50 ft Willard Navy utility boat

[tcul]

Tour boat would be an obvious option, but the red tape with the state government would be a nightmare. Getting into Pearl Harbor would have strings attached as well. You can't go near the Naval Station part of PH. You can go around the west side of Ford Island, then on to Rainbow Marina across from Aloha Stadium.

I spoke with the Canadian gentleman who owns the boat in Lahaina. He got an estimate of 5-7k to put a FRP fore cabin on the boat. Probably the same amount for an aft cabin. I assume that is just for the a hard top shell over the boat.

Incidently, it took them 11 hours to sail from PH to Maui. He said it took 10 ft waves well.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

You'd need to see if extensive modifications (like putting in a cabin?) could be done to it without affecting its stability.

It's clearly pretty basic.

It does look a little squirrellie in the stern at the turn of the hull..?

[CaptHead]

I think that is an expensive project for anyone located in Hawaii. I lived there once and nothing is cheap, even locally grown. I'm sure it's a huge displacement hull which is efficient with minimal power and the possibilities are huge with what you can do with it.

Just remember, B.O.A.T.= Bust Out Another Thousand and in Hawaii I bet it's BOATT Bust out another three thousand.

[kapnd]

Originally Posted by CaptHead

I think that is an expensive project for anyone located in Hawaii. I lived there once and nothing is cheap, even locally grown. I'm sure it's a huge displacement hull which is efficient with minimal power and the possibilities are huge with what you can do with it.

Just remember, B.O.A.T.= Bust Out Another Thousand and in Hawaii I bet it's BOATT Bust out another three thousand.

CaptHead,
Living anywhere is all about choices, and believe me, living in Hawaii is "CHOICE"!
I'll pay whatever it takes to avoid the mainland smogpits.

[CaptHead]

Originally Posted by kapnd

CaptHead,
Living anywhere is all about choices, and believe me, living in Hawaii is "CHOICE"!
I'll pay whatever it takes to avoid the mainland smogpits.

,

Kapnd, I understand that thinking totally. I felt the same way and then I moved there. There is this thing called Island fever, I guess i got it.

Do you live there? or have you lived there?

[H Romberg]

That's a kick ass boat for conversion as long as you don't go crazy with your expectations. For me, I'd do a Downeast kind of pilothouse with a galley up and a bunk room and head down in the forepeak. A bow thruster is a must with that hull if you want to stay sane.

Aft of the pilothouse I'd have a small salon and then the cockpit. I'd extend the pilothouse roof aft over half the remaining length and have canvas to enclose it as well.

Second helm station just aft of the pilothouse on the stb rail like a Chesapeake Deadrise.

If I was going to use it for fishing, I'd skip the swim platform, but for diving you'd want a big one.

With good carpentry and glass skills, you could do it fairly reasonably. It wouldn't be cheap (unless you made it out of plywood and who wants to do that) but it'd be a fun project and you'd have a great boat afterwards.

[kapnd]

Molokai Channel can indeed be a nasty piece of water, but it is do-able in most all conditions with a little preperation and a seaworthy vessel.
I have crossed it many times, and fish in it regularly, and when I was younger and stronger, did it in a Hobie 14 and a 13' Whaler.
I think the Willard would handle it with aplomb.
Looks like it is still for sale, was on Craigslist again last week.
BTW, I do live here and have a slip that would accommodate it, if anybody is interested in a piece of it?

[kapnd]

Old thread, but I couldn’t resist an update.
I bought it, and sailed fromLahaina to Haleiwa immediately.
This was right after the tsunami wrecked many of the piers, so our harbormaster was happy to have me haul out for a while, and gave me nearly two years to renovate at a leisurely pace.
Built an aluminum frame for the roof, and made fiberglassed plywood walls.
Used the existing bows to stretch a Herculite top over the bow, and more herc
For the main cabin roof.
Cut down the sheer of the stern deck to a comfortable working height, as I use it much more as a fishing boat than a cruiser.
It has been an extremely capable rough water vessel, and load carrying capacity is huge, in fact I think it’s chronically under loaded, even with a ton of lead carried low amidships.

[mako]

Would be great to see some photos of your work

[kapnd]

Originally Posted by mako

Would be great to see some photos of your work

I loaded up a handful of photos, but they somehow didn’t make it with the message, I’ll dredge back through and post them up later.

[kapnd]

Pics:

[mako]

That's really nice work, @kap. Question though, since you built up a plywood deckhouse and then fiberglassed it, why not the roof as well instead of canvas?

[kapnd]

With such a rounded hull, I thought it was important to keep things light up high, so that was my best shot with the skills I have.

[mako]

Good point about weight up high. If you did want a hard top, perhaps consider a closed-cell foam core over wood frames. Would likely be heavier than what you have though. Good excuse to add a few more Costco golf-cart batteries down low and increase your bank size

[Lepke]

These boats were designed to move large numbers of sailors between an anchorage and shore in good sea conditions. None had a cabin. The older wood models were heavier and had a much better ride. Many of the wood boats were rebuilt into commercial fishing. Most people added a foot or more to the keel. Some added a weight like a railroad iron to the keel bottom. Usually the sides were raised a couple feet and the boat sat a foot or more lower.

The navy had 30', 40', 50', and 60' models. In my time they came with a Detroit 671.