The Salish Sea includes the whole PNW from Tacoma to (I think) Seymour Narrows. So includes not only the St of Georgia but also Desolation Sound, Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound which are now all in the "Salish Sea". Which is just a recent PC name for the area and presumably cost Wa and BC tax payers thousands of dollars to so name.
The Skoota 28 is fuel efficient in part because it has lightweight multihull scantlings (6 and 9mm ply) rather than fishing monohull scantlings, as many powercats have.
An aluminium boat will be built with roughly the same number of stringers and frames as a wood boat, but will use 3mm plating. So clearly will be very much heavier than wood. Furthermore, people generally don't like a metal interior but want a wood one. That's already "built in" when you build a wood boat, but is extra non structural weight on a metal one.
So I am afraid you cannot build a Skoota 28 in metal. Sorry
Every boat is a compromise. Yes it would be nice to have it easier to transport. But there are not many live aboard 28ft x 14ft cruising powercats that can be assembled by man/woman power (been there done that) nor transported by road without permits (again been there done that - our Skoota was built in Sequim and went 40 miles by road to Port Townsend to be launched).
If the cabin is transported on the aft bulkhead then the total load is 40ft long and 7ft wide. And, at under 4000lbs towed weight (1.8T), it can be towed behind a regular pickup truck
Look at the photos of the Skoota in the water, can you see the joins? I chose this photo because , again, there are not many live aboard powerboats that can beach like this
Because of the lighter scantlings and engine size, material cost is lower than a more conventional build. Build time is around 2000 hours and you can have one built in Wa for USD125,000 including engines ready to cruise. Or, as the builder has quoted
"without engines, accessories and final painting a grand total of $84,867.00"
Obviously long narrow monohulls have very limited room inside (check out the British "narrow boats") but you tend pay for moorings, marinas, licenses, insurance etc by length, not volume. So not good value for money. Interestingly, more "Narrow Boats" capsize each year in the canals of England than cruising catamarans in the English Channel
And narrow boats tend to roll more and are generally unseaworthy in a cross sea. I talked to the owner of Winifred
http://pacificmotorboat.com/dreamboats2
(scroll down) a couple of years ago and he said he was quite concerned crossing the Juan de Fuca in a F6 and beam sea.
Finally, I think I have said this before, but worth repeating.
The power catamaran is not a new idea. In fact the second boat ever to be driven by a motor was a power catamaran, back in 1788. Check this page for more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Miller_of_Dalswinton
Richard Woods of Woods Designs
www.sailingcatamarans.com
