My (Sort Of) Sea Knight Build

[Bill Edmundson]

Fraser

Looks great. We'll be waiting for results.

Bill

[hoodman]

Awesome! Good luck with the flip!

[Craig Aho]

Looks real nice and I like the old photos from your grandpa as well. Love those vintage boats. Sure envy your building space. Best of luck as you move forward.

Craig

[froberts]

What a SUNDAY! Here are a few pictures from the big flip. I have to say it was so much fun getting to see the inside of the hull after staring at the outside for such a long time. Definitely could not have gone any smoother, huge thanks to everyone on the forum for their support! Can't wait to get going on the topside.

[garrech]

Congrats, looks great!

[hoodman]

Congrats! That's a huge milestone! The other half is a lot of fun.

[TomB]

Fantastic, congratulations.

[mrintense]

Congratulations Fraser. Looks like the flip went well. Mine was anti climatic after all the worrying and prep work. And it was so cool being able to see the hull right side up. Now the real fun begins. I look forward to seeing what you do with the interior. Are you planning on sticking with the planned interior or deviating in ay way? If I recall, you stretched your hull some so you will have some additional options.

Not sure what your climate is like there, but I opted to make more aft cabin space, figuring that I would likely spend more time there than in the cabin. With it's limited headroom and enclosed space, the cabin will likely get hot fairly quickly.


I must say, this is really cool. So few cruisers are built and it's really great to see another coming along.

[Bill Edmundson]

Fasier

Congratulations! Good planning and a good crew!

Bill

[mrintense]

I went back to the beginning of the thread and realized that your Sea Knight is nearly as long as my Vera Cruise, only 6 inches shorter. I thought that hull looked pretty big in the flip photos. From a width standpoint, how does it stack up? Regardless, good luck with the fitting out.

[Milhouse]

Congrats! looks great!

Thanks for all the good pics

[froberts]

Thanks so much everyone! It sure was a great afternoon and I can't wait to actually start building again!

Yes Carl, it's actually amazing how much of the worrying is for not when flipping your boat. I chalk this up to all the great feedback and wealth of information that is on the forum to pull from. My roll cradle was chiefly based on yours! I figured if it worked for you, then it would work for me!

I ended up making a few changes to the hull. Mainly, it has been stretched about 3.5 ft and then widened it 4 inches. Making the length just shy of 21ft and a beam of 7'6". One of my favorite things to do when procrastinating at work or when avoiding my hunny-do list is to plan out my interior layout. Having the extra space definitely allows for a lot more variation to the original layout, that said the basic plan is to have a small anchor locker up in front of the v-berth (very similar to your layout) The sleeper area will end at about frame #2, it is here that the windshield will start (quite further back than a normal SK) helm control with be just behind the windshield with a built-in seat on port and starboard side. Then open cockpit until a rear bench.

I've been playing with the original cabin sides, as I plan on scaling them up to provide more headroom. As originally planned, SK's have a contained cabin and then helm control behind it, most builders add a second windshield on top of the cabin. Because my controls will be more forward I will not have this addition windshield. I am currently planning to go with a removable canvas top which, from most angles should maintain the general appearance of the SK cabin sides. I hope that made sense, I will try and scan some of my sketches to show what I mean.

[dmac]

Hi Fraser - Great looking build! Impressed by your willingness to innovate and make the boat you want. I'm curious about how you accomplished the 4" widening of the beam on your Sea Knight. Did you just carry the existing hull bottom lines 2" further out at the two chines (with corresponding adjustments to the frames, of course), or did you add the 4" at the keel (as some builders do to achieve a small but desired increase in beam), or did you use some other method? Like you, I am attracted to Sea Knight specifically, not another design (the similar looking Vera Cruise is massively larger and heavier!), but would like a few extra inches of beam and a 10-15% lengthwise stretch for a little extra elbow room and additional buoyancy at the stern. Thanks, Doug

[mrintense]

Hi Fraser,

Okay I took some rough measurements on my hull. 21 foot length and 8 foot beam at the widest point. Your boat, 20 feet 6 inches length, 7 foot 6 inches beam. So they are nearly identical in size! I am looking forward to seeing what you have in mind for the layout. The canvas top idea is something I considered in a similar manner. From the side the boat would look like it does now, but the top would be open. In the end, I didn't want to give up my windscreen and mast so I am going with the hard roof. But that's what make these boats so cool. The ability to customize them to our own tastes.

It's going to be an exciting couple of years now with the two of use (oh and Craig Aho as well) getting on with our cruisers. Hopefully, David Ellingston will get back on and let us know how his Vera Cruise is coming along.

[froberts]

I'm curious about how you accomplished the 4" widening of the beam on your Sea Knight.

Thanks Doug, isn't making the boat you want what it's all about?! For widening the beam I very carefully extended each full-sized pattern 2inches at the keel, following the curve of each frame.

But that's what make these boats so cool. The ability to customize them to our own tastes.

You are right on the money Carl. I love seeing each build reflect their builder's personality, taste, and character