Anyone else built their own boat?

[oldgit]

My 36ft Mobo was home built,three homes in fact.
Chap bought hull and topsides from Aquafibre in 1973. Boat was eventually launched in 2005,used once or twice and then put ashore.
Superb build quality.
Bought by me at a tiny fraction of the money spent on fitting it out over the 30 years of construction,as for the cost of the thousands of hours of paid and free labour,not a trace.

 

[macd]

I spent more than three years building the Folkboat, and as a poorly paid apprentice, it was entirely financed by stopping smoking. At that time, 20 Players cost 4/6d, so I couldn't have afforded to have done it any quicker. She allowed me to achieve my ambition to explore the West Coast, and I've been doing it ever since, in a variety of boats, and I've never smoked since.

Respect, on both counts.
Fascinating thread. Do keep 'em coming.

(My own feeble contribution was a GRP white water canoe when aged 16. Several decades later I stopped smoking.)

 

[duncan99210]

The only boat I ever built was a grp open canoe made in a borrowed mould over a couple of weekends with a few mates in our mid teens when I was living in the Netherlands. It was built in our garage in the winter, had a short test putting before the weather turned bitter and the lakes and canals froze over. Then my parents moved back to UK and I never got to use it again.
Never had the time or facilities to build anything else, just bits for boats which took up more then enough sailing time and money. All credit to those who do self build but restoring a mid sixties boat is challenge enough for me.

 

[Serin]

Fitted ours out from a GRP shell. She's 40 years old, going strong and gets excellent survey reports. No kits then, so she's fitted out entirely to our own designs.

People sometimes ask how long it took. Well, we're still at it........ Lots of upgrades and modifications through the years. The boat evolved around us so she fits our needs like a glove. We've had several offers but we will never sell her.

The early processes of getting her to the sailing stage was a lot of hard work but fun and I don't regret it for an instant. We learned a lot, know every inch of the boat and have a relationship with the boat that I can't imagine developing with one that wasn't composed of our finest marine grade blood, sweat and tears.

Everyone has different preferences and different needs and the only tip I can think of is this - set deadlines if you must, but don't let them get to you. Pretty much everything takes longer than you expect and there will be lots of unforeseen hitches. Don't locate your pleasure always in the future, when the boat's finished....enjoy the excitement of seeing her take shape and the friendships you make along the way - and she'll be done when she's done (except she'll never be quite done)

Edited to add: We built a nice little 8ft clinker sailing tender for her as well. That's going strong too and gives endless pleasure.

 

[snowleopard]

its the continual need to sand and fair, repetitively, in order to achieve a decent finish that takes the time .

My first big boat was built over male moulds and the whole exterior had to be filled and sanded, a huge task which, given my time constraints, tended to get skimped. By the time I came to build Snow Leopard, Derek Kelsall the designer and pioneer of self-build techniques had come up with some great new ideas to speed up the process and cut down on the finishing tasks. The hulls below the chine were laid up in a mould which had circulated among self-builders of that design. The topsides and most of the rest of the structure were laminated on a vast table using vacuum-bagging. That meant a gelcoat finish with only the seams between topside and lower hull and topside and deck needing sanding. Pretty much every panel started life with one side pre-finished and choice of orientation meant little or no sanding. Where a panel needed a good finish both sides, a flat panel of gelcoat and a thin layer of glass can be bonded to the inside with a mixture of resin and filler.

I recall this from an article in, I think, YM...

I went into the boatyard and said 'I want to know what a long-board is' A chorus of 'Oh no you don't' came back from the workforce.

Excellent advice.

 

[Cap'n Creosote]

In about 1968/69, at the grand old age of 21. My appetite for sailing whetted by a couple of holidays on the Norfolk Broards. I decided I'd like a boat of my own. But everything I saw was way out of my price range.

The only way I could see of achieving my ambition was to build one in my back garden.
I answered an advert in PBO from "Cruiser Kits Suffolk"

It took me two and a half years.:encouragement:

It was an 18ft "Black Swan" I sailed her for about 10 years before other commitments made me sell her.

 

[Tranona]

In about 1968/69, at the grand old age of 21. My appetite for sailing whetted by a couple of holidays on the Norfolk Broards. I decided I'd like a boat of my own. But everything I saw was way out of my price range.

The only way I could see of achieving my ambition was to build one in my back garden.
I answered an advert in PBO from "Cruiser Kits Suffolk"

It took me two and a half years.:encouragement:

It was an 18ft "Black Swan" I sailed her for about 10 years before other commitments made me sell her.

Brings back happy memories. My first boat was a similar 14' from the same place. Charles Green ran the outfit in Bungay. Still have his brochure somewhere. Whetted my appetite and only sailed it a couple of times before I built a Seawych from a kit in 1976.

 

[Serin]

I

It was an 18ft "Black Swan" I sailed her for about 10 years before other commitments made me sell her.

Nice looking little boat

 

[Amulet]

My father designed and built Amulet. Pictorial history here click. He estimated 3 years and took almost 4. It consumed almost all of his leisure time for that period. Amulet looks like a Folkboat but is much beefier (more then a ton heavier) standing headroom and a lot more civilised below. She is just 8 metres long though, about the same as a folkboat.

The link is to the story of Amulet, 1960 to 2008. The first photograph is my father designing her in 1960. The last photograph is my daughter sailing her in 2008. Amulet was launched 1964. My father died after a car accident in 1979. We sold Amulet and lost track of her. We recovered her in 2001. She is still going strong, but I haven't got round to updating the photo album. After 12 years on the Orwell now moved to her West Highland home waters. Wintering at MRC Loch Creran, berthed Dunstaffnage.

Irene and I spent our honeymoon on Amulet (first time round), and our thirtieth wedding anniversary (second time round). Aaahh - violins please.

 

[Cap'n Creosote]

Brings back happy memories. My first boat was a similar 14' from the same place. Charles Green ran the outfit in Bungay. Still have his brochure somewhere. Whetted my appetite and only sailed it a couple of times before I built a Seawych from a kit in 1976.

I still have my brochure too.

Was this the one you built.

I drove down to Bungay from Altrincham to pick up the kit. Middle of winter, no heater in the van. All part of the adventure!

John.

 

[Robin]

I built a PBK canoe at age 12 and a 12 ft PB Designed runabout at age 21, built it for inshore seafishing for which it was totally unsuited so it was sold for enough vouchers to buy my first sailing dinghy, an Enterprise. MY first 'cruiser was a Bungay Cruisers kit built Avocet which I rebuilt totally including a new deckand coachroof, sold to buy a Marine Ply Debutante which I also renovated and sold to buy my first Tupperware creation boat, a Halcyon 23 also restored and sold on. Several others followed, were given TLC and sold on in turn each time for one a tad bigger and better but still needing TLC. I have never bought a brand new boat other than the canoe kit I ordered at an Earl's Court boat Show as a 12 year old I got quite a buzz from pating with my first cheque too having just got my first real bank account and moved away from the Post office savings account that I paid my paper round earnings into.


Was it worth it, yes or I would still be dreaming of a Pools win and watching the rich buggers sail by, the first ones were small but still took lots of time but the real win was the knowledge and skills gained. Sadly these days I pay people to do jobs that are arduous or requiremore skills than I can offer, just like I no longer repair my own cars.( don't even recognise a lot of what what is under the bonnet these days)

 

[Neeves]

There is a whole industry focussed at home builds, of catamarans, here in Australia. Schionning are a big supplier, they do plans and all the bits and pieces you need, yachts are built from flat panels that you can buy ready routed to shape and you 'simply' glue it all together. Grainger also offers plans. About 10/15 years ago when we were tempted one of the big component suppliers, I think harken, did a survey and there were 500 yachts being home built (but it might have included one offs built by professionals. Since then Fusion have added a different facet, you buy the whole yacht as a number of moulded components, they come in 2 x 40" containers. One reason for the popularity here is that to build a cat you need rather a lot of space, and outside the cities there is lots of space, the weather is better here, less days of rain, and our labour rates are so high home build looks attractive + cost of buying a production yacht means it is imported (which costs). I calculated that about 50% of the cost of a one off cat built here is labour.

I have seen some of the home builds and they are absolutely appalling, others are fantastic. I've sailed on Schionnings are they are gorgeous, ours is a production Grainger built by Lightwave. Lightwave do, or did, sell a hull and deck package, you could fit out yourself. Most are designed round flat sections - which is where Fusion (and Lightwave) offers an edge as the components you buy are from moulds. Building is easy, faring is the key (even if its only the seams).

But the focus is on multis not monos - and big ones, a 35' is small 40-50 is common and there are few 50'+

Jonathan

 

[C08]

I looked at this hull in 1995. It was impressively strongly built with enormous timber re enforcement laminated into the stern. It was apparently designed for sailing the Arctic and dealing with ice. Sad to see it is still not completed, 3 owners later. It was a good job I had no money then otherwise I would have bought it, even though I knew it would be a folly.
See www.buildayacht.co.uk

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

I take my hat off to those starting from scratch and those building from hull up if it comes to a large boat.

My forefathers were boat builders but I can only claim to have fitted out some grp skiff hulls to be rowing coaching launches, as used by several clubs in the upper Thames regions.

I fitted out the last of them in 2000 and I actually saw one on the Thames last year stil doing what it was designed to do.

S.

 

[saltylegs]

I built a 17 1/2 foot day sailer as a gaff rigged ketch, it took me 3 months every winter for 4 years, I launched it at the end of the summer, sailed it twice and then bought a bigger boat the following spring.
Six years later bigger boat sold and the "wee" boat goes back in this season.
Was it worth it? yes it was for me as I just wanted something to do in the winter as there are plenty of other boats that I can sail on.
Would I do it again. Probably not as I have done it but never say never!

 

[snowleopard]

About the time I was deciding what to build, I came across an ad in YM for a kit. It was advertised at IIRC £32k for a 70 footer. I had to look into it but when I realised what you were getting for your money was a stack of pre-cut sheets of steel. It appeared the builder thought he could recoup some of his costs by selling a second copy of the panels.

Well outside my skill range but nice to look at. I don't know if they ever sold their 'kit' but here is the boat: http://www.aleutianmarine.com/

 

[Wansworth]

As a rehabilitation project I designed and built a single chine rowing and sailing boat round a sheet of 8x4........sailed and rowed a dream.The downside was the bad quality Spanish ply so it disintegrated over the years.... still have the mould for the mid section.Started building a 21 footer in strip planking but ran out of cash so bought a Manchester Kelpe and fitted out for world cruise....

 

[Tranona]

I still have my brochure too.

Was this the one you built.

I drove down to Bungay from Altrincham to pick up the kit. Middle of winter, no heater in the van. All part of the adventure!

John.

Yes, that's the one, although I rather mistakenly modified it to have a bridge deck rather than leaving it open. Happier memories of building rather than sailing as I moved on quickly to the Sea Wych that I kept for 3 years after building. Delightful little boat, but got seduced by a very well built Eventide, which I still have.

 

[DownWest]

I built a 6ft sailing pram aged 11, took me a week of long days and included the rig and oars. Designed by my father on the back of an envelope (literally).
Built this https://www.classicmarine.co.uk/boatlists/boatpages/littlewhillytern.htm in 6 months of evenings over the winter of '06/07.
Now building a small cat yawl with a cabin. Design is based on an American idea, but with some of my input and I expect to launch her in the summer.