Design Boat from Photographs?

Hi folks,
I’m in no way shape or form a Naval Architect, but I am a sailor and love my profession.

I wish to have a vessel designed, similar to the one my grandfather worked on in the 1950s, so that someday down the road, I will have it constructed. Only problem is, I have no drawings of the vessel, and don’t know if any exist. However, there are a handful of photographs of the vessel and her sister ship.

It was a 122GRT cutter, Wikipedia link here:HMCS Marvita - Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Marvita

So is it possible to be done, would It be difficult to design off of photographs and particulars alone? Would it be expensive?

Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to the Forum Anthony.

What are your reasons for having a replica of this vessel designed, and eventually built?
Is it just sentimental, or do you also want to use her as a whisky tanker carrying cargo, or use the hull form to create a nice slender motor yacht, or.....?

I am reminded (in a way) of the 70' Laurent Giles design 'Woodpecker', although she is much smaller.
Woodpecker of Poole – Laurent Giles Archive https://laurentgilesarchive.co.uk/product/woodpecker-of-poole/

Or maybe the Nigel Irens design Hang Tuah (again in a way - but not much info is provided here).
Hang Tuah - Nigel Irens Design https://nigelirens.com/boats/power-boats/hang-tuah/

Re if a design like HMCS Marvita would be expensive - how many millions will you be able to raise in order to eventually build the vessel?
You could probably allow about 10% (very roughly) for the design fees, unless you find a stock design that has already been designed / built.

 

There is a bit of sentimental aspect for this specific vessel, but I would certainly put her to work. Not as a rum runner lol, but her predecessor had towing and cargo carrying capabilities. Not to mention, a shallow draft vessel could have opportunities in Hydrgraphic services or Coast Guard.

As for a dollar figure, I don’t know how much something like that would cost, or how long it would take to come up with funds. If I were to go through with it, this would be something that would happen 20-30 years down the road from now.

 

Well, it depends on how "similar" you want it to be. Designing a boat with the same above water profile and similar dimensions is certainly possible. The cost would be similar to any other vessel this size and depends mainly on the designers hourly rate and the level of detail you need the plans to go into.

A more accurate replica would begin with hiring a historian to search all available archives and libraries, then depending on how much he finds you proceed from there. This is like detective work, he could find the original plans sitting somewhere all complete, or you may have to work from general construction practices used at the time in that yard, known similar vessels, maintainance bills, etc. No way to tell how long or expensive such research can be.
Even if you find the original plans, they would need adapting to modern standards in order to be able to use the boat commercially.

There is also the question of the building material, sometimes it makes sense to deviate from the original for example for reasons of maintenance, initial build cost, etc.

 

Generating a body lines plan from photographs is possible but you must have a very complete series of photographs, including, of course, the submerged part of the hull. In any case, if that is not very important, you could make something that, without being exactly the same as the Marvita, would look very similar. That would not be very expensive.
That in terms of the shapes and general layout of the boat. The construction plans are something else, not more complicated but much more expensive. In order to give an idea of costs, it would be necessary to know what information is available, not only about the boat, but also about the resources you have for its construction.

 

First place to start the research: Mahone Bay Museum Boats Built in Mahone Bay Area https://mahonebaymuseum.com/research/ship-database/ Their data indicates a different builder and dimensions. They also have a research library with 72 ship blueprints from the builder in question.

 

Thanks! Just before you posted this reply, I also discovered this. I am going to send off a research request for the plans.

 

A very likely inspiration for your rumrunner, the subchaser. The Chasers https://www.subchaser.org/chasers With plans and actual construction details.