Anyone else on a shoestring?

[richardandtracy]

Earning a full time living as an employee does fit into my equation, as do 2 young kids. The kid's arrival was quicker & easier than that of the hull (well, for me at least!), and they came after it too, meaning that I had more time to share the nappies & child care (one day on, one day off, nursery during working hours). Generally I get 1 day per weekend to play with boats, and the other day is devoted to kids/ housework/ shopping/ scavenging and giving my wife a day off to do her OU degree.

I don't get a lot of time to do things after work in the evenings - but where I can, I do the design on CAD and get it right there, so that making/ fitting the things takes much, much less time. If you design internal units right, they can be built at home & fitting is then merely a matter of drilling & tapping 4 holes in the boat's structure, then attaching the 4 bolts. I worked for an aircraft interiors company for a few years, and the target fitting time for all units was 15 minutes (even for a fully plumbed in lavatory). That's what I aimed for in my boat too - missed it for the heads by about an hour as one of the pipes went through a bulkhead stiffener I hadn't drawn on my model of the boat.
I did the same with my camper [no CAD this time for such a simple job] - consequently the back half converts back into a panel van in under 30 minutes. We don't even have to unload the units, as I put 4 carrying handles on each. (The initial fitting in the van took rather longer as I had to rivet in nut-plates as the van's sheet steel is too thin to tap).

To be honest, the kids enjoy scavenging scrap as much as I do, and my eldest daughter (now 6) thinks it's normal to cast aluminium on the patio and have a machine shop in the conservatory.


As to 321 stainless. It's not as good in salt water as 316 stainless, and is more likely to rust. It has a different galvanic potential, which is closer to that of aluminium - consequently there are fewer galvanic corrosion problems [note: NOT "no problems"] when it's used in direct contact with aluminium (eg pivots where insulators between the two metals are impossible). A much better alternative is to use 316SS & insulate it from the aluminium.
I understand 321SS is supposed to be easier to machine than 316SS too, but I haven't noticed any difference myself.

Regards

Richard.


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[gonfishing]

why not try <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.boatsandoutboards.com>http://www.boatsandoutboards.com</A> put your target spend in and search word of advice allow at least £800.00 for things like lifejackets flares radio etc etc as all the little bits can certainly add up very quickly and need to taken into account with thhe overall budget OH by the way i have a cracking 14/6 shetland with cuddy on new trailor with lots of bits and pieces that will get you on the water as she is ready to go with all relevant safety gear send me pm if interested

<hr width=100% size=1>what!! more petrol??

 

[Steve_Bentley]

Re: Out of Touch

I didn't realise this was still getting replies until just now so thanks to everyone for the kind thoughts and suggestions.

I bought a copy of Boat Mart and it certainly has some cheaper things than PBO/MBM etc. I still haven't got the 'flaty out this year (when your butt is 6 inches off the water going out in a F3 takes some persuading for the missus!) but I'll probably stick with it for this year and finish the conservatory (floor joists in last weekend!). I'm still tempted to go for a small speedboat (13/14/15/16/17'? is the difference that much on the water?) and rework the deck. Maybe in time for next year. I've been inspired by:<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=26>http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=26</A> ('www.iboats.com' boatbuilding forum).

A new series on boatbuilding started Sat 10 May 8pm on 'Discovery Home & Leisure' which was interesting. I don't know if they'll cover 'grp' aswell as timber. Same time next Saturday etc. A boat program on the telly- whatever next!

As for a £5k budget- given a choice I'd rather spend nothing!, and if I use my existing Mariner 30 on 1970's 13' Fletcher (perhaps £1,500?), with say £500 tidying it then it's £2k (but already spent £700 on the rebuilt/recon engine, but have a Volvo 25hp that cost nothing with the flaty!). Everything's relative and the local paper sometime lists sailyboats for £1,500 but they've got to be pretty tired?

Regards to all, Steve

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