Mad idea?

[Dieselboatman]

‘Stick Mig and Dc tig’
Wasn’t that a 70’ S rock Band?

Sounds like it doesn't it! ?

I would personally buy a grp hull even if you buy a complete boat and cut away everything to end up with a bare hull.
That way you get a great hull that you know will perform with known capabilities.
Fitting it out is a task in itself and that can all be the newness you would like ?

Yeah may have to go that route....

28 ft Tiki wharram ,,, most boat per buck ,, and easy to build , flat pannel but with scope for a bit of " personalisation "

Bit big for trailer launching sadly!

If I could afford mooring costs, would love a 35ft steel pulled ex trawler or something!

AC machine is a wee bit expensive and argon not easy to get unless you have a company and account and that is high initial outlay

Yeah very expensive, did have one for a bit but had to sell due to wife getting pregnant!

Built several from sheet and what you propose is incorrect, begin with the structure and skin it afterwards as you can get the structure correct and massage it into shape if it is slightly out.

MIG better than TIG as it actually gives less heat and heat distortion, and heat distortion is the biggest problem; tack with MIG and sequence welding is the only way forwards.

Yeah done plenty of thin sheet rebuilds of vehicle cabs, flat beds etc, it's only I've seen quite a few use tig and on alu it's really needed

 

[DinghyMan]

AC machine is a wee bit expensive and argon not easy to get unless you have a company and account and that is high initial outlay

Argon is pretty easy to get, just not particularly cheap: BOC do a Hobby deal, very poorly advertised if at all and you have to ring or online chat with them to get it

 

[Motor_Sailor]

If you really, really want to build in steel . . .
And you really, really can't find a suitable hull secondhand in any material . . .
And you have a bit of land with suitable shelter to use as a buildsite on which you are paying no rent . . .
And you have the wherewithall to sandblast your creation . . .
And you have more funds available than you think you'll ever need (by quite some margin) . . .
And have no other aspect of your life that will need attention in the next couple of years . . .

. . . then you should think about the Coastworker 25 from Bruce Roberts. Coastworker 25

I certainly wouldn't go any smaller and if you follow his plans exactly, and don't add (or 'up grade') any single component to something thicker or stronger, then there's chance you will end up with a useable, displacement~ semidisplacement workboat that has been proven in use.

It would still be a silly way to get a boat, but going that route at least wouldn't be certifiable utter madness.

 

[cherod]

Argon is pretty easy to get, just not particularly cheap: BOC do a Hobby deal, very poorly advertised if at all and you have to ring or online chat with them to get it

will certainly check that out . just wondering how large a hobby bottle would be tho , prob last about a day !!

 

[Assassin]

We use the smaller bottles for site and they don't last long, even with flowmeters.

Hobbyweld? buy your bottle which is around £100 and around £35 for a refill, but you only buy the bottle once and have no service charges as you merely pay for the gas and if you surrender your bottle you get your deposit of £100 back.

If you know a friendly landlord you can get CO2 bottle and swap an empty for around £10-15.

 

[Bajansailor]

Dieselboatman, can you compile a list of all your constraints that will have to apply to this vessel that you want to build?
If you had asked this question on the Boat Design Forum in the USA, something like this would probably be the first question in reply.
Boat Design Net
This will be your 'Statement of Requirements'.
What do you want to use the boat for?
What is your budget?
Are you happy to cut everything out manually from plates and sections, using the supplied plans, or would you prefer to buy a kit of all the parts already cut - you then just assemble them together and weld it all up.

Re your link in Post #7 for the Glen-L range, did you see this link in the section for the Goliath tug?
Boatbuilding materials and methods: Steel shrink-wrap