Have you tried contacting Murray Isles Design? Based in NSW these days I think.
Islesdesign Goings On http://islesdesign.blogspot.com/

 

Yes that was what I thought. I suppose he gets sick of people wanting to change his designs.

Yes fair comment. I started with the 25' Sango but not folding. One day a question here got me looking at Saturn properly for the first time. It got me going, such a nice boat. Mr Woods allowed me to upgrade my plans. I get the build time thing but I'm not jumping from a 25' boat to a 40' bridgedeck cabin monster. It was always going to have a cuddy cabin, it was always going to be foam. Everything is bigger of course but it's not like I'm building a heliport and spa...

Yes I am acutely aware of that. I've bought and sold a couple of boats in that time. I've said over and over that I don't want to build, but every time I buy something I end up working on it for 6 months getting fed up and selling it. Also in the last 10 years I've had a perforated bowel, prostate cancer, castleman's disease and 2 strokes. I was literally about to order my materials when I had my first stroke in 2020. Now I can't drive anymore. I'm just short of the visual field for a restricted licence. It's extremely frustrating. I live nowhere near public transport so I'll probably have to move house, which is another bother. I can't ride motorcycles anymore, I can't read my extensive library anymore. The blindness has stolen a huge chunk of my life. I am trying to hold on to what I have left.

I am sorry if people here are sick of hearing from me.

No I haven't. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

Absolutely not Guzzi - far from it!

I for one appreciate your posts and wisdom behind them. Please do carry on.
You have certainly gone through a lot in the past 10 years - 20 years ago I wanted to build a Woods Gypsy, but other things intervened, including a run in with cancer 8 years ago, and arthritis running rampant, and I never did, and then I finally realised that I was no longer physically able to do so, and admitted defeat.
Hence why I am so happy to see that you are still going for it, despite all the obstacles in your way.

 

Not at all! Sorry if I gave that impression.

I just wonder what, if anything, is preventing you from getting started (beyond having indecision).

I did happen to find this old list of multihull designers, just in case you've forgotten someone.

 

Jones boats.
Jones Boats Homepage http://jonesboatstuckahoe.com/

 

Thank you for that. Shocking how many are gone. Maybe I'll send an email to Robin Chamberlin and Gary Lidgard. Both in Australia and great designers. I've looked over some of their boats and they draw beautiful stuff. Don't know what they would charge or even if they would be interested in a boat like I want.

 

I’d be surprised if either of them had a boat under 10m. Although the Paralax 9.0 squeezes in albeit with bridgedeck. At this point I’d go Simpson or Woods and Woods is cheaper and available.
I would have thought a Scorpio or Javelin hulls with Gypsy cuddly would work for you perfectly.

Scorpio and Javelin, 30' cruiser racers by Woods Designs http://www.sailingcatamarans.com/scorpio.htm

 

Chamberlain in particular looks like he's focused on larger high dollar yachts that generate larger fees.

 

Hi Guzzis
The Grainger Alfresco 920 might fit... But last century and maybe cedar or that combo balsa/veneer strip. Might not be a difficult conversion.
I'm not sure why the aversion to a top/bridgedeck cabin, from a structural perspective add a lot to the connective and resale which I'll assume you're not worried about.
Tough set of cards you've been delt, best wishes from Jeff.

 

"Chamberlain in particular looks like he's focused on larger high dollar yachts that generate larger fees."

I'm not expecting a positive response from any of them but it can't hurt to ask. The 9 meter is such a lovely boat. A scruffy one sold a few weeks ago for 45k. If I'd been quicker I'd have had that in an instant. Needed work but was probably managable...

The simpson plans are lovely and some not too expensive but as you say no support.

The scorpio is lovely and ticks all my boxes but I'm a bit scared of trying to cast rounded hulls in foam. I know people do it but if it goes wrong you end up scrapping a lot of very expensive foam. I asked Mr Woods about solid glass to the shine but again he didn't seem keen. Javelin is the racing version, dagger boards. Same hulls different foils. Never quite understood how the 3 boats get different displacements

 

What’s the big deal about rounded hulls in foam ?
Build male or female with batten mould for the curved part.
Cut the foam into 200mm strips
Soften in an insulated box heated with a paint stripper gun.
Topsides, bulkheads and furniture on a table.
If you want solid glass below waterline use thin strips glass vertically until you have shape and then lay up heavier.
I would use heavy biaxial either side of corematt. Vinylester resin.

 

Glass is cheap, foam is expensive. If I make a dog's breakfast of it I've done the money in the foam. If I muck up a solid glass hull at worst I can chuck it and start again. I'm just intimidated by it. That's why I wanted to go chined, or solid glass to the chine. Mr Woods wasn't keen. I can get epoxy wholesale, in fact I've got most of a pack under the house although it's been there a couple of years now and I don't know how long it lasts. Infusion hardener so it's nice and runny...

I was going to make a mold and vacuum infuse it. I'd try that in solid glass but scared of the $ risk doing it in foam. It's easy if you've done it before I guess but for me it's a block. I guess if I had a small amount of foam to play with I could experiment and see how it went....