Why So Hard ?

[freelife]

Just browsing the web and as I expected the sites I search just want my hard earned money. To just seek out starting cost,s of material for steel hull construction, you would think I was asking for litre of PANDA BLOOD.I have worked in concrete and formwork construction 25 years and have built things in mid air out of fresh air to the surprise of the architects and engineers. Too many people try to keep themselves on a high horse pushing others down,to me building a boat is just another thing to build,follow the drawings,use the right material and do the job to a high standard. BIG DEAL .if anyone can suggest a good site for drawings, that would be great, the time involved is not really a concern with a project like this as I have more time than money sorry for sounding negative.

[GordMay]

You want a website with free boat building drawings?

[Bash]

welcome to the forum.

My guess is that the marine architects who produced those drawings are as interested in being compensated for their labor as you are in being compensated for yours.

[boatman61]

Hi there freelife... welcome...
Dunno if you've been here... if not you may pick up some info..
S&S 34 specs - Boat Design Forums

Good luck..

[Pelagic]

Hi Freelife and welcome to CF.

Perhaps you could first tell us something about the kind of boat you have in mind and maybe someone will know where to find the plans.. best of luck

[DeepFrz]

Dudley Dix has a list of materials for all his designs on his website if you are just interested in pricing out materials.

Boat plans, yacht designs & boat kits from Dudley Dix Yacht Design & Boat Plans

[Intentional Drifter]

Hi, Freelife and welcome to CF.

There are "a few" boat designs that you can probably pick up for free or at least for not a lot of money. Whether those would meet your specific needs is, of course, only a question you can answer. I would think, though, if you're looking at building it yourself, you're probably going to want to spend a lot more time thinking through the methods and materials part, maybe even more so than the specific design elements.

While I certainly respect the fact that you have lots of skills that would probably translate well into boat building, do keep this little factoid in mind: Boats are designed and built to be lived on (and in) the most corrosive naturally occurring substance on Earth, while at the same time being able to easily and routinely sustain the stresses equal to hundreds of Richter 8 earthquakes, every day, for years.

How many buildings have you built with those kind of design requirements?

Good designs are worth the money.

Good Hunting!

ID

[bvh]

Ahoy n welcome Freelife , im a retiring builder and the thought of building a boat had me lunge for a sickbag........Good Luck / Gods Patience - please report back with your project;see you on the water mate.
P.S (regards boat plans..... have a beer and knock them up yourself-what could possibly go wrong)

[Stillraining]

Where's Brent Swain when you need him.

[boatman61]

Probably sold one of his plans and his labour... to busy welding to post..

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by freelife

I have worked in concrete and formwork construction 25 years and have built things in mid air out of fresh air to the surprise of the architects and engineers.

Mate, 3/4 of the people who write their first post here about some dream to build their boat from scratch have never built a thing before.

You seem to have the exact qualifications to achieve what you want: experience and a cynical, tight wallet.

Nothing else is needed, and if theres some problem I'm sure folks here that know how will help you

Mark

[boatman61]

Have you considered Ferrocement... have a couple of friends who have them.. one a 55ft schooner.. and they swear by them.. as long as the steels good quality and the cements the right grade and mix...
The World of Ferroboats

[Boracay]

The modern preference seems to be going to cats for many good reasons.

If building from scratch a cat has several major advantages. From my point of view I'm seeing:-
1) Ready availability of well priced materials. Have you costed out steel, lead and quality wood recently?
2) Fewer specialised techniques needed. In particular plating, pouring lead, welding, rolling, abrasive blasting and fairing are tricky, need specialised equipment and have very unpleasant consequences if they go wrong. There can be an alergic reaction to epoxy but it may be possible to minimise this with proper safety precautions.
3) The interior of a cat is built along with the exterior. A steel boat is essentially a wooden boat inside a steel shell. Very time consuming to do.
4) Owner built cats look to hold their value well. Have you looked at the price of even well built steel boats recently?

I will admit that cats do have their disadvantages, mainly the need for a large building space and to be built and assembled close to their intended launch point, but from the point of view of an intending amateur builder, to me, the advantages are overwhelming.

[barnakiel]

To get material cost I will make a list of materials and send it to supplier asking for a quote. Then allow for transportation and taxes and storage costs. Then you have your prices at a given point of time.

b.

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by freelife

To just seek out starting cost,s of material for steel hull construction

I am not sure I understand what you are having trouble finding, but if it is a bill of material, most naval architects I have seen will give you them for free. One example is Dudley Dix, who seems to be a very well respected designer (IMHO his boats are lovely).

Here are his plans, I think all offer a free Bill of Materials on the site: Stock boat plans and designs by Dudley Dix Yacht Design

Here is a sample BOM: Pratique 35 material list