Glen-L.com

Hello,

First time post, and first day of reading about the art of boat building. I am 21 and still in college, but I am hoping to build a small boat over my summer break. I happened upon a few boat building videos on you-tube and I think boat building could become a new hobby!

I see many of you have the luxury of a shop to build your crafts in. Are there any repercussions of doing a build totally outside? I'm not sure if I can convince a neighbor to allow me to use there shop or not, but assuming I cannot what do you guys suggest I do?

I have not put in the research hours (yet), but an hour or so of browsing tells me that the stitch and glue type boats are the easiest to build. Am I correct?

Do any of you care to suggest a small first build boat?

On average, how much does building a small (lets say 6-8 feet) stitch and glue boat cost? A rough estimate is all I am looking for, as I'm sure prices vary by location. I am located in South Carolina if any of you guys are semi local.

Sorry for all of the questions!
Aaron

Where are you located in SC? there are several others there that will be glad to show you their builds I'm sure

_________________
Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

I go to school at Clemson University, but my home town is right outside of Charlotte NC. So I travel between the two places.

Would love to check out some builds! I'm having a hard time comprehending some of the concepts, and it would be great to speak with somebody who already built a boat or two.

One of our members that has built several designs,S&G and frame lives near Aiken

_________________
Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

Welcome Aboard Aaron,

I'm the builder near Aiken that the Pirate is referring to. I would be more than happy to talk to you over the phone or even have you visit. But, be warned I will put you to work. And I won't hold the fact that you go to Clemson against you. Feel free to send me a PM.

Chip

_________________
A secret to a good marriage is to have a quick mind and a slow mouth!!!

Hmm,

If your a Carolina fan maybe I should look elsewhere .

I may take you up on that offer for a phone call. Right now, I'm trying to read up so I will at least know the basics. Reading through a few builds, it seems not having a shop is going to be tough.

Aaron,

Yes, I'm GAMECOCK born and GAMECOCK proud. But, that has nothing to do with me helping a fellow builder out. Now, if you were attending Georgia or Florida, we might have a problem.
In all honesty, I salute you for continuing your education no matter where you go to school.
Now let us get started with the subject at hand: Your project. We need some variables before we can start helping you. We need to know your intended use, where you plan on using the boat, means of power, cargo etc.

Good Luck,
Chip

_________________
A secret to a good marriage is to have a quick mind and a slow mouth!!!

I don't have a shop so to speak just a bit of a lean to, some of the other guy's just put a tarp over their work at the end of the day or build a tent. Anything is posable when you put your mind to it
Best of luck.

_________________
Malahini, SEAN-NÓS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd6vkPjEy4U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uDVzcVpdhc
crackerbox build http://s753.photobucket.com/albums/xx17 ... =slideshow

Aaron, from another of the "younger" builders here welcome. Sounds like these guys got you on the right track.

In addition to the great stitch and glue boats available I would also consider the IMP. It would also be a quick build and a great boat you can use anywhere and transport easily. With a small used outboard this boat would be cheap fun and look great. https://www.boatdesigns.com/10-Imp-flat ... ducts/175/

-Chris

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My Zip build log...
http://www.vupilot.blogspot.com
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"Nothing screams poor craftsmanship like wrinkles in your duct tape."

OK you guys, I need to set the record straight. There is only one REAL Carolina and it is in Chapel Hill, not Columbia BTW, my daughter is just finishing her second year at Georgia.

On the subject of stitch and glue, I agree, it is a great way to build your first or your 100th boat. Being at Clemson, you have Lake Hartwell and a few rivers very close. You could build a lot of different stitch n glue boats. I built a 16.5ft stitch n glue kayak in about 4-months and I worked on it almost every night until 2am. It can be done quicker, but appearance may suffer. It's length required joining long sections of wood that had to be within certain tolerances and then the epoxy had to set. Things like that will take you an hour or two to do but they then have to set overnight before you can touch them again. Fairing takes a lot of time and all the sanding after you add the glass seem to take forever. In other words: many of the steps are easy and done quickly, but things like letting epoxy set and hours and hours of sanding will make the calendar pages turn.

As far as costs go, it will depend on your skills and the tools you have access to. Things like palm sanders, random orbital sanders, circular saws, table saws, jig saws are not a requirement, but very helpful. Of course basic hand tools have been used for as long as there have been boats. Marine grade plywood (Okoume is great for stitch and glue), epoxy, varnish...those things add up quickly and not always available at just any lumber store. The one thing that seems the most ridiculously priced to me is epoxy. You can find it online for better prices than a place like West Marine, but the shipping and then the hazardous materials fees add up. Marine varnish is not cheap either, but a little bit goes a long way. A good respirator (not a dust mask) and safety glasses are an absolute must. A lot of this stuff has harmful vapors and the dust from sanding epoxy is really harmful.

If you are at Clemson, you must have some good science/engineering skills already, so I'm sure you can do it. But I'm not so sure you can do it over the summer.

_________________
2011 MALAHINI - KICKED IN THE HEAD

I wake up with a 16ft woody every morning
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=534DBtp1Cnc
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Thanks for the replies everyone,

My goal was a cheap small boat that I could transport without a trailer. But looking through the designs, I am wondering how rough you can be on these boats? I think the building process interested me more than the actual utility of the boat.

As much as I hate to say it, I'm not sure this project is going to be doable with my current schedule. I will only have a few weekends a month to work on the boat. I am taking two summer courses, so I will be in Clemson the majority of the summer. Building here in Clemson would be impossible, I stay in an apartment. The fumes would probably be too much for me to bring the boat inside, and outside the boat would be subject to weather, the staff cutting grass, ect. As far as building any type of lean-to or tent outside of my apartment, that would be impossible. They won't even allow us to wash our vehicles!

I'll keep reading, but for now boat building looks like something I'll have to pick up post graduation. The good news is I graduate next May so only another year.

The time will come. I know exactly how you feel. I looked at all the pictures on this website for the last two years of college drooling over the boats. It didnt take long after I bought my first house and had a garage of my own that I started building.

What do you mean about "how rough you can be on these boats"? Some parts of the build require precision but make no mistake this isnt cabinet making, "close enough" or "eyeballing" usually works fairly well. Epoxy fills any slight voids and is sanded smooth prior to paint and varnish. As for use, they can take about the same beating as any other boat but youll likely be more careful with something you built yourself.

I have heard of people renting a storage unit and building the boat in one. "Where there is a will there is a way."

If its just not feasible at this time Glen-L also has plans for a radio control boat, you could build that in your apartment and learn the same skills on a smaller scale.

_________________
My Zip build log...
http://www.vupilot.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/vupilot/Chr ... O0x7SvsQE#

"Nothing screams poor craftsmanship like wrinkles in your duct tape."

I know the feeling about not having space I live In a apartment but I have started to build a 29 foot boat but have had to put o hold due to lake of place to put it together and other reasons but I am still set on building my boat

_________________
Don't be afraid to attempt anything. You might surprise your self in the attempt.
http://www.facebook.com/Home.Made.Boat.Building
Modified Jubilee-"Wild Flower" 40' house boat
14' Mr John-Wild Flower 2
32' Supper Huck- Wild flower 3

Rod H

Chris, you are spot on about their X1 model, I can't believe I didn't think of that one. Especially considering that was my first build.
https://www.boatdesigns.com/40-RC-Model ... ducts/519/


Aaron, The model is built using S&G, just like all the other S&G builds, only on a smaller scale. Everything else is the same. As you can see I built mine on our kitchen table. I'm doing some varnish work there now.

_________________
A secret to a good marriage is to have a quick mind and a slow mouth!!!

Here is one guy's solution down in Texas, working in his back yard...

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THE FRAUD WILL NOT GO AWAY..9-11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB...
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