Hello from California!

[marksanctuary]

Hello, New guy around here, however have had "build a boat" on the bucket list for a long time.

My Livesteam Backyard Railroading hobby has kept me busy for many years, but I am now itching to broaden my experiences with a boat build. Something that I can build that the whole family can enjoy. Also my two boys are still young enough to learn woodworking skills with their dad.

So I have been drooling over the many beautiful Glen-L Zip, Squirt, SkiTow, and Utility boat builds over the last month. My gut feeling is the Zip a good balance for me with respect to size, first time boat building, boat style, and budget. I'm going to continue looking around the Glen-L forum and site more to get more familiar with this idea of building a boat.

[Roberta]

Welcome aboard!! Many Great designs offered by Glen L and plenty of help available from members of the Forum. Ask questions and Post Pictures.

Roberta

[Jimbob]

Welcome Mark!
It says you live in Orangevale, just down the road from Citrus Heights where I live.
You are welcome to stop by and look at my build, and discuss boat building anytime. Send me a p.m. for contact information.
Jim

[marksanctuary]

Jim, I will take you up on that offer. Sending you a PM.

[marksanctuary]

Looks like I have to get a few more posts on the forum before I can send you a PM. I will once I am allowed.

[hoodman]

The zip is a fantastic boat. But depending on how many kids you have the larger Malahini might be a better choice.

[Bill Edmundson]

Mark

You should be good to go on PM now.

Bill

[Andy Garrett]

Welcome!
Many of us chose the Zip because it fits in about any garage, especially with a swing-away tongue on the trailer.
It's a great design as are they all!

[marksanctuary]

Yeah the boat size is so tricky. The Malahini is an amazing boat too. I just love the Zip lines because it looks like a rocket ship. However I am 6 foot tall and I am sure the Zip cabin area is similar to a VW beetle interior. Some of the forum posts mention lake size as one thing to think about. I live near Folsom lake which is a 17.89 mi² lake. Both these boats are not too bad on that size lake.

[marksanctuary]

This image from the boatbuilders.glen-l.com site is a good example of how the Malahini space works with multiple people on board. Gosh they even have room for an icebox. Not sure if this would be possible with a Zip... I guess if it was opened up like the Utility. Now I am thoroughly torn on what to build.

[Bill Edmundson]

Mark

I would go with the bigger boat, even stretched if you can. They are both great boats. But, people are just bigger than they were when they were designed.

Bill

[Ibrew2be]

Mark, I write this as one who has had the good fortune to ride in both a Zip and a Malahini (including the one pictured above). Both are excellent designs. I have found the Malahini to be the more comfortable boat to be in. I suspect it's not often that someone wishes he had built a smaller boat.

Barry

[hoodman]

In a Zip, your legs will be stretched out in front of you because the seats aren't very high due to the lower freeboard. The Malahini is more comfortable to sit in while still having the same look and basic shape as the zip. The extra beam is nice too especially if you have your family onboard and are trying to move around. Both boats are awesome and you should build at least one of them.

[marksanctuary]

One thing I need to consider is the outboard motor costs. I see many of the Zip's have a motor around 30 hp and the Malahini's seem to be in the 60 hp range. I need to figure out a rough idea what the outboard is going to cost.

[Bill Edmundson]

Mark

In rough numbers, outboards are $100/HP. Much less used.

Bill