Boat Projects

Building a Whitehall

These very straight-forward but beatuiful, fast rowing sailboats, seem like an ideal first project. Years ago I received this book on building a whitehall, and it is perhaps the most perfect representation of a boat that I can find.

ool options to consider:

  1. Removable thwart, like in Chesapeake Light Crafts version
  2. A tent like Roger Barnes’ dinghy tent
  3. Dolly with bike wheels for beach launching

Skin-on-frame kayak or canoe

These seem like the ideal confluence of utility, DIY, beauty, and highly refined design. I have invested in some Cape Falcon plans and am on the hunt for good wood.

  1. Greenland style
  2. wood choices 1. Black locust: no problem sourcing, but heavy? 1. Douglas fir: hard to source green 1. Ash: going, going… gone?

Skin on frame kayak.

Wood steamer.

Nested Dinghy

Should a first project be something more cookie cutter? It would certainly simplify (speed up) a build, and you can’t get anything more simplified than a kit dinghy, like the PT11

Specs

  • Length: 11’ 0”
  • Hull Weight: 90 lbs.
  • Beam: 50 in.
  • Max Payload: 518 lbs.
  • Rowing Draft: 4”
  • Sailing Draft: 24”
  • Sail Area: 54 sq ft.

Ultralight Trimaran

These multihulls have come so far in comfort and performance recently. I am fascinated… and researching. Previous thoughts were for a simple layout with a stitch-and-glue main hull, and skin on frame amas.

Catamaran Hobby boat

Jon and I inherited one from his childhood.

Cal Cat

  1. Specs:
  2. LOA:
  3. LWL:
  4. Beam:
  5. Sail area:
  6. Similar designs (for parts):
  7. Hobie Inspiration
  8. Aqua Cat 14
  9. Paper tiger

Repair Work

  1. Hulls
    1. Powerwash
    2. Spot epoxy repair, fiberglass repair under aft starboard support junction
    3. Redo gelcoat
    4. Stablize / Replace foam? There is a bunch of loose stuff in there
    5. Replace drain plugs, for good measure
  2. Trampoline
    1. Clean
    2. Replace 3/8” line in seam?
  3. Standing rigging
    1. Need four 316SS clevis pins for forward turnbuckles
    2. Replace all stays with 1/8” UHMWPE (40 ft)
  4. Need 1/8 UHMWPE, 20 ft, to lash trampoline to rear cross member
    1. Sail dry lube for tracks
  5. Running Rigging
    1. Replace halyard (1/8” UHMWPE, 40 ft )
  6. New steering assembly
    1. Avoids expensive pintles, and more secure
    2. Simpler and better steering than kick-up rudders
    3. Tillers: aluminum tube
    4. Rudder
      1. 3mm sheet aluminum for box
      2. Fabricate blade from wood
  7. Pittsford Lumber has sheets of Marine Okaume-Joubert plywood in 6mm 1. Epoxy and then gelcoat
  8. Sail: Tear near foot
  9. Misc Hardware
    1. Need 4 clevis pins to attach cross members to hulls: 1/4”-2 1/2” 316SS
    2. Pins for center boards are missing: fabricate from SS bolts with acrylic tubing
  10. Mast
  11. Mast step missing: fabricate from 316SS plate and a high-strength pin
  12. Float missing (but forums say do without)
  13. Spray-foam ends to seal

Transom.{fig-align=“left”}

Mainsheet hardware.{fig-align=“left”}

Replacement Mast step.{fig-align=“left”}

Where the mast step goes.{fig-align=“left”}

Pictures

The Cal Cat in all its glory.{fig-align=“left”}

The Cal Cat in all its glory.{fig-align=“left”}

Amphibious Vehicle System

What nerd hasn’t tried to figure this one out? I think the reason that we don’t have a commercial product like this is that a break-away, auto-positioning, self-launching hull system is very hard.

Electric Hatch-back

With the rise of electric outboards, a drive system is easier than ever when coupled to a high-output alternator. Or at least, would be fun to experiment with!

  • Split hull stored on roof on land mode
  • Hull gets placed for drive-on at boat launch and has rollers for transition into water
  • Dual electric thrust pods are coupled to the wheels somehow for directional control via the steering wheel

Amphibious Truck/Camper Van

  • Pontoons swing from overhead down under truck by hydraulics
  • Dual hydraulic jet drives in pontoons
  • Belt-driven hydraulic pump off motor for hydraulic power

Car Barge

  • High-displacement, low draft drive-on LST-style carrier that stays behind when transitioning to land
  • Hydraulic drive-on or roll-off deck to completely isolate the vehicle from touching water when transitioning dockside, boat launch, or even from beach
  • Deck uses turn table for loading from an angle and for forward on and off. Also, incorporates a lift to raise/lower and keep COG low when onboard
  • Electric propulsion driven from on-board batteries, recharged via high-output alternator on the car, shore power and/or solar PV panels
  • back of the envelope math: a 20hp electric outboard draws 10kW peak (15 mph), 1.5 kW at cruise (5 mph), and a high-output alternator on a small hatchback car (4.25 ton) can produce 3.5kW at 2500 rpm.
  • Remote or auto-piloting of barge from slip or mooring allows user to remain in vehicle through transition
  • Hull can take many forms, including houseboat, canalboat, internal docking barge, large trimaran
  • Lift points for loading onto rail flatbed for long-hauling
  • Use a pivoting gantry crane instead, like a log trailer?

Hydrofoiling Buggy

With the rise of hub motors, is an axle even required? If no axle, no through-hull?

  • A sand-buggy or humvee style amphibious electric vehicle
  • Aluminium unibody frame sporting 4 hub motors with wheels on parallel linkage, bolted outside of the frame
  • Then, hydrofoiled thrusters to go to water mode
  • Mechanical simplicity to deliver maximum range, stability, traction, with minimal weight, wake, maintenance
  • https://www.thewilcraft.com/