My Boat Now!?

Fellow Californians: http://yachtpals.com/junk-boat

 

Good morning all,

Well, my holiday season is over; I'll be returning to work tomorrow and won't have much more time to spend interacting on the forums for now. This thread will no doubt soon disappear into the annals. I do appreciate and have enjoyed all of the input and ideas from so many throughout the world over the past couple of weeks.

One of my original questions, "is there a boat market for the common man?" has been answered. There are boats for the common man... they're called Bayliners. Unfortunately, I don't want one of those. So maybe the problem isn't with the boats... maybe I'm just not a common man.

Maybe I'm a difficult customer?

Although there are boats for the common man, I'm not sure there's a boat design and building market for the common man. Maybe if we can get the size down to 12'? 10'? 8'? But then I'm right back into the spiral...

Strange game, Professor Faulken.

Maybe I have unrealistic expectations.

And what's reasonable to one obviously isn't reasonable to another.

Thankfully I have a boat, have had boats, and will have more boats. I might end up picking up a boat off craigslist (saw another great one yesterday -- will probably call the guy today -- it's $500 OBO -- could be out boating next weekend).

Maybe it's not so important to have the boat of my dreams, but rather, to make my dreams come true in a boat?

Or I might end up building some boat in my garage during my retirement on the shores of beautiful Flathead Lake. Many great designs from which to choose...

"How many ways can a man die screaming, 'Hallelujah!'?"
Billie J. Armstrong, Green Day

If/when in the future I ever want to have designed and built a small microcruiser or pocket cruiser, etc., I know what's available and it looks like the best options apparently exist outside of the states -- in Europe or Canada. I would first contact apex1 or Tad. Another question I had in starting this thread ("who could actually help?") has been answered.

I don't blame American boat designers per se... I think the American economy is probably mostly to blame for the common man not being able to obtain a reasonably priced vessel.

So, stonedpilot, my American dream is doing just fine, thank you. And slow and steady does win races... I'm a kayaker... I'll be out kayaking next weekend while you're building another clay model. Sheesh.

Andrew, thanks for your suggestion regarding building a Bartender. That is an option. So many options... so many boats.

But my best option for today is to take my wonderful wife and daughter to the movies and then out for dinner. Family time. Most important things first.

I'll let you all know of any significant nautical changes in my life.

Thanks again and enjoy,

RainGear (Don)
California, USA

 

Intellectual ************.

The "common man" should stay on dry land.

It doesnt take a rocket scientist to make wood float.

15 years to pick a pocket cruiser, lets hope your heart holds out while you pick the paint color..

 

Don, something wrong with that trailer under the white boat, and I can tell you what it is.

The boat rides way too high and launching is a *******, right.

Get yourself a rub axle. The lowest point is the axle height which is just above the center of the wheels. Since the axle doesn't bob up and down, only the wheels do, the hull cannot be damaged.

The boat rides lower on the trailer and tows much more stable, save a bit on fuel as it is more in the vehicle's slip stream. Easier to do prep getting on and off the boat on the trailer.

Launching is going to be about 500% easier, and you don't have to submerge everything any more to get the boat in or out of the water.

Worth the effort.

 

Fanie,
Please post a pic of a typical rub axle if at all possible.

I've seen these cool trailers used in the surf. They are welded aluminum with a double gantry above and winches. The boat comes in at moderate speed into the open horseshoe, hooks at the end of the overhead slings are clicked into welded padeyes (welded aluminum boats) the boat is winched up vertically. After the boat has been pulled out of the surf they stick a 4x4 under it and lower it down to rest upon that. Some of the trailers have telescoping tongues with hydraulics to "push" the trailer into deeper water leaving the truck on safer ground.

 

Google for 'rubber torsion axle suspension', ie here -

http://www.al-kousa.com/prod_rubsus.htm

I would suggest you get the through axle instead of the stub. To use the stub you have to add structure to the trailer to support it. The through axle supports the trailer.

If you surf launch you should deflate your tyres some so they work better on the sand. One more reason to have a bigger boat - the trailer is longer and you can already launch while the truck is still on the tar.

Personally I'm scared of alu and SS trailers. Mild steel is the only material that can properly handle flex without metal fatigue.

 

Raingear...If I were you....I'd get a 17- 23 foot fiberglass production boat from the late 70's at earliest and better yet the early eighties before they started skimping on resin and glass. Down here they are everywhere from 3 grand down to the $200.00 i paid for my Hunter 20. This is enough boat for anybody when you factor in all the maintenance and upkeep but it's big enough for two even for a week or so. Get a good sawzall and rip the cap off and all the crap off until you have your good hull left...hopefully you found a boat with but preferably no blisters....make sure the hull is good and I'd be sure it's the type of displacement hull you want..racing lines, big dinghy lines, or something in between...
Building the hull is the most expensive part of new boat construction...a well-made old glass hull from the eighties is a great launch pad in the long run if you ask me...you can still build it out the way you want to and get the thing the way you want it. I'd say you want at least a 17-23 footer though and actually have some room. Pirate-stoner is right though...just do it...good luck to you and happy New year!

 

Sorry souljour,

building the hull is NOT the most expensive part! It is about 8-10% for a luxury cruiser and 15-20% for a decent built. Fitting it out and buying the propulsion / rig is far more than the hull.

Regards
Richard

 

RainGear...check your PMs

 

Yeah..as far as luxury cruisers go...and high-end crusiers with onboard generators,full raw bars... megawatt radars and so forth...that would not surprise me Apex...but I mean for a homebuilder using epoxy the hull cost would be quite expensive once you start getting longer than 14 feet...especially with decks and lazarettes and cabinetry...I mean it depends on a whole bunch of things really...a hull laid down in some Thai or Filipino port is likely going to be substantially cheaper than one laid down in Portland,Ore...Annapolis area is likely pricier labor than Mobile,Alabama ..etc .Overall, I think you are probably correct but seems there are some big variables...

 

Not the most expensive, but the most extensive, and that goes for any boat you build. Richard also mentioned that.

Building a boat seems easy, but it is not. It is much more work than you think and takes longer than you think.