Beginners Noob questions materials etc

Hi !
Thanks for having me

I have written up a little questionnaire to try and get as much info as possible to ensure I eliminate possible mistakes and headaches as much as possible.

If you would be happy to give me your wisdom i will repay you with internet gratitude

What material is the preferred goto that I should be using ?

What is Thebes density and thickness and if you know what you paid for it by the meter or however its measured id appreciate that also.

Is it quicker to order from the uk or a overseas brand?

Is it more cost effective or better to go sheets over kits?

Do i need to look at different density's for different parts of the boat?

Any input is most welcome im a fair bit inexperienced so please share any potential pitfalls i may face if you know fo any pretty please!

 

Welcome to the Forum Freddy.

It depends...... what type and size of boat do you want to design and build, and what will it be used for?
(I presume that you want to build a boat? One lad was on here recently asking about materials, and it turned out that he was looking to build a fibreglass spoiler for his car ).

Please tell us a bit more about your dreams and aspirations, and your background (including design and building experience), and then the good members of this Forum will be in a better position to help you.

 

Thank you @bajansailor I would love to go about 25-30ft sail boat I have experience in cnc machining so I have some transferable skills. I'm trying to cover as many bases as I can education wise. I plan to sail to Norway which is were I met my girlfriend and complete the journey with a proposal. I understand this will not be built in a day and once I finalise a budget I'm anticipating about 24 months

 

Are you building yourself because you want to build a boat yourself, or are you just interested in an inexpensive sailboat to cross the North Sea to Norway?

There are cheaper and faster ways then building from scratch. Sailboats are complex, more then power boats, but 24 months seems reasonable for a basic 30' sailboat, given the appropriate space and tools.

I'd go with glass over wood, but that's based on my familiarity with the materials.

 

@Freddy Tilder Ummm ok..... I do hope that she will accept your proposal in 2 or 3 years when you finally do manage to sail to Norway to offer it.

How much sailing have you done in the past?
Are you looking to both design and build your boat in the 25' - 30' range, or would you be happy to build a boat from a set of plans that can be easily bought online?

What type of sailboat in this size range would you prefer?
For example, a boat could vary from a very basic lightweight racing boat design, to a small heavy displacement cruising yacht with a long keel.

And as Will says

And the cheapest and fastest way is to simply buy an existing boat secondhand - it will cost MUCH less than building a similar sized vessel yourself.
Although I do appreciate that this method does have much less romantic appeal.......

 

For an excellent overview of materials and their pros and cons, Elements of Boat Strength by Dave Gerr is the book you want. If you actually want to build, so that you are building yourself, you want that book anyway.

 

You can't beat plywood covered in fiberglass for ease of construction. It is the fastest also. Do you want a yacht like or a worboat finish? High quality finishes often take more than half the build time.

 

Years ago, I read a survey in which a couple of, (what I think,) were important findings.
1, The average home-built boat went thru ~2.6 owners before completion, (if it was completed).
2, The average home-built boat went thru ~1.8 marriages, (many cases where the wife said, "It's me or the boat".
I'll add a quote about boatbuilding, (paraphrasing,) "You start out thinking that the boat will take your SPARE money and time, then you realize that it takes ALL of your money and time".
Twenty-five to thirty feet?
As has already been posted, find an existing boat that you can fix-up/re-do, you'll be miles, (and buckets of money,) ahead.
If you MUST build a boat, go to this link, find something That. You. Can. Do.
It will be a "wholesome" craft that will take care of you, not some fly-by-night floating fashion show.
Addendum; The above post by Gonzo is on track.
Pick something that you can use plywood and glass over.
If you want a round-bilge boat, then cold molding will be far better for an amateur than trying to work with lining-off and sawing out planks with a running bevel.
Also, 2 years? If you build from scratch that's not a realistic time frame.

Atkin & Co. - Sailboats and Auxiliaries 22' to 30' (mysticseaport.org)

 

And here is the quandary - Freddy wants to build the boat in order to sail across the North Sea to propose to his lovely lady.
Let's hope that she does not come to this conclusion before he sets sail.

 

I don't really want to be discouraging as I find building boats utterly fascinating.You could get to Norway,and back, this weekend for less than the cost of a set of plans.Which would leave quite a lot of money in your bank account to help you build a life with the lady in question.If reaching Norway in a boat you sailed there is an important part of the vision,you could buy a serviceable boat for less that the cost of sails alone.You might even recoup most of that cost should you decide to sell it once the purpose of the voyage had been reached.

If she says no-get back to us.There is lots of advice to be had.

 

Boat design advice AND romance advice. We are a full service forum.

-Will

 

For an adventure type journey obtain the plans for Skudelev 6, buy a stack of ply, cut everything on the cnc and assemble with epoxy like a giant 3d puzzle.
For the journey install a temporary deck and self bailing cockpit (ply and PVC fabric), fit two outboards on the quarter and trailer to Scotland. Wait for a good weather window and cross over. If she's norvegian sail to her hometown, find the local sail club and donate the boat to them. Propose during the big ceremony in front of all the town and invited press.

If you want something more comfortable (like having an actual toilet on board, or running water and maybe even heat) it's easier to just buy something you like and spend the time repairing and updating everything the previous owners forgot to tell you about.

The answers to your initial questions aren't really relevant. Best material depends on personal likes, boats in your size range can be Al, steel, various type of wood, cored and uncored glass, even ferro. Every material has its density, you can't manipulate that. You do however have either different thicknesses of the same material, or different materials in different parts of the boat.
Kit builds have the advantage that you don't have to worry about finding materials, measuring and cutting, and with good kits even proper alignment is a given.

Here's a taste of a CNC cut Skudelev 6:

 

Considering that the plan's final goal is to propose, the real question is how many years of separation is the lady willing to withstand. Maybe I am impulsive, but if going by water was the lady's request ,I would buy a boat today put the ring in my pocket and sail away.

 

Why are they building that hull right-side up? It seems like it would be hard to roll over to plank, and even harder to plank like that.

-Will

 

Planking right side up is the traditional way, this boats were originally built shell first.
There isn't much reason to do it inverted, the boat was done by a crew. Hanging a plank against gravity is different when you have several mobile, intelligent, voice controlled clamps each sporting two arms. It saves you building a complicated strongback and rolling the boat. Lastly, as a clinker ply boat, there is no ulterior sanding or glassing involved, just varnish. To comfortably paint the bottom the crew can lean her over on something soft.

If one has to do it alone I agree that inverted is easier, and I would also use the newer stem and sternpost interpretation along with some other plywood economizing strategies.