Boat plan Free

Since I originally made my 3D sketches of the shantyboat, a few things changed, a few things forgotten about were remembered, and Ive learned a lot about the boats construction. I wanted to reflect those changes in my 3D sketches.


 In these renderings, you can see the addition of the head which bumps out on the aft porch a bit. Also, of course, the motor well and Mr. Johnson have been added.
Less evident is that I positioned the floor correctly 21 inches below the deck. I also resized and repositioned the windows.

Here are colored and textured versions of same.



What you cant see from the outside is the bucket shitter in the head.


There you go. 3D rendering doesnt make anything more real, but it does help me understand some of the challenges Ill face when I start constructing the cabin.

Also, please note that I was unable to find a Queensland heeler 3D model for Hazel, so for now, the border collie continues to be a stand-in.


This is a rendering of you trying futilely to get on the boat while my 3D models callously look on unwilling to raise a finger to help.

UPDATE: I spent a ridiculous amount of time learning how to create 3D components from illustrator files.  New rendering, now with more Hazel dog!

Heres hull #7 of the Passagemaker series which just arrived by ship from Hong Kong and is now lying north of Fort Lauderdale. We went up and had a look through her this morning. This is design #2719. Shes being readied for delivery and headed to the Bahamas.

This design has Rod Stephens imprint all over it. Rod was a huge fan of the big, beamy, center cockpit ketch as a cruising boat. This looks like a natural development of two previous designs: Yankee, design #1278 and Torea, design #1927.

The T.O.C.K. (Tartan Offshore Cruising Ketch) was put into production in 1976 for short run that lasted two years. 30 boats were produced.

The boats must be fun to sail, especially with the cockpit so far forward.


Here are the plans.

Whenever I think of a keel I think of a sailboat. My trawler has a keel under and adds a considerable amount of structure to the boat. The bottom of the keel ( keel shoe I think) is 3/8" plate, the sides are 5/16", the length of the keel is 20, the height is 50", and its width is about 18". The rudder bears on the keel shoe and the prop shaft exits the boat through the keel. The keel provides protection for both the prop and the rudder.

I built the keel on the shop floor then used my skid steer loader with a sch. 80 pipe extending the forks for the machine to maneuver the keel into position. Once I had the keel assembly under the boat I used floor jacks and bottle jacks to lift it into place and get it aligned with the marks on the bottom of the hull plating. Once I was satisfied with the alignment I welded both the inside and outside of the keel before putting on the starboard side plate. Before I put the starboard plate I blasted and primed the inside again. I know Ill burn through some of the primer during the final weld up but I just didnt feel right covering that up without putting some paint on her.

Having such a large structure of the boat existing with burnt primer had always bothered me while I was building the keel so I made provisions to make the keel an air tight structure. After I installed the stern tube I air tested the keel to 7 psi. Air testing and repairing all the pinhole probably added a day to building of the keel, but I feel much better knowing it is air tight. My thinking is that by being air tight rust and corrosion will have a hard time getting started.

Conall

Weve had this unusual model with full sail plan sitting in a closet for years. Our model maker friend, Norman Angus, just did a major cleanup for us. It was decided not to do a full restoration such as to repair the dings in the toe rail as we were concerned it would actually hurt the value. Now we just have to figure out what boat it is. The only notation on the back is by who I assume is the model builder: Don Peterson, Larchmont (New York) 1954.

We are certainly thankful at CCBB for five big things:

#1: The new shop. The goal by the time we were sitting down for turkey was to be in the new shop and pretty well set up so we could get back to customers projects with as little delay as possible. We are a few days off the goat but still pretty darn thankful for this 1100 SF space where well be able to build above 30 or have multiple smaller boats in construction, or new construction and a prototype, or one big boat, mastmaking, and oarmaking all happening under one roof for the first time.

This design is interesting as it marks Henry Nevins (City Island, New York) foray into aluminum yacht construction. She is all aluminum with plywood decks covered in canvas. The year was 1958. Unfortunately we dont possess any images of this boat.

Postscript: A blog follower has pointed out that Currituck is currently for sale and can be seen on the S&S Association website. Click here for further information and some images.

Heres the general arrangement plan. I like that chart table that converts into a quarter berth.


And an article from Motor Boating magazine. Please double click for zoom.

The details of how to design a yawl so that the tiller gets around the mizzen is an interesting topic. There are a number of tricks:

Using a line steering system: Here you can see Michael Storers Beth Sailing Canoe with the tiller forward of the mizzen and the lines connecting to the rudder, which is out of the picture.


Ill add that there are a number of ways to do line steering. My Deblois Street Dory has line steering coming into the boat from a rudder yoke but there is not a remote tiller as in Beth. The Coquina is another example of line steering in which lines are attached directly to the rudder and pass through the transom, via a pulley system, and the steering line goes around the perimeter of the boat.

Using a long push-pull tiller: Here you can see James McMullens Oughtreds double ender.


Using a curved, laminated tiller or split tiller


Using a normal tiller with an offset mizzen




For the Goat Island Skiff, we go with an offset tiller as in this model by a customer:




The other methods I mentioned just wont fit the situation we have in the Goat Island Skiff, mainly because there is not room for a split tiller and we want to keep the solution simple. We are deciding about just how much to offset the tiller. You can see above that the tiller will hit the mizzen before 45-degrees. The big question is how much room do we want to give the tiller to swing. In the pictures, we decided to test a 45-degree swing. That puts the mizzen a little further off the centerline than Id like. This boat is very light and pushing a tiller than hard over makes the rudder act like a brake and the risk of losing so much speed that you cant get through the tack is something to consider. Then again, we dont need it so close that things feel claustrophobic. In the picture above of the offset mizzen, notice how little offset the mast is...the tiller must touch the mizzen pretty early. Does that give enough steerage for the helmsman when the push the tiller in the mizzen direction?

Well have a solution soon after a full-scale mock up. The way we are doing this, collaboratively, is something I do on many projects. It always gets a better result because many thoughts and ideas can be sifted through. The more the merrier. Whatever the solution I draw up, the mizzen can always be moved a little more or less off the centerline according to the skippers preference. The important thing is to maintain the rake of the mizzen, which has been determined. My point is, that collaboration with designers, customers, and other folks with experience through the forums and boat shows can be an advantage in getting many thoughts onto the table and generating the best solution.

Heres one of those little gems we come across from time to time in the files. She is a 26.5 powerboat that was built of wood by the Essex Boat Works, of Essex Connecticut and launched in 1950.

She is built of white oak for structural members and planked in mahogany. Power is from a single Chrysler 100 hp gas engine for a top speed of 13.5 knots at 2,000 rpm.

Here are the plans.

Almost every truck and excavating equipment I own uses group 31 size batteries. Some pieces have them in series, some in parallel. For the generator and the main engine on board, I decided to use group 31s. 

A group 31 battery is for sure overkill for my three cylinder 10 kw generator, but since the moneys about the same, and I  had spare batteries in the shop, I used that size anyway. The main engine will start on one group 31, but two will probably be better in case I get into a situation of extended cranking or colder weather.

I  still have quite a bit of scrap cherry plywood on board so I decided to use this leftover material to build the three battery boxes needed. The house bank consists  of ten, six volt golf cart batteries, wired series/parallel giving  us somewhere around 1200 amp hours. The  house battery box along with the two other boxes for the main engine and generator have now a dual purpose of comfy engine room seats, along with a sort of work bench. The house bank box is perfectly situated for checking oil, changing filters, and priming the injection pump.

Battery charging for all three banks is being done by a Charles 80 amp, three bank, smart charger running either off of shore power or  the generator. The house bank and the main engine bank will also charge off of the main engine alternator. The generator will also charge off of its alternator.  To connect the charger to the various battery banks, I ran #4 wire, and fused each hot lead where it enters the respective battery box using 80 amp ANL fuses.

The generator has its own single circuit disconnect switch. The main engine and house bank  are  switched off of a Blue Sea switch panel that has the ability to combine both banks. This switch panel also  has three 15 amp circuits that are hot even when the house bank is shut off. Having those constant hot and fused circuits makes for a good way to  power the bilge pumps. This switch is a  newer version of the old style switch. When this switch is turned on, both banks are not combined, but are seeing charge from the alternator. To prevent blowing out the alternator diodes, I am utilizing a Blue Sea automatic charging relay. The ACR automatically combines batteries when charging, isolates batteries when discharging, and also isolates batteries when starting.

Plowing through building the battery boxes, fabricating the battery and start cables, grounding all to a single ground locations, installing the  switches and relays....kept me busy for a week or so after work and weekends, but the job is finished.

Solder or crimp?  Crimp! Ive been an owner operator trucks, tractors and heavy equipment for over 30 years now. I can tell you from first hand experience Ive had a solder joints fail on factory cable ends. Ive never had a crimp joint fail ever. As  important as a good crimp joint is its just as important to secure the cables so they dont move.  I hear some guys say you should do both, but my experience says its a waste of time. The only tool I"v used for crimping heavy cable ends is the hammer activated crimp tool...pretty simple and easy to keep in a tool box. I do insist on heat shrink tube over the ends, and feel you get what you pay for. Cheap heat shrink is another wast of time and money.  

Because all the DC power is now finished, it was time to connect the main engine and generator control panels in the helm to each engine. The cables had been installed months ago, so all that was needed was to connect it all together. In addition to using terminal strips at the helm, I used terminal strips in the engine room. Because I will be able to start both the main engine and generator from the engine room, terminal strips make this configuration both easy to fabricate and easy to maintain.

Im installing the engine room start switchs in the same panel I built for the house battery switch and ACR. The generator start switch is a pretty easy deal to replicate as it only uses three wires: Battery, start, and accessory. You need the accessory switch to power the electric fuel pump. Im not going to have any gauges, just a light to let all know when the switch is sending power to the starter. The main engine switch in the engine room is going to take some figuring on my part ( this is why its not installed yet), as it uses a power/accessory switch, a start button, and a kill button.

I should probably say at this point that I have a whole new level of respect for those electricians who are able to keep all their wires straight, tight, and neat. I put some effort in to trying to keep things neat and orderly looking, but my skill is  nowhere near the level of the pros. You have my respect straight,  tight, and neat wire dude!

When the generator and main engine wiring was all complete, I bumped the main engine from the helm and likewise the generator. I then bumped the generator from the engine room. The  main engine and generator wiring is almost wrapped... well wrapped enough to start and operate as per design.

The next item on the list was to get the louvers installed at the top of the exhaust funnel. Id had a tarp up there to get  me through the winter, but it was a  pain as it had blown off a few times. This job was a pretty simple ordeal and took longer to get the tools and  parts up and back than it did to fasten the louvers. I used aluminum insert  nuts ( similar to a rivet), then used 1/4" stainless machine screws. I was able to caulk the intake louver weather tight against the funnel, but cant caulk the exhaust louver until I connect the exhaust pipe ( the louver is my access to clamping the exhausts pipe to the fixed exhaust exit at the funnel lid). Summer has found us in southwestern Ohio and temperatures are forecast to be in the  mid to upper 80s for the next ten days. Having the exhaust funnel operating makes a big difference in the engine room as air now rushes down the stack.

With the louvers now in place, theres no real reason not to assemble the exhaust piping. I had done a half assed job of fabricating the exhaust piping a few years ago, so all the parts were at the shop. Now that it was time for final fit up, a bit of welding and tweeking was all that was needed to fit the pipe. Dont misunderstand tweeking from twerking as I dont twerk. Im  happy with how the exhaust pipe is now dry fitted so Im going to go ahead and fabricate some righteous hangers ( Im not planning on using the plastic hangers you see in the pictures). Two hangers for the silencer should be plenty. I already have the hangers in the stack, and I  must say they are working great looks.  Adjacent to the refrigerator is a tall access panel just for installing the long exhaust pipe. I made this panel as tall as I could without having to remove a cabinet, and Im happy to say that I was able to easily fit an 8 long section of pipe down through that 54" tall access panel. Man is it sweet when a design works out for the good.

The exhaust stack is going to get lined with some reflective  material to help keep heat in the stack. The turbo, exhaust pipe, and silencer is going to get wrapped with a blanket while its in the engine room and most of the stack. At some point Im going to have to weld some grab bars from the stanchions by the engine to the hand rail over the transmission. The exhaust pipe is very now tempting to grab as one makes their way to  the work bench by the engine.

This week will find me installing the prop shaft and getting the engine aligned. The guys who own the boat yard said I should re align the engine a couple of weeks after shes in the water, and that theyd come up and give me a hand doing that. Access to the coupling is going to be much easier with the hydraulic pump removed. I really need to remove the pump anyway as thats going to give me better access to install two cable clamps for the start cable that I could not reach.  While Im working on that part of the engine, Im thinking Im going to fabricate a manifold for the cooling loop to make it easier to tie in the transmission cooler, steering cooler, and hydraulic cooler.  Im not a fan of multiple "Ts" in anything, and a manifold will ultimately make my life easier.

With the hydraulic pump removed, the exhaust piping connected, the cooling system finalized, the steering system complete along with all the engine wiring, the engine should be able to be fired next week. The hydraulic system can go in ex-post-facto as it runs off of a live PTO from the transmission, and having the engine able to run prior to building the hydraulic system is of no consequence.

Having this much engine work completed by the end of this week means the shaft is in the boat, and that end of the boat is water tight. Installing the bow thruster saddle will make that end of the boat water tight, and at that point she could go in the water.... technically.

The other thing that that got accomplished was my inspection by the department of natural resources, so we now have a hull ID number and are able to get her licensed.

Because I had already sourced and accumulated most of these parts I just blogged about, my start in to getting the mechanical work rolling has been a little better than I had anticipated. While theres still some wood working that needs to get finished, I"m glad Im wrenching now as this makes  me feel like a launch is possible this year.

Cheers