Please help me choose the right plans for my needs

Hey everyone.

Been a little while since I posted here, so I thought I'd post a little update.

At the time of my most recent post, you might remember I was set on building the strip-plank whitehall from the glen-l plans. Well, thinking about it pretty much non-stop for the last couple weeks, I've decided to hold off on that particular project for now. I still intend to build that boat or similar... someday. I don't really know what changed my mind - I guess the best way to explain is that I'm sort of being drawn to building in plywood, either stitch and glue or otherwise. I started thinking about the "next boat", and realized that most anything I would ever want to build I would probably build out of ply. For that reason, I figured I'd learn the most useful stuff I would need later on if I started out my first boat in ply. Someday I'll still want to build that beautiful strip plank work of art to show off, but the engineer in me is saying that the most reasonable way to go right now is to build in plywood. Seems like I would learn more information quicker, that would apply to future projects I could imagine undertaking.

So that being said, I'm kinda tossing around 2 ideas.

First Idea: I'm drawn to a dory style rowing vessel. I've been reading a lot about them, and I think the combination of form and function they provide closely matches what I initially set out to find. I like the load carrying capacity, and the ability to stay dry if the lake happens to be a little choppy some particular day. I'm uncertain as to whether I should go for a small, 1 person design just to start out and get my feet wet (no pun intended ) in boatbuilding, or if I should opt for something a little bigger that could hold just me, or the whole family whenever they wanted to tag along, and be a bit more "safe" out on the "home ocean" (Lake Erie).

Getting out of the "imagination" phase and getting more realistic, what draws me to a smaller boat to start out is:
1) cheaper
2) quicker build
3) easily portable w/o a trailer, and
4) gives me a good excuse to build a bigger 2nd boat when the fiance is finally too jealous of not being able to join me out on the lake.

The only questionable aspect is that the smaller boat plans I've found that are advertised for 1 person typically consider a "normal person" to weigh between 150-200 lbs. By that measure, I'm currently 1.5-2 times a "normal person" in displacement, so I'm worried that I might be too much captain for a little boat to handle. When I start looking at boats for 2, then cartopping is pretty much thrown out the window, and the boat designed for 2 I worry still wouldn't be enough to comfortably handle me and the fiance on anything other than perfectly flat water.

I've been benchmarking some numbers based on the free plans for the south haven dory sitting out there on the internet, just because they're available for me to readily study, and I've estimated that boat at just over 14' long will be able to carry about 500lbs with a 6" draft, and have 6" of freeboard left over. I think for me, that would be just about right for some general fishing, but I would be nervous heading out on to any lake on all but the calmest conditions - if a power boats wake even hit me just right, I'd be getting wet .

Based on my estimates, the glen-l rowing dory would be pretty much perfect for me for a solo every-day fishing vessel. Only problem is I lose the car-topping ability, and it seems silly to me to have to tow around a boat so small . That, and I would have to acquire a trailer as well. I just feel like if I'm going to build something that needs to be towed, I might as well build something big enough to justify it :shrug:.

After searching around the internet, I found a nice site that offers up a large variety of dory plans, and I'm sure I could find something there to fit what I'm looking for. Has anybody ever heard of this place, or seen their plans before? Their study plans don't tell me much, and I can't find many (if any!) pictures of any completed boats. That makes me a bit nervous about getting plans from there. Here's the site: http://www.spirainternational.com/

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All that being said, this brings me to my second idea. When I realized I was going to end up with having to trailer around a boat no matter how I tried to get around it, I started considering other options. I took another look at skiffs for the motor option, I thought about ditching the rowboat idea alltogether and started looking at power boat plans, even looked through some sail boat plans for something a beginner like me might be able to learn to sail on. Heck, I even thought about ditching the "let's build a boat" idea altogether and started browsing through ebay and craigslist trying to find something cheap, and decided I would just make fishing my hobby instead of boat building. Never really found anything for sale or any plans that seemed just right for me - always found some excuse not to like something. I kept searching for different dory designs or other rowboat designs, but despite the size of the internet, there are only a limited number of designs and websites out there.

Then by chance, I happened across a site for ocean rowing races, and started looking at some boat pics. I also read about the boats themselves, and what all goes into making a live aboard ocean going row boat safe. I started thinking that maybe a boat like that would be absolutely perfect for me.

Now, before you go thinking I've completely lost my mind, let me say that I have no aspirations of EVER rowing across ANY ocean. I might be a little crazy, but mama didn't raise no fool here. What I was thinking was ignore all the solor panels, stove, water maker, electronics, and all the other stuff thats pretty much required to safely live on a rowboat at sea for 6 months or more, keep everything else (the cabin, storage areas, and the features like self bailing, self-righting, and isolated sealed bouyancy chambers, etc) and I figure what I'd end up with is the rowing equivalent of a day-sailer, with the possibility of rowing to some secluded overnight lakeside campsite. It would be safe enough to handle just about any foul weather I would be stupid enough to get myself stuck in out on lake erie, and it would still be versatile enough for me to take out fishing every day, and/or trailer to any of my favorite little lakes in the great lakes/north east region of the country. Maybe even on a warm, calm night, it would be nice to camp out right on the boat out on the water. One of the boats seemed just perfect: The Woodvale Pair - http://www.angusadventures.com/oceanrowing/rowboats.html

I became especialy excited when I read this line: "This well-designed boat has become the most common boat used in ocean rowing. Plans and kits can be purchased for the homebuilder, or a growing second-hand market offers a variety of Philip-Morrison-designed boats for sale."

Its even plywood! So I figured all I had to do was order the plans and leave out everything thats only required for ocean passages, and I'd end up with a relatively inexpensive rowboat, safe for me and the whole family. Sounds simple, right?

Well, unfortunately, I can't find anybody who sells any plans for that particular boat, or anything similar. I did find that there exists a $2,000 kit, but that it is part of a $50,000 entry fee for entering the Atlantic Rowing Race - not in my budget! I thought about emailing the company - Woodvale-Challenge - to see if it would be possible to get the plans. I'm not sure I would be able to get them though, as they provide the kits to race entrants because each boat in the race is supposed to be more or less identical.

My question is, does anyone know if there are any plans out there available to the public for an ocean row boat that I would be able to purchase and strip away all the expensive "life at sea" components, or would this strictly be a "design it yourself" type of project?

If the answer is that I must design myself, do you think it would be reasonable for me to think I would be able to design such a boat myself? If the answer is no, what do you suppose the cost would be to have such a boat professionally desined custom as a 1-off for me? (I'm guessing, probably more than I'm willing to spend...) If the answer is yes, how much help do you think I could expect from the community here?

Regardless of how I actually get custom plans, how likely do you think it is that I would actually be able to figure out how to build the thing, without a detailed set of plans that says "This is how you put it together", given that I've never actually built a boat before?



Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. Thanks for reading/suggestions.

 

You lost me a bit with the detail, but I agree in spades with the ply decision, but it should be marine ply, if not add 25% to thickness to allow for imperfections unless you know it's good stuff.

As far as size of boat is concerned, you already need a 2 person boat. A car topper for that load can be done but not in an ocean rowing version, and you need skills you haven't had time to develop to design it yourself.

The construction in most plans understandably errs on the cautious side and an experienced builder knows where weight can be reduced without risk, but you don't have that experience yet.

If you're going to need a trailer anyway I could understand if you go to the next size up to accomodate the Missus and/or dog, and the heck with the added weight and cost. Whatever you choose, select it for the conditions you expect to encounter. I don't really understand why you are looking at ocean boats, though.

A from-scratch custom design for a boat that size would, I imagine cost more than the construction but many designers are happy to advise you how to stretch their designs in whatever direction you wish and how far you can reasonably go.

Don't despair. We all go through this. Every damn boat seems to have features and attractions unique to itself and sorting through all the designs on offer makes one act like a kid in a candy store. Been there, done that, still doing it.

Remember two things: it doesn't have to be the last boat you build, and the next one will be bigger; it always is.