1st self built catamaran (hopefully)

[Katman]

Hi everyone

It's always been my dream to build my own boat and live on it. So i've decided to do it. I have no experience and i've only just begun to learn to sail.

I figure that if i can build it - i'll know how to fix it when it breaks!! And i'll get the size boat i want for a fraction of the price.

I have a budget of about £40 to £50k- i intend to build a 34 foot catamaran ( prout designed) there are well over my budget new (approx £150,000) do you think it's worth building it or should i just buy a old boat? I have made several enquiries and conflicting views seems to be the dish of the day. Some say it would cost twice my budget others say it's more than enough to build and kit it out.
Would i be able to sell it afterwards - or would it be worth significantly less because it was a self build?

Anyone out there who can help! i would appreciate any advice you guys can give me.

Thank you

 

[Adrian]

Id be interested to see what % of self builds are unfinished, quite high i think. I think you have to weigh up between getting the "perfect" boat in 3,4,5....... years if you self build and with £50k getting a great boat now. If you haven’t owned a boat before i would recommend owning one for at least a season before deciding on a design, I’m sure every one will agree that what you think you need and what you actually need are rarely the same.

Good luck

Adrian

 

[kgi]

Home built boats never realise the investment you have put into them, a problem with cats is keeping them light at the build stage, as we have no stress models to work from and little experience i would go for a production boat as the designers have already sorted out all he major probs,.............keith

 

[Katman]

Thanks for that.
Would you consider a 'kit boat' to better or not?

There is a company is NZ called mirage yachts - they specialize in kit yachts and custom built cats. Would be inclined to advise against this as an alternative?

 

[ccscott49]

I wouldn't advise against, a kit boat would be a far better bet, than building moulds etc. It would also probably end up better built, as you always have some free advice available.

 

[Guest]

Post deleted by danfoley

 

[peterk]

Re: listen to builders

hi,

If youy've got your mind set on a cat:
Most Wharram cats are homebuilt.
Whether you like them or not:
They are all over the place -
finding an owner/builder
should be easy.

These folks are usually very enthusiastic,
and honest enough
to tell you about the joys and pains of building.

Best of Luck!

...peter, www.juprowa.com/kittel

 

[Robin2]

My boat (in the picture) is a home built Woods Flica. I spent almost 2 years of evenings and weekends building it to the point where it was launched with very little of the interior done. I am now slowly developing the interior.

I am very pleased with what I have achieved.

I was well aware from day 1 that I would not recover the value of all the work I put into it if I were to sell it.

On the other hand, for the same budget, I could only have bought a 15 or 20 year old boat that may well need major items replaced soon after purchase.

In my view your budget is reasonable. Just plan to build a boat with half your budget - the unexpected extra costs will absorb the rest.

This is not a decision to take lightly.

Send me a PM if you wish to make more direct contact.

 

[dickh]

As peterk says consider the Wharram range - see their website www.wharrram.com I built a Wharram cat in the 60's for a 'round the world trip' - didn't do it but thats another story! Speak to some of the Wharram builders and pick their brains. The only problem with the wharrams is that they do not have a deck saloon so accomodation is limited to the hulls. I believe the Wharram hulls are built professionally now in the west country, which you can then complete.
If you self build, make sure you build in your back garden - you will never finish it if you have to travel to the site.
Also consider a boat project already started and then abandoned - these can often be picked up at bargain prices. See www.projectboats.fsnet.co.uk
Also consider as others have said, buy a tired boat for say 30k and use the rest of your budget to do it up - again there are bargains around.
Also try www.shiprepo.com
Goood luck.




dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[oldsaltoz]

<pre>G’day Keith,
Take a look at the links below; The CD in the first one will give you a heap
of good information and some very cost effective tips. It was put together over a
couple of years by a bloke that actually built his own catamaran.
The second link is for multihull builders, it also contains a lot of information
and a number of plan suppliers etc.
I wish you luck but beg you to speak to as many other cat builders as you can,
it’s no small task you are considering, and it’s not cheap to walk away from.


http://d.webring.com/hub?ring=multihulls


Andavagoodweekend Old Salt Oz……/forums/images/icons/cool.gif</pre>

 

[Guest]

Hi,

A couple of points.

I may be wrong but.... The RCD directive. You will not be able to sell a home build boat for 5 years from completion. If you build a "kit" boat then you might be able to get the manufacturer to oversee the build and get the appropriate certificate at the end of it.

VAT. You will, if you land just about anywhere in Europe, be required to prove that the boat is VAT paid. You'll need a huge folder for all the invoices relating to the build.

Kit. When you buy a second hand yacht much of the essential kit list will be included in the sale. Anchors, fenders, mooring warps, cutlery, crockery, tools, lights, spare fuel cans and so on. If you build it yourself you have every single thing to buy.

Time. It will probably take you a couple of years to build the hulls and then another couple to fit them out.... this is a four year period when you could have been sailing. And your timing WILL slip.

For your budget you could buy a nice Wharram ready built and equipped to go sailing. Have a look at http://www.multihulls.uk.com/wharram/bananas.htm as an example of what you can buy second hand.


Regards



Fred

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

 

[Guest]

Brian (fatipa) writes

> Not sure I'd buy a cat for my first boat though I suppose if it's for liveaboard then possibly I might, but a cat is harder to sail than a monohull imo and that's not to say I'm anti cats - horses for courses.

I'd disagree. Cats are far easier to sail than monohulls. You don't need to walk about on a slope all the time, when you put things down they tend to stay where you put them (I sail with a vase of flowers on the saloon table in everything but the roughest seas.) There is more room in the cockpit to get all your lines in order. The sails are smaller length for length than a monhull (because you aren't dragging all that extra ballast through the water to try and keep your boat upright) and therefore they are easier to handle. The gear is less stressed. YOu don't lose living space to the "heeled over" effect.

The cats I've sailed tack nicely and sail into the wind as well as a modern fat monohull though they won't get as close as a racing mono. They are more comfortable on nearly every point of sail.

Buy a cat and sail on the level.

Regards


Fred

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.