Glen-L.com

Carl, if you don't mind drilling into the floor for anchors,I used some that are easy to install,then you can unscrew hold down bolts when done,and put allen-head screws in to fill the holes and keep debris out when not using hold downs.You drill a hole, then drop a threaded insert into the hole,slip an installation tool(basically a steel rod) in and smack it to expand the insert,then pull the tool out.Very simple cheap system that works great and is removable and reusable.

You could use some turnbuckles to hold down the wheeled build form wherever you set it up level to work,say with the bow or stern sticking out 4' or so to work. then after done working & stressing,undo and roll back fully into the garage for storage

_________________
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

This is the anchor system I used,it just leaves you with a threaded hole when not in use,and I will re-use my center 2x4 for other builds as the center member on the build form.

You could have them in 4 corners and use turnbuckles to hold to hold a wheeled form a few feet out when building

http://www.confast.com/products/drop-in-anchor.aspx
Installation video on the site too
Simple clean system that works well

_________________
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

My dad built his 20'6" tahoe in a 21' garage. He also had castor wheels on his form and to ensure it was level all the time we jacked it up and put it on small blocks of wood and marked the floor so every time we took it out and turned it around we just put the blocks back in the same place.

_________________
I cut it twice and its still too short
http://www.sportingawoody517.blogspot.com/

My next build will probably be a 24 footer in a 26 foot garage. I'll still use a cart to move it, but I think I'll weld a heavy metal frame (2x2 or larger square tubing) that will stay perfectly flat. (The metal for the frame will cost a couple hundred bucks, but I'll have another use for the metal after the boat is finished). I used 2x10 lumber this time, but it did tend to move around a lot and I had to check for level and straightness more often.

Scott

P.S.: If using 2x lumber, deck it with 1/2 or greater plywood, it will add a lot of stiffness to keep it straight and square.

Hell, I moved my boat 3 times while I was building the hull...My building form was on 2x4s on end, and I'd drag it back and forth to make room for other temporary projects...And the damn thing still FLOATS...I never did anchor it and had no problems with it moving..I did pull the shears and chines together with a small ratchet strap toward the front...My boat runs fine, no porpoise or obnoxious behavior(me on the other hand-----)I laminated my shears(with saw kerfs)from the middle on towards the stem and that lessened "torque" put into rapping them around the frames...It made a smoother sweep around the frames... Just my 2 cents worth...Dwain, the SKIIIIIII KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGG...

Alot of good ideas here, figured I'd throw my two cents in. Building my malahini I had to start out with a little over a foot of room all the way around.... It got interesting. When planking started I was able to take over a larger chunk of the shop, but couldn't leave boat in place. So I added some braces to the frame and attached casters. Used scrap 1/2 inch plywood as blocks to keep movement down ( never really had a moment where I was racking on the hull to point it would run away).. Plus when the shop was needed for it's intended purpose I could wedge boat back into its corner.

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It's amazing what one can accomplish when he doesn't know what can't be accomplished.

So I have been thinking about my building form. The ideas presented here in this thread have gotten me part of the way there, however I have another issue to deal with. For some reason, the builder of our subdivision built the garage floors so that the back two feet of the floor is 3" higher than the remaining portion. This means that two feet of my limited build length is higher than the rest. This poses problems as to how I am going to build the form so that it supports the boat properly while still allowing me to mount it on casters and move it back and forth as needed.

First off, though, a little refresher. I plan on building the hull nose in so the stem and breast hook will be at the back of the garage. I plan on rolling the form partially out of the garage when I need to work in this area (no more than two feet). So you can see that the stem support portion of the form is going to be moving between the rise in the garage floor and the lower portion of the remaining garage floor.

So I think I have a solution but I wanted to throw this out for comments. First off I am thinking of mounting the form on taller legs, perhaps an extra 6 inches taller. The casters will be mounted to the legs. For the support piece extending towards the bow, I was thinking of mounting some type of threaded rod with stop nuts that can be extended up or down when I move the form back and forth. The stop nuts would insure that I get the support vertically leveled at the same point every time. The threaded rod would also make it easy to make small adjustments to get the leveling correct on that end.

So am I over thinking this? Since I don't yet have the plans for building , this is all theoretical at the moment.

Thanks for any comments and/or criticisms.

_________________
Carl
a.k.a. Clipper

Crafting a classically styled cabin cruiser named "Some Other Time"

http://veracruise.blogspot.com/

Not having the plans to view, it's possible the building form does not extend all the way to the end ( bow or stern ) of the boat, so you may in fact not have a problem.
Doug

Personally, I would consider building with the stem outward of the garage. Fitting the sheers, chines and plywood to the transom is the easy part... fitting these components to the stem requires a bit more work (and room). Good point made about fitting chines and sheers together and in order to do this succesfully they should extend a foot or so further than where they will meet on the stem (in order to temporarily tie them together.)
By the way, I build the Vera Cruise many years ago as an open boat. Great rough water riding boat with only 50hp. Had no problems bending sheer clamps, chines or the ply planking.

Actually, after I posted my last message, I went and started looking at the various build photos for other Vera Cruise builders. They also showed the bow closest to the garage door. And after thinking it over I have to agree with you Michael. I also looked closely at the way the form was designed in those photos and I believe that turning it around so it is bow out will work better with the raised area at the back of my garage.

_________________
Carl
a.k.a. Clipper

Crafting a classically styled cabin cruiser named "Some Other Time"

http://veracruise.blogspot.com/

Well, I took the plunge today and ordered my plans for the Vera Cruise. Expect to see them in about a week. It will be a little while before I can start but I plan to use that time studying the plans and preparing. Pretty excited. I've been dreaming about this for over two years. Building this boat is going to be done for the pleasure of building. It's basically replacing all my other interests (well, almost all of them - I have to stay with the wife and family)

So I will try to make regular postings after I start and I promise to include pictures. Since there does not seem to be very many building this particular boat, it will be fun to find out things on my own. However, I am sure that with all the knowledgeable people on this forum, that finding answers to questions will often be easy.

Take care.

_________________
Carl
a.k.a. Clipper

Crafting a classically styled cabin cruiser named "Some Other Time"

http://veracruise.blogspot.com/