Making a Boat mold???????

I am looking into wanting to build boats and i was wondering about boat moulds and plugs. What male moulds are and female moulds are? What are the different types of builds and how do you go about choosing a type of build.
I want to build a sportfisher. Size is yet to be determined and i dont really know if that would be a factor in building method.
I guess it would probably be around a 30 to 35 foot. Um an express or even a center console with a wider than normal beam.
I want an extreme entry level dearise and also a 15 to 21 degree transom deadrise. I am reposting my question because i didnt exactly start off on the right foot with my original and i want to make it right. Sorry everyone for being a knucklehead, know it all!!!!

 

sportfishing,

How big is this boat and how many are you going to make.

A mold is a very expensive thing to make, so you usually desire to make more than one boat to cover the costs.

If you only intend to make yourself a boat, do not even consider making a mold. A mold is made from a plug, the plug is an el cheapo boat, constructed to perfect 1:1 scale, but usually using the cheapest materials that will allow good security to be able to cover with a mold. The plug is usually scrapped after the mold is pulled. There are occassions where the plug is a real boat, the mold is taken from that, and both are saved.

One off sports fishing boats are often stripped plank construction and glassed, or they could be male composite also.

You need to tell us firstly if you are really going to do this or just an idea, and also the size of the boat if you want any more info.

 

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sportfishing,

IF, as you say , someone is willing to pay for this, get them to also pay for some professional advice, and also get them to pay for a boatbuilder, and also get them to pay for a decent design...

....I do not believe anyone would be that stupid today where money is so hard to come by that they would finance you doing something that you know nothing about.

 

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"But see i am the boat builder"

............."at this point im at the building a boat mold stage and i just dont know where to start to build it or how to build one"

...and you wonder why I am confused......

 

now its easy ...go buy a small fibre glass boat ..turn it upside down and polish the bottom ....now fibre glass it all over at least 6 mm thick start with gelcoat and when its all set seperate the two ( if you can )
then you will have some experience to go on ...boat builder my ***

and when you sell them make sure you comply with all the state and national regulations or your *** will have been sued off .....

 

I dont think he meant he 'is' a boatbuilder, but that he 'will be the person building the boat ie:the boatbuilder.'

If you are going to attempt this, try a small dinghy first, this will let you make all the mistakes in small scale. In fact I would suggest that possibly you even do it on a model boat scale, where all the basics that you learn will be knowledge gained in building a forty footer.

Trust me on this. :!:
If you attempt to build a forty footer from scratch you are heading for trouble. :?: As much as your backer might be happy to say he'll now give you the money; two years down the line he's going to start to get a bit nervous, two years of idle factory space is enough , let alone the cost of massive amounts of materials, cranes or forklifts -you cant manage that size mould or mould building on your own.:!:
Then you need woodworking tools, safety stuff ...........God the list goes on.

Start small and work up from that.
Your best bet would be to look for at least a basic polyester training course, to get you going.



Have fun
Itchy

 

Hi Sportfishing, sounds good mate, I know a couple of people that could possibly help you, they might even have a few moulds & factory all set up( & not doing much currently if my sources are reliable) & ready to go so you can make heaps sooner, they already poured a few mill into it & may need the help of an entrepeneur such as you with the go & pep to be the new Captain of boat creation industy, its possibly an absolute ground floor opportunity, with a fastrack moving forward to success cool vibe to it, I'd have a go myself but being worn out & cynical & just living from one paypacket to the next I can't take it up at present. All the best wishes in your endeavours from Jeff.

 

Thanks for the direction

Now see landlubber thats the info i was looking for. And yes i want to build the boats. not a boat builder. But i guess its easy to mis-read and assume when you just want to see someone else fail.

I really appreciate all the comments and yes a smaller scale would be better. I have all that down. Honestly just didnt want to give all my info away. I know how to glass and woodworking is a passion of mine. I have picked up alot of boat building skills as i work for a yacht services company. Ive also worked for viking south and own my own detailing business.
Can i really take a fiberglass boat and make a mold out of it, or replicate it. and if so what would those steps be. When the resin creates heat wouldnt it warp the mold if i did it that way.
I have access to venture molds and bahama boatworks molds but "u cant do this" and "that" with the molds and just to many red tape barracades.

 

No offense Sportfishing, but if you even have to ask the question is it possible to take a mould off a fibreglass boat....
then you are nowhere near being able to pull this off.
I mean it , go and learn a bit more...no a lot more. and then give it a go. Im not saying give up on it but if you understand how glass works properly, then the skies the limit, but just knowing how to laminate a bit is not going to do it for you.
Im not joking ...you can only fail if you try knowing what you think you know.
Those guys at Bahama are the clever ones, because they know, as do we, that a mould left in inexperienced hands can get f*cked up in five seconds flat, never to be repaired.
Itchy

 

Yea i know it can be ruined in seconds. Thats why im asking questions to get answers to then research. Im not ready to actually build. I am ready to start compling my information so i can futher my education as you said. I like learning and new things keep coming up and i ask or do trial and error. Thanks for the advice and support. I want to do things right.
But could you take a all ready assembled fiberglass boat apart and use it as a mould to replicate a boat? I think you could if you cleaned the inside up good applied alot of wax and gel coat it. Am i right or just making an @$$ of my self?

 

Making a male mould off an existing hull to then use would be easier then trying to make the interior clean and smooth enough to use.

 

So if i made a male mould would that mean cleaning and preparing the hull of the boat and then gel coating and so forth. and that would create a blank hull in which i would have to then glass in chines and stringers or would they be present from the original hull i made the male mould from?
Hmmmmm there is alot more to boat building then i thought originally.
well atleast im getting a broad spectrum of advice and im learning alot!

 

Hey again,

Why did you not start this thread by saying you would like to LEARN how to build a boat , not tell us you are a boatbuilder and designer.....so many pretenders in this world mate, and we get sick of people posing as boatbuilders (designers), screwing someones boat up and then we have to fix the mess created. Just because you have done a few years playing with boats does not make you a "boatbuilder".

If you flop a mold from someone else's work, then you are cheating...you are stealing another mans designs, and may well be sued for the result, deservedly so. There is a fine line in design work that sees so many similar designs coming out, but that is the result of slow improvements as new owners and designers apply their inputs to the job the boat is designed to do.

Choose a design that has been successful then ask yourself why. Was it because of clever marketing or does the design and manufacture really fit the job well. To build a good sportsfisher, you will have to understand the many small details of the sportsfishing game. Slow speed trolls for instance, backup problems, landing the fish through the transom. You need to get wet and see what the fellas do...ask the drivers what they reckon, ask the fishermen that know what they are doing what is wrong with the boat they are on...that is where you have to start the story mate...know the product and know the market, then design around those parameters to suit the end result.

Personally, I see the game fish boat industry as a dinasaur...big engines (fuel guzzlers), killing scarce natural resources (not very piblic minded), one use designs (waste of materials) etc etc...but ignore all that if you still see it as being a good thing...go for it. The only way you will survive is to fully understand the market.....and build a quality boat to suit it. There will be only a very small, specialised customer.