Steel hull construction

[Wckoek]

Originally Posted by Zven

Just for the record. ..
My father, an amateur without prior boatbuilding experience, completely built a 40' boat. All alone.

That is a great accomplishment, that is very rare, personally I myself too didn't know of any amateur without prior experience that finish a 40' or above boat.
Many have health issues, or even die before the project get finished or if the boat itself do get much use.
I guess most amateur boat builders aware of this already before they decides to build.
I myself if I have to do it I would have a yard build the hull and just focus on fitting, but the OP have a lot of equipment so maybe is workable for him.

Origami boats do have the disadvantage of not having the optimum shape, rather they are more easy to build and lighter, and the more normal builds with frame have the benefit of rigidity and strength, not to say Brent's design is not strong enough.

[Wckoek]

How Tom West Built A Pirate-Proof Yacht | Popular Science
Just read this, it took 5 years for 4 complete amateur to build a boat, so it's entirely possible, but I suggest it's good to have someone to help than to do it all alone.

[JacoT]

I sure am glad that I found this forum ...
Have been able to get a lot of valuable advice that would have taken me a lot of trail and error to0 learn otherwise.
I am definitely starting with a completed but bare hull. Both for the sake of cost and time.
I am currently shopping around. I might be persuaded to go for a GRP hull for the above reasons.
But I*m still doing some homework before I will commit to a material type. Would be nice to get started by December.
Does anybody know anything about a Corrida 36 .Build in SA by Oswald Berkemeyer?

[Snowpetrel]

I just had a look at the Corrida design. Looks like a fairly stout late 70's Ior'ish hull. Probably not a bad sailing boat all up.

Very different from a steel long keel design! But it seems perfectly ocean capable.

One thing I dislike about the design (from photo's) is the big bridgedeck. That makes the passage from inside to the cockpit dangerously exposed and makes it very hard to fit a sensible dodger. It could be easily enough modified with a bit of drastic surgery.

Bear in mind this opinion is based entirely on a couple of internet photo's I just googled...

[hpeer]

I had not realized Bret used longitudinals. Thanks for informing me.

Our small boat is foamed and it's a mixed blessing. I had to remove foam from under the fuel tank. Some of it had,allowed water intrusion. No serious rust but you don't know. Where it had not gotten wet was a real bear to get off. Where it had gotten wet war light rusted with shallow pitting, a real bear to get off.

I think I would go with glue on insulation as our big boat has. But that's also far from perfect. Hard to get a good fit. We have live aboard down to 1°F, hatches freeze up pretty good and it rains when they thaw.

[hpeer]

There was a 65 LOD Topper Hermanson, bare hull but with engines fitted and operational, brand new sails, that was for sale in Georgia for about 5 years. Aluminum hull professionally built. Recently sold when the price was dropped to $100,000.

[Conall63]

I built my steel boat....44' steel trawler...took me ten years. Search Conalls boat build to find my blog about building her.

Like others have said, this is a big job. If you don't go the route of buying an already built hull, have your plates blasted and cut by a CNC shop. Building the hull is about 1/3 of the project, and not having to loft, cut, and grind, and blast all that plate will help keep a big project within reach.

I know of three others who were building sailboats at the time I built mine. One of the sailboats was a 52' Roberts, which him and his wife are currently circumnavigating . The other was a Dix 43 in aluminum, which also launched, and is making ready to do some cruising. And the third is I think another Roberts, which is sailing laps around Australia. My point here is that this is a job a determined person can finish with good results, but realize it's a big job.

Don't let not knowing how to weld scare you off...you'll figure it out. Buy the best 200 amp MIG machine you can afford, and a half way decent plasma cutter.

I enjoyed building my boat, but for me it was a lifestyle and not a job.

Conall

[lamadriver]

There is a 52 foot professional ally hull with a motor in it sitting in capetown That could be had for the cost of the lead in the keel. You'd have to cut off and redesign the pilot house as the owner modified it from the design and it doesn't work . By what the heck it's ally take the sawsall to it .

[dannc]

Originally Posted by knotstogo

I'll second these suggestions:...

When it comes to steel designs I also like Thomas Colvin, Dudley Dix, Bruce Roberts, and the late George Buehler, ...

I think/hope you mean the late Thomas Colvin. George was posting on the Duck Talk forum a few weeks ago.

Anyone thinking of building a steel boat should read Colvin's two books on steel boat building. They are out of print but available on Amazon.

As mentioned previously, one should also join the Metal Boat Society. Their newsletter usually has metal boats for sale, many never completed. I saw a very nice 60+ foot Perry designed Aluminum boat stored in a large building in the northern US for sale. The hull looked close to being done.

Found some blog years ago about a guy building an Aluminum sail boat, in the NE US. Took him 30ish years to get in the water but he did it.

Just read of a doctor near us that spend a decade or so building a sailboat that he moved to finish the rigging and such.

Later,
Dan

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

Better stay away from him. He knows just enouhg to have some credibility in the ears of a layman but being plain dangerous in the shortcomings of his quesswork...



BR Teddy

I never said he wasn't a nutter[emoji41]

[JacoT]

Hi Guys
Thank U for the great input. It helped me make a choice. Here it is, About time for my insomnia to start working for me Pratique 35 steel multi-chine cruiser "Salty Dog II"

[Wckoek]

Originally Posted by Conall63

I built my steel boat....44' steel trawler...took me ten years. Search Conalls boat build to find my blog about building her.

Like others have said, this is a big job. If you don't go the route of buying an already built hull, have your plates blasted and cut by a CNC shop. Building the hull is about 1/3 of the project, and not having to loft, cut, and grind, and blast all that plate will help keep a big project within reach.

I know of three others who were building sailboats at the time I built mine. One of the sailboats was a 52' Roberts, which him and his wife are currently circumnavigating . The other was a Dix 43 in aluminum, which also launched, and is making ready to do some cruising. And the third is I think another Roberts, which is sailing laps around Australia. My point here is that this is a job a determined person can finish with good results, but realize it's a big job.

Don't let not knowing how to weld scare you off...you'll figure it out. Buy the best 200 amp MIG machine you can afford, and a half way decent plasma cutter.

I enjoyed building my boat, but for me it was a lifestyle and not a job.

Conall

That was a wonderful work you have done, as good or even better than professional yard. I would always like to build a larger sailboat that my children when I have it would be proud of. I'm not sure at above 40 feet a motor trawler would be more complicated to build than a sailboat of equivalent size.

A cabin cruiser with a simple small engine under 30 feet is what I am only capable to build now.

[lamadriver]

Go for the radius chine .

[Zven]

Originally Posted by Wckoek

I would always like to build a larger sailboat that my children when I have it would be proud of...

That sounds like the wrong reason to build a boat :-)
You may well find that said children do not care about boats... if you get to have any in the first place ...!

[Wckoek]

Yeah, I was just thinking that way.
There are some Dutch family who are proud of their family craft for generation, maybe it was some unique traditions there.