1st Self built catamaran (hopefully)

I have some experience of building a self built boat.
I started with a grp hull with its keel and deck fitted (33ft).

When I started I was in a well paid profesional job and the boat was in the garden beside the house. Progress was very quick- for the first year.
Then my employers (run by accountants) decided to move out on defence electronics. My wife and myself (along with many others) were made redundant on the same day.

I (wrongly) took the advice of the local enterprise company and sunk my pension and redundancy money into a busness to make sailing dinghys. That failed for various reasons. Moved myself,wife and unfinished project about 200 miles but boat was now three miles from the house and as the main priority was to earn an income to eat and provide a roof very little was done to the boat.

Since then divorced, remaried and the boat is almost finished. Only the rudder,rig,some wiring and gas plumbing required to finish.
The construction is to the highest standard, everything is documented and the internal layout is to my choice.
I have only purchase any parts when they were available at the right price.
It has cost me for material alone in excess of £30K and I have not taken my time into account. I have had no external assistance.
It has taken me a total time of 12 years and is not launched yet.

LOOK VERY CAREFULLY AT THE COMMITMENT

I have fortunately been able to continue sailing during the building process.

But, in the end I have the yacht exactly as I want which I would otherwise have been unable to afford. The resail value is an unknown quantity but I intend to keep it and use it so that does not concern me too much.

A very high percentage of people who start a diy boat project never reach the end but I think my progress? is fairly typical.

For a one off craft you should consider using one of the modern wooden strip technologies and buying plans from an established source. Making moulds for a one off project is just not cost or time effective.

Iain
 
Keith
I can only comment on my own experiences with an HT.
We found that the quality of the gelcoat was very good and that the layup and build to be very sturdy. I have been told by someone that specialises in GRP repair that the old HT's are much better built than the later ones. I have no experience of the new ones.
Starting from scratch will take a huge amount of commitment and time but the rewards will be correspondingly large - IF it all goes as you plan and the finished product is what you want.
 
Excellent advice!

Kelsall have an excellent reputation - i am not hell bent on the prout.

I am determined to build a new design (2000 and beyond.)

The courses in NZ sound fantastic and i'm saving so i can go over. Have you any experience of these workshops?

The hull and deck packages - are they in kit form? Sounds like they'd be out of my budget.

Although i have stated a budget of 50k i could extend that to 70k or so but would prefer to keep it down. I have also provisionally arranged to take time off work to build it, it has been suggested that i build it abroad. Are you aware of any place that would offer an advantage in say cost of materials/ labour etc?

I appreciate all comments good and bad.
 
That's one hell of an achievement - i don't think i'd last 12 years.

It has been suggested by a boat builder that i consider making a mould to build 2/3 boats and set it up as a company until the build is complete, then sell the other boats and the mould. This would offset the costs and with a good degree of planning could realise a small profit. Sounds unlikely to me!

But what do you think? Pie in the sky or sound business advice.
 
I think the thing with the older boats, especially cats is no one had any real idea on how much stress grp could take, so to make sure it didn't break they slapped in two or three more heavy layers of mat to make sure, also on the older production cats you will find some massive box beams joining the hulls together, incidentally you will not see a cat with a rub rail worthy of the name, so beware berthing alongside where there is any sort of surge/movement, a freind of mine lost hi gemini like this it was caught alongside in a strong wind (no one on the boat) and the side of the boat started to rub on the wall and the side of the boat collapsed,yes there were fenders in place, but apparently they were squashed flat......a cat is still a good choice for cruising,when you consider you spend more time at anchor than you actually do sailing, this is when they score big........keith
 
Hi!

If you take a look in Shepperton marina there is a guy who is finishing a 52 foot cat, who I am sure, would be pleased to discuss any points you may like to know as to his design and build costs. It is a very modern design (his own) and will be finished by the end of this year.

Rob
 
The information on the workshops was obtained from the Kelsall website, I think they base them around boats that are already under construction and bring potential builders in to look at what is being done.

I mentioned the hull and deck packages more as a means of illustrating the costs involved.These are however first class boats built to survey standards by a reputable builder(Catamarans NZ) and design team (Wright Lavranos).

If you did come over here you would get about $NZ3 for every GB Pound.
Prices for materials here tend to reflect the global norm. There is a goods and services tax of 12.5% which may be refundable if you were to take the vessel out of the country immediately on completion.
Althouigh I have never built a boat, I have found most people in the boating industries here well informed and willing to share experience and ideas.
If you are indeed capable of building a boat to a first class standard there could well be opportunities here as boatbuilders are in short supply and the marine industry is going flat out.(America's Cup spinoff mainly).

Whatever you do dont underestimate the committment required.

Good luck.
 
help nearer home

I have built 2 of derek kelsall's designs and am in touch with others who have done so or are in progress. Derek will happily give you other names so there's no need to fly round the world! the method is not as cheap as a wharram but the product is a sight better than a prout unless you like going slowly! email me for more info.
 
Consider Wharram catamarans, see their website www.wharram.com
I built a 46' wharram many years ago and we completed it in a year with 6 people working every weekend and evenings. We intended to do the circumnavigation thing but thats another story!
I believe you can buy Wharram hulls in GRP from somewhere in the west country which would be a good starting point.
Visit the website and ask questions - they are a very lot.
Good Luck

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... :-)
 
on the contrary..

i think grp is the only material for a self builder. just sailed 13,000 miles in mine (my 3rd grp build) and i have only basic wood/metalworking skills but anyone can pick up laminating techniques in under a week.
 
depends on the design...

for example in my case (40ft) i used 4x500gsm glass (that's grams per square metre) with around 1.3 gm of resin to 1 gm of glass. Any designer will give you the specs for his design. Make sure you know what type of blass you need, there's a big difference in price between basic chopped strand mat and hi-tech stitched cloth. solid grp will need much more glass than sandwich but will be heavier and cheaper.
 
We bought a 19 year old Boat for 57k spent 15k and three months fitting it out to our spec, it is now like new, and we are now sailing to the Carribean. I would not build a boat. We have met many so far who have all complained that their homebuilds took way too long (years) cost far too much and are hard to sell. Have only met one happy homebuilder and he gave up half way through and had it finished by a yard. Get an old boat and fit it out the way you want.
Good luck and it is a great life.
 
If you are still possessed at the notion of building your own......you might want to do searches on Pivers and Wharrams. They are primarily plans built boats that are done with plywood and glass w/west systems over them. They can turn out to be good boats. The Piver Trimarans have a good selling history...I remember when I wanted to buy one..but everytime I went to look at one, by the time I got there it was already sold.

But on the other hand, we decided to buy an older boat...a Morgan 33' Out Islander, a boat with a 12' beam that is vintage 1975, for less than $24,000.00 US and have been refitting her a bit at a time. We live aboard, so working on it can be "interesting" at times. Given what I have now...I would buy an older boat and refit it. A boat that has been around for a while has a history, and has knowledge behind it, and can be repaired. Home builts are only as good as the person who put them together.....and some of the ones I did see were mostly only good for "bonfire material".

In any event, follow your heart, but make sure your brain makes the decision as emotions tend to confuse things.

Reality is the cause of all stress!!
 
boat building assistance

Thanks for the advice (from everyone). Its been an eye opener.

I have thought alot about how i can get the boat i want. I've looked into training that would give me specific skills inorder to get the job done to a high specification.
I have worked out that it is possible to build a oneoff vessel to uk standards (RCD etc) and keep the build costs within budget. I have enlisted the help of lloyds and a boat architect both of which offered free advice (although this took a little sweet talking).
I am developing a business concept that would allow homebuilders the chance to construct their vessels to uk standard (perhaps even make a profit on the sale of your vessel). A coalition of DIY sailors would be able to compete with established yards in the procurement of materials. In addition expert instruction could be provided within workshops and build quality certified by the appropriate bodies during the project. Tools could be centrally provided and shared amongst the 'group'
I have been discussing training needs with several providers in the uk and a NZ manufacturer.
Does anyone have any opinions about this?
Do you think its a good idea? would it be something you'd be interested in joining?
Would you consider this a good way to build your own boat?
Has anyone homebuilt a boat to european safety standards?
Has anyone out there experienced any training in the uk?

To all homebuilders and aspiring home builders.
 
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