Tracy O'Brien Headwater 18

I recently dug into my archives and came across Tracy O’Brien’s Headwater 18 and I’m thinking this will be my winter project. Overall, the boat checks most of the boxes for what I want it do. I’m not especially fond of stitch-and-glue construction, but I’ve built that way before and can live with it when the design makes sense. One thing that caught my attention is the glassing schedule. The plans call for a single layer of 4" biaxial fiberglass tape on all of the joints throughout the boat. I’m not questioning the designer’s judgment, but it does seem lighter than what’s common in many more recent S&G designs, which often specify multiple layers or staggered tape widths at the joints. I’m curious what others think about the Headwater 18 specifically or about this glassing approach in general. Has anyone built this design and followed the original glassing schedule? I know there isn't much out there on this design and not many have been built. Appreciate any insights, thanks.

 

Hi Nordski: "a single layer of 4" biaxial fiberglass tape on all of the joints throughout the boat", should be fine, with a good glue-up done to the plans, and good resins used, if you're using it normally. But if you plan to push it to the limits, pounding into waves, over shallows, and or fitting an enormous OB to it, a second larger glassing over the standard pattern wouldn't hurt on the bottom, except for the extra weight, work, and cost.
I myself would double up glassing along the chines and keel line for extra beaching protection; and maybe around the transom, but the plans should already have the strength there well catered for. Using epoxy with tprda additive to glue, the wood joints should be sound. Stitch and glue is proven, but materials and skills are the variables.

 

seasquirt.....Thanks for the reply and the recommendation to use TPRDA. I wasn’t familiar with the product, so I did a bit of reading. From what I can tell, it appears that only Bote-Cote epoxy is intended to be used with it. I’m not entirely sure what the benefit would be for a trailerable boat? Regarding the 4" biaxial tape, my thought is to add one additional layer of 6" 6-oz cloth over the seams, finished with peel ply. I believe this would provide a reasonable, durable “workboat” finish without excessive fairing and sanding. The design also calls for small “spoilers” on the bottom at the transom to address the low-pressure laminar flow issue common in flat bottom planing boats. That’s an interesting approach to resolve the problem. Hopefully someone on the forum has built this boat and can share firsthand feedback.

 

Hi Nordski, All i can say is this One layer of 4″ biaxial tape over proper fillets is structurally adequate for the design. It’s lighter than many modern S&G boats, but not wrong. The plywood provides most of the stiffness. The tape mainly ties the panels together. Biaxial glass is efficient when used correctly.
Newer designs often look heavier. That’s usually for durability, abrasion resistance, or builder safety margin, not because the structure demands it.
If you want extra margin, add a second layer at the keel and chines. Consider extra glass at the transom. Do it intentionally, not by default.

 

Nordski,

Do you like the plan? Does the plan suite your needs?
Is it a proven plan or have other builder/users found fault with it?
If you follow the plan, it's apt to produce very, very similar results.
Follow the plan if you think you'll enjoy the outcome.
If not, find another design / plan that you do like and suites your needs ( SOR ).
But then, follow the plan for best results.

 

Greetings from Ireland I am a Canadian boat builder living in Ireland saw your post have u started to build Tracey O'Brien boat headwaters,I don't think his website is up anymore looking to get a set of plans,I collect boat building plans frame them ect in advance

 

What else do u have in your archives I have some popular mechanics spiral plans if u would like them

 

Jmboats......I am in the process of building a 1/5 scale model of the Headwater 18. I've been messing around building boats for 50 years and I can tell you that this set of plans is the most accurate set of plans I've ever built from. I'm sure there a lots of accurate plans out there but for me these are the best I've seen. I'm glad that I decided to build a model and let the plans take on some life. For me this boat is perfect for my intended use. I will certainly build sometime soon. I have quite an archive of plans myself, not sure that I need anymore at this point. I hope that someone can recover Jeff Spira's catalog and make available, he was a great designer, I build one of his boats and was very happy with it. You can still get plans directly from Tracy O'Brien, he will answer his email quickly and ship plans immediately (tracy@localaccess.com). The Headwater 18 plans are not particularly the type of plan I would frame, they are working man's set of plans for sure.

 

Wow nice work on the model live it will try to get in touch with Tracy O'Brien sad when designer close up and plans become unstable or pilgrim pride by shoestring boat yard ,clog 18 digger boat plans all lost cause designer death or retirement,all of Jeff's spurs plans are available on a web page free Facebook plywood boat building in the file section Ty for your reply