I’m building a boat from scratch

[Romeomikehotel]

Hey guys,


I’m building a wooden boat to use around Ft Lauderdale and Miami and occasionally to Bimini a couple times per year.

If anyone cares to follow along on the build process I’ll be making some more videos as I go.

https://youtu.be/VZuzDSyCr2w

 

[JimS123]

Awesome endeavor. I'll be following your progress.

My venture into boating began the same way, although in a much smaller scale. The pic below shows the near-completed hull just before flipping it. The other pic was the day we launched her.

My ribs, keel and keelson were white oak. Hull sides were marine plywood, decking was mahogany marine ply, screws were bronze (didn't use clinkers) and everything was glued together with a red resin glue, except the seams were 5200. The wood and fasteners cost $165. (now that surely dates the project....LOL)

My only suggestion for a boat your size would be to space the ribs closer together.

Good luck and happy boating...

 

[roscoe]

sounds interesting.

will be watching.

 

[82rude]

Very cool.JimS123 I like the looks of yours ,very nice .Mine was a totally rebuilt 17 foot giesler with white oak and western red cedar (cedarstrip).I also had a local built Courtney craft and a Thompson ,both 16 footers.

 

[gm280]

Very ambitious project you have there. I'd like to tag along as well.

I realize you stated you never done such a project like this before. And that is okay. Have you ever worked on fixing any boat or anything about boats?

 

[Romeomikehotel]

Very ambitious project you have there. I'd like to tag along as well.

I realize you stated you never done such a project like this before. And that is okay. Have you ever worked on fixing any boat or anything about boats?

Sounds good!
Ive done some work on boats, stringers and glass repair mainly but nothing to this extent. Most of my hands on experience comes from working on high hp cars and trucks.

The construction method is rather simple and doesn’t require much, I’m poaching Jeff Spiras methods on this one with some adjustments for the size and requirements of the boat but I expect it to be far stronger than it will ever actually need to be.

If you haven’t already, a look on his site at his illustrated guide to building his boats is a good read.

 

[roffey]

looks like a huge project to take on. What kind of wood are you using? What do you plan on powering it with or have you thought far ahead? I bet it will take on a life of its own and change as time goes on and that's all c. Building a boat is very rewarding and you learn from start to finish.

 

[tpenfield]

I'm in . . .

 

[Romeomikehotel]

looks like a huge project to take on. What kind of wood are you using? What do you plan on powering it with or have you thought far ahead? I bet it will take on a life of its own and change as time goes on and that's all c. Building a boat is very rewarding and you learn from start to finish.

It’s going together surprisingly fast for now, I think it will slow down a good bit once more detail work comes into play. I’m using Fir for the frames and Exterior Ply for the skin.

Going to power with twin outboards, one of the main reasons for getting rid of my last boat was single engine.
I need a boat that I can take to Bimini and back and I wasn’t trusting one engine to do the job.
Specifically, looking at twin 200s or twin 250s but if I find the right deal I’ll go as high as 300s or as low as 150s.
She should be very light, max of 4800lbs wet and with 50+ gallons of fuel on board but planning on dual tanks with around 150 gal capacity.

 

[gm280]

It’s going together surprisingly fast for now, I think it will slow down a good bit once more detail work comes into play. I’m using Fir for the frames and Exterior Ply for the skin.

Going to power with twin outboards, one of the main reasons for getting rid of my last boat was single engine.
I need a boat that I can take to Bimini and back and I wasn’t trusting one engine to do the job.
Specifically, looking at twin 200s or twin 250s but if I find the right deal I’ll go as high as 300s or as low as 150s.
She should be very light, max of 4800lbs wet and with 50+ gallons of fuel on board but planning on dual tanks with around 150 gal capacity.

TWO outboards, in those ranges, will suck dry a 50 gallon tank instantly. In fact if you had them running, even at idle, I'm not sure you could ever get a 50 gallon tank filled. JMHO

Are you going to use polyester or epoxy on the inside and out?

 

[Romeomikehotel]

TWO outboards, in those ranges, will suck dry a 50 gallon tank instantly. In fact if you had them running, even at idle, I'm not sure you could ever get a 50 gallon tank filled. JMHO

Are you going to use polyester or epoxy on the inside and out?

Read the end of the post, going for 150 gal total with two tanks.

Epoxy inside and out.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Welcome aboard

for outboards, assume 0.5# of fuel per HP per hr for fuel burn

400 hp will burn thru about 30 gallons an hour

assuming that your tooling along at that burn rate at about 45mph, the trip to bimini would be about 1.6 hours-ish.... 150 gallons just makes the 1/3 tank there, 1/3 tank back, 1/3 tank reserve rule

we need pics..... not links to other sites

 

[GA_Boater]

we need pics..... not links to other sites

Embed Youtube vids. Much easier for all of us. Just click the Insert Video link instead of Link and paste the same way.

 

[oldjeep]

Somebody has to say it. Is that the shed you are going to build the boat in?

 

[Romeomikehotel]

Quick update, got the last frame up. Going to build the Keel and stem this weekend and then move to building the transom. I’ll make another video about those struggles, I think mounting the stems going to be a pain.

Heres where we are now:

 

[JimS123]

Lots of different ways to do things. Maybe no one is better than the other. I reviewed your reference and see that his methods are similar to yours. When I did mine, we followed a different route.

First we built the stem and transom and then joined them together with the keelson. The stem and keel were purposely lined up on a flat surface to ensure that the hull would be straight and not hogged. Thus the keel was built at an angle rather than horizontal as you show. What this did was ensure that the top of the deck was perfectly straight and there could be no twist to the hull..

Once the hull configuration was stable the frames were slid in underneath the keelson. Each was notched appropriately to fit in tight. The top of each was also on the same plane as the stem and transom.

We used marine plywood, which is made with a good waterproof glue. The biggest issue we had was the final bend to fasten the material to the stem and bow sheer. Naturally we started from the stern and screwed every 4" as we moved toward the bow.

This was not only a family affair, but the neighbors were into it as well. I had a half dozen neighbor ladies operating their stoves and bringing over kettles of boiling water as fast as they could. Each kettle poured onto the plywood allowed us to bend the wood (inch by inch) and attached a few more screws. The sides were not too bad, but the last 3 feet of the bottom was quite an event.

Sadly, all we had back then were brownie cameras so I didn't get good documentary photos.

Keep your info coming. This is turning out to be the best thread of the year...

PS - if you haven't already, google Clark Craft and Glen-L. Both are in the boat building business and they sell parts and materials.

 

[roffey]

I agree with JimS123 , more than one way to build a boat and you will get lots of advice along the way. The next door neighbor will have one way, the guys at the marina will have another …. The great thing about this site is when, not if, lol, but when you run into trouble there will be someone here who has had the same issue or knows of a way out. It sounds like you are on your way.

It will be interesting to see how close you get to your weight estimate.

 

[robert graham]

Call mr.Joust at Welaka Wooden Boat Shop....send him photos of your boat plans....he can give you some advice that could be solid gold to the success of your project....He's a very nice guy!

 

[sphelps]

Interesting project ! Tagging along if there’s room ! op2:

 

[Romeomikehotel]

Alright guys I have an update for you. I slacked a bit on getting these together but I got them done today so have a look and tell me what you think. Personally I think she’s moving along pretty quick.