Really how long how hard is it to build a boat

[babyhauler]

Hi I hear about people taking years to build boats.

Then I read that sharpie sailboats are the easiest boats to build. I have searched all over the internet and can't find the answer to this question- how much time and effort should I budget to build my own big sharpie sailboat?

Like this 46' Reuel Parker design: https://parker-marine.com/product/sharpie-46-new-haven/

I'm trying to size up the cost:

Assuming I worked at it alone 8 hours a day, how long would it take a reasonably skilled person to build it?

I'd love especially love to hear reports from people who actually built their own large sharpie sailboats.

Thanks!

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by babyhauler

Hi I hear about people taking years to build boats.

Then I read that sharpie sailboats are the easiest boats to build. I have searched all over the internet and can't find the answer to this question- how much time and effort should I budget to build my own big sharpie sailboat?

Like this 46' Reuel Parker design: https://parker-marine.com/product/sharpie-46-new-haven/

I'm trying to size up the cost:

Assuming I worked at it alone 8 hours a day, how long would it take a reasonably skilled person to build it?

I'd love especially love to hear reports from people who actually built their own large sharpie sailboats.

Thanks!

The hull form and material wont save much time as it's the easy part. For me it took 200h to build strip planked 35' hull. After that I've used at least 10 times more for other stuff on the boat.

[Tin Tin]

See link - times to build 40ft catamaran and others https://schionningdesign.com/design-comparison-chart/

[coopec43]

How long is a piece of string?

It depends a lot on the standard you want to build to. A few of my mates built some real shockers but they went sailing!

Their yachts would never have passed a survey, were uninsurable, would never be allowed into a marina (and therefore spent their down time at anchor)

As I said they went sailing (even a circumnavigation) but life must have been pretty grim. After 15(?) years the yachts were scrapped because they were unsalable.

Those sort of yachts could probably be built in 2 years full-time

[Fore and Aft]

Babyhauler we (wife, two kids) and I built our own multichine plywood 32-foot yacht in 18 months of part time work. I am a boatbuilder and used every shortcut I could think off.
It is your standard of finish that is going to take time. For example, every one of our cupboard doors is a piece of 4mm black Perspex. All I needed to do for a cupboard door was cut out the shape, sand/polish the edges, screw on the hinges and catch and that's it. Nine years later they still look fine, and I wouldn't even consider changing them. The interior of the yacht is all painted white with black painted trim. The black trim was another time saving measure, not every one of my joins was perfect but you can't tell. Unlike varnish where I would be forced to make everything perfect.
Like everything a professional will be way quicker, just because they have more practice. A professional will know when to stop and start the day as well. Often a few more hours work will save plenty of time the next day.
I can see a few years work in this sharpie. I also notice a few hatches on the deck. If you're going to build every one of those hatches, then the jobs going to take longer, same with the portholes.
I am a big believer of just smashing the project out. Just buy everything you can and get in the water. Hammer the Visa and then when afloat sort out the finances. To many projects I survey stall due to money then the momentum slows and before you know it the project is up for sale or on the way to the dump.
Another thing I did was every day I scanned the classifieds looking for things I needed. It's surprising what comes up for sale.
When purchasing materials bulk buying really pays off, we purchased 112 sheets of plywood and got an excellent discount.
Cheers

[babyhauler]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

The hull form and material wont save much time as it's the easy part. For me it took 200h to build strip planked 35' hull. After that I've used at least 10 times more for other stuff on the boat.

Ok 2200 hours minimum is what you spend on your build projects, right?

[babyhauler]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

See link - times to build 40ft catamaran and others https://schionningdesign.com/design-comparison-chart/

Thanks so much for this link. Exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.

[babyhauler]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Babyhauler we (wife, two kids) and I built our own multichine plywood 32-foot yacht in 18 months of part time work. I am a boatbuilder and used every shortcut I could think off.
It is your standard of finish that is going to take time. For example, every one of our cupboard doors is a piece of 4mm black Perspex. All I needed to do for a cupboard door was cut out the shape, sand/polish the edges, screw on the hinges and catch and that's it. Nine years later they still look fine, and I wouldn't even consider changing them. The interior of the yacht is all painted white with black painted trim. The black trim was another time saving measure, not every one of my joins was perfect but you can't tell. Unlike varnish where I would be forced to make everything perfect.
Like everything a professional will be way quicker, just because they have more practice. A professional will know when to stop and start the day as well. Often a few more hours work will save plenty of time the next day.
I can see a few years work in this sharpie. I also notice a few hatches on the deck. If you're going to build every one of those hatches, then the jobs going to take longer, same with the portholes.
I am a big believer of just smashing the project out. Just buy everything you can and get in the water. Hammer the Visa and then when afloat sort out the finances. To many projects I survey stall due to money then the momentum slows and before you know it the project is up for sale or on the way to the dump.
Another thing I did was every day I scanned the classifieds looking for things I needed. It's surprising what comes up for sale.
When purchasing materials bulk buying really pays off, we purchased 112 sheets of plywood and got an excellent discount.
Cheers

great story thanks

[MicHughV]

As a teenager I had great aspirations to see the world, but alas, I did not have a father willing to subsidize my dreams.
Seeing as that I had little to no money, the only way I was going to accomplish anything was to build my own boat.

I set about to figure out how much this would cost me, mid 70's time period, and came up with the lofty sum of around $10,000 to build a 38' boat, plus around one year to build it.

In my mid 20's, by this time, I set too to it.
By the time, I had the hull and deck constructed, about half my $10K budget had disappeared, as had a year of time.

One must consider, one has to arrange for a place to build it, I had to construct a workshop, construct a strongback to support the boat, etc, etc.

The hull and deck were the easy part. Doing the interior required a lot more time, many more tools, etc, and mostly a lot more money and almost another two years passed before the boat was splashed. By this time, I had way over $20K invested in my boat.

Though the boat was now launched, it was not yet complete. Many odds and ends had yet to be done, and I did these as I could afford them.

Over a period of years, I did finally " complete" my boat, and by the time the dust settled, I had around $50K invested in it.

So, in summary, triple your time and money estimate to come up with a realistic true sum of time and money.
As I said I started in the mid 70's, and undoubtably inflation will cause my original $$ amount to be much bigger..

While building my boat, I got to know several others doing the same thing, and their story was much the same as mine.

I wrote a book about my boatbuilding endeavor, and if you're interested you can find it on Amazon by typing in " and the sea called my name" to direct you to the book, this will give you a perspective on what it will take to do such a thing.

On a separate note, it was a fun time for me, and I really enjoyed the project. My boat ended being my home for around 15 years and is still around today.

[babyhauler]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

As a teenager I had great aspirations to see the world, but alas, I did not have a father willing to subsidize my dreams.
Seeing as that I had little to no money, the only way I was going to accomplish anything was to build my own boat.....

GREAT STORY. I love how the final cost was 5X above your starting estimate. THANKS!

[ChrisJHC]

If you’re taking on this project because you like the idea of building your own boat, then go for it (with the guidance provided above).
Just don’t forget to budget for your living costs while building the boat full time and therefore not earning an income.

If you’re doing it to save money, consider the lost revenue from not working for (say) two years while you’re building the boat.
In many (most?) cases, you will be financially better off working for the two years, saving everything you can and then buying a boat.

[MicHughV]

I remember a guy wanting to build a Sharpie out of plywood. Don't recall the length, around 40' I think.

He got the hull done, and then the project fizzled out, I think in part due to marital problems, and more on that below.

I got to know about a dozen or more guys building their own boat. Out of that dozen, about five made it to the water, less than 50%. Out of those five, only two, myself included, went anywhere.

Timewise, I can tell you, I spent many a night, way past midnight, working on the boat. Additionally, the weather is not always your friend. On weekends, I was up at dawn, didn't stop until 10 pm, etc.

Finding the right parts, materials, glue, etc, can be a time consuming effort.

Sad to say, but building your own boat can...and will be... a marriage or relationship breaker. While this may be your dream, it may not necessarily be that of your mate and the divorce % of amateur boat builders is very high.

For a period of time, I worked on my boat full time, with my wife supporting me. That came to an end when she had enough. See above.
This meant I had to go work for a living, and work on my boat as I could. This why I often worked till midnight as I had to work all day.

Back in the 70's and early 80's building your own boat was a " thing", and many homebuilt projects were to be seen all over the place.

These days, not so much. I don't know of a single person anywhere taking on such a project. Not to say, they are not out there, but a rare sight.

As I've said, I had a fun time doing it, and based on this alone, encourage you to give it a crack. Manage your expectations, and you'll be fine.

[Chotu]

Dipping in to help…

Solo? 10 years plus more doing odds and ends and upgrades.

costs can include:
*if you have to budget, you probably shouldn’t even build one - just go to work for 10 years and save the money and buy one
*build location rent/building
*shipping/trucks for materials
*launch, remove from shed
*unexpected labor costs (hired help, riggers, etc - due to an error i made with parts, it cost me $6000 just to get my mast stepped since i had to do it twice)
*your marriage or relationship
*your health
*some of your sanity
*your social life, if any
*a decade of your life at least (you’ll need time off, you can’t go non-stop to completion)

The upside?

*the perfect boat
*confidence in the construction/durability
*higher quality than most production boats (much higher)
*layouts and components you want
*can fix anything that fails at any time easily since you built it
*can fix accidents/collisions that would “total” other boats for low money

Source? Built 50ft cat

At first, I built to save money on a cat i could never afford. Later, i realized that wasn’t what building is for. it’s to spread the cost out and to get a boat you can’t buy for any price.

Chris White said to me: “ it costs the same amount of money and takes the same amount of time to build a piece of crap as it does a good boat. So build a good one.“.
^^^^^ these are words every builder needs to hear. Spend extra to make sure you have the absolute best materials you can buy

PS: you MUST live at/near the project. You cannot commute to it or it’ll end up with the 90% of attempted builds… never launched

[babyhauler]

Originally Posted by ChrisJHC

If you’re taking on this project because you like the idea of building your own boat, then go for it (with the guidance provided above).
Just don’t forget to budget for your living costs while building the boat full time and therefore not earning an income....

Yes, opportunity costs can be massive, depending on the market value of your labor, which for me is currently very low due to tech downturn, which is one reason why I am considering this ludicrous idea.

[babyhauler]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Dipping in to help…
....
At first, I built to save money on a cat i could never afford. Later, i realized that wasn’t what building is for. it’s to spread the cost out and to get a boat you can’t buy for any price.

Chris White said to me: “ it costs the same amount of money and takes the same amount of time to build a piece of crap as it does a good boat. So build a good one.“.
^^^^^ these are words every builder needs to hear. Spend extra to make sure you have the absolute best materials you can buy
....

++++++amazing advice THANKS