Glen-L.com

All,

My name is Clint and I am attempting to build my first boat. I just received my plans and am ready to get going? Does anyone have any friendly advice before I start on this Zip? I am hoping to put in much of my available time with hopes of getting this done my September 2012. Is this possible? I have no clue how long these things take. I have some experience with woodworking mainly in furniture and fence building. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Welcome Clint! The zip is a great design! 8 months is pretty ambitious but if you can devote a lot of time everyday it can be done. You'll have plenty of questions along the way...don't hesitate to ask. We love pictures so keep us posted with your progress.

_________________
Bill

I told my wife we needed a three-car garage for my projects...she told me to ask her for permission next time before I buy a house.
http://www.unitybuild.net

Hi, gdcarpenter here, building a ZIP. Having been around this forum for some time I would guesstimate that the average build time for a ZIP to be somewhere around 16-18 months.

Personally I'm about 20 months into my build and figure somewhere between 4-8 months to go. This is with dedicating most of every weekend to the build, with few nights if any available. That being said since I am a carpenter I am using this build to test my skills to the limit and 'going over the top' on a lot of details.

As for advice, have patience and a sense of humor, because there will almost inevitably be mistakes along the way. Any time you spend reading this forums posts by going into the archives will help, some of it may not make sense as you start, but once you progress most of it will ring a bell and help. There are a lot of talented and experienced folks here that will help along the way.

The best advise I can give is try and think as far ahead as you can so you know what you are doing at step 6 will work with what you want to accomplish at step 15. Welcome, and I have an obvious bias towards the ZIP.

_________________
This is my first, last and only boat build.

http://www.gdzipbuild.blogspot.com

Buy the boat building with plywood book from Glen-L

I bought this book and was completely unimpressed at first but as I have got into the trickier bits I am starting to find it very valuable.

_________________
Building a Monaco....provisionally called "Serenity"
http://glen-l-monaco.blogspot.com/

Welcome Clint.

My Zip build took just over 700 hours and 16 months. That might sound daunting but its just building one part at a time until you have a boat. I worked on it about 3 days a week. You can build it in your said time frame if you work on it nearly full time, 30-40 hours a week.

The biggest time saver is to have your parts and materials always in stock and ready which is difficult to do all the time. It really slows you down when you need to run to the store for more mixing cups, brushes, wood, or wait for another order of fiberglass cloth to come in the mail. Also have two drills, one for drill bits one for screw bits so you only have to re-chuck half as often. Sometimes the waiting for the proper weather for painting and fiberglassing can slow you down also as the summer heat and humidity can add some challenges depending on your shop.

-Chris

_________________
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."