What is it about boats...?

[flaming]

That people think they're so easy to build....?

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_18884125?source=rss

As a timber frame house, that looks just superb. But as a boat.....!?

 

[prv]

As a timber frame house, that looks just superb. But as a boat.....!?

It's not a boat, it's a timber-framed house. That's clearly what the guy is used to building, this time he's just built one with a couple of pontoons under it.

If it was motorised, without the strains of a rig, it could work reasonably well as a mobile houseboat on inland waters for a few years until all that softwood rotted.

Since he's proposing to set off around the world, and the mention of a generator suggests it's intended to sail, I just hope it breaks up early enough for them to be close to land and get rescued.

Ideally it would break up on launching, to prove a point.

Pete

 

[prv]

Also I noticed that he has "spent three years designing it" and "looked at thousands of yachts" but nowhere does it say that he has ever actually sailed.

Pete

 

[JomsViking]

Education

"I spent three years on the design of this. I've looked at thousands and thousands of yachts."

And dismissed the learnings from all of those?

Boatbuilders never stop learning, and study for years, but quite often people believe they know better, and build something out of ferro/softwood/whatever and think they're clever.. The cost of the hull is about 10% of the total cost, so no real savings can be realized that way.
Now and then someone builds something really beautiful and good, but that tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

good luck to him.... I hope it works.
Even if he finds a good mooring up a creek somewhere it could be a terrific home.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Try searching for "Raw Faith" if you want to see what can REALLY go wrong! Too many hits on Google to give a single link.

 

[VO5]

Fibreglass over wood construction ?

The wood will get soggy in no time at all....and then the problems will really start...if it stays afloat long enough that is.

One is constantly amazed at the gullibility and stupidity of some people.

I bet you all that in looking at all the boats they looked at it never occured to them to seek professional advice from a builder or a surveyor, at the very least.

 

[Sandy]

"I spent three years on the design of this. I've looked at thousands and thousands of yachts."

Looking at the pictures I am not sure he learnt anything from looking at all those yachts

 

[Baggywrinkle]

It does say in the article that he doesn't intend to come back.

 

[Seajet]

It does say in the article that he doesn't intend to come back.

Darwin is awaiting... !

 

[electrosys]

Scoffing at an amateur ? At least the bloke admits to never having built a boat before ...

If you want to see what the really knowledgeable boat-building experts come up with ... take another look at the Team Phillips catamaran back in 2000 !