New to the forum looking for suggestions

[loneranger]

Hello all. I just registered but it's some time that i am following the forum.
But now it's the moment to get into it because i need some suggestions/opinions.
I like very much the Snell's Easy series, the 10.5 and the 37 that should fit my needs.
Now, this is the situation: I live in Greece, on an island, and wile the place where the boat should be built is not a problem, i am actually not very sure about my skills ( ): i am quite handy with things but a boat build is such a huge task.......from the other side my budget is quite tight, let's say around 50/60k €, that makes around 90k AUD, and i am very worried about not being able to keep it in that number; and finally, looking at some adds in AU i saw that there are quite a few Easy on sale for an asking price very close to my budget for building and i imagine that it would be quite lower after some negociation. Of course in case i buy a finished project that would be only a small part of the task because having it here would be another movie and related costs that maybe could equal the costs of building. So i am stuck in front of this situation: buy or build with en eye on costs?
Thanks for reading and all answer are welcome.
Cheers

 

[rwatson]

This recent thread has a bit of a discussion about Snell's easy series.
Easy Sarah Catamaran https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/easy-sarah-catamaran.60885/

 

[loneranger]

Thanks for chiming in. Yes, i read that 3D as many others but looks like things get a bit complicated when it comes to budgets. But it might be also normal considering that each one has it's own parameters of confort and needs, though it would be interesting to be able to get an idea of an average build budget.
What's your idea about build vs used?

 

[fallguy]

If you can buy; pay for independent survey.

The advantage of build is all new materials and your own QA. The disadvantage is time and sometimes cost and inexperienced QA.

If you have not done the style of work; it would be wise to build a small dinghy or tender using similar methods. I have found building a foam sandwich boat much like woodworking.

A number of things speed or slow home builds: experience, climate controllled shop, large shop, time available.

My personal build is space limited and I lack some experience and both cost me a lot of time, but I am enjoying the project and found the time thanks to my wife. If the used vessels are not local; it would be a much harder decision.

All the best.

 

[loneranger]

If you can buy; pay for independent survey.

The advantage of build is all new materials and your own QA. The disadvantage is time and sometimes cost and inexperienced QA.

If you have not done the style of work; it would be wise to build a small dinghy or tender using similar methods. I have found building a foam sandwich boat much like woodworking.

A number of things speed or slow home builds: experience, climate controllled shop, large shop, time available.

My personal build is space limited and I lack some experience and both cost me a lot of time, but I am enjoying the project and found the time thanks to my wife. If the used vessels are not local; it would be a much harder decision.

All the best.

Yes, hard decision, also because if i go the DIY way i think that i'll need at least 1 year working on it full time: in any case i would get somebody with build experience to help me in the hulls build phase.
Of course if i decide to buy i would do a good survey, but what really scares me is that pacific+atlantic+mediaterranean crossing considering the Aden passage as a no go.....lots lots of miles: i asked the Snells about the capability of the 10.5 to handle such a trip and they answered that it would not be a problem if not overloaded. It's ok, but in any case it's a cost that i'll have to add and of course wear.

 

[fallguy]

If you like building things and get a sense of accomplishment seeing progress; build it.

I am building a Woods catamaran; hope you have checked his out.

 

[loneranger]

If you like building things and get a sense of accomplishment seeing progress; build it.

I am building a Woods catamaran; hope you have checked his out.

The more i think about it the more i like the idea to build it to my own taste and needs, yet afraid about budget more than abandoning the project. But then i think that if things really get tight and nasty i can always switch for a used mast/sails.....something less in electronics and buy them later....
How's your build going? Saw the Woods projects too, interesting but i like the Snell's better.
Cheers

 

[fallguy]

The more i think about it the more i like the idea to build it to my own taste and needs, yet afraid about budget more than abandoning the project. But then i think that if things really get tight and nasty i can always switch for a used mast/sails.....something less in electronics and buy them later....
How's your build going? Saw the Woods projects too, interesting but i like the Snell's better.
Cheers

My build is going well. It is a rather complex boat with the demounting feature. We insulated the building last year in April and really began in earnest last August as we had lots of setup; building a 34' vacuum table, etc. Our space limitations are always trouble, but that might have actually helped us stay lean. I never have enough tablespace.

I am currently putting beam sockets in the hulls and fitting the hull topsides panels. Once the beam sockets are done; we will begin cabin base work and backfill with the hull decks.

The boat is all foam with a bit of solid glass here n there.

We are actually skipping ahead today while we wait for vendors to modify metalwork for the beam sockets.

I am in an attached structure and glad I used epoxy as poly stinks so bad.