Building plans for refit

[Tsofli]

Ok i am sure other people have asked about this already but i didn't find it. How stupid is this idea: I buy a boat that is a mess (like the interior - not the structure and probably needs to be painted outside too) . So the interior is kind of missing, but i use the building plans to to remake and refit the interior ... since i am there probably replace the epoxy on windows and such.

Stupid idea? not possible? Cant find building plans for boats that are in production? Lets not comment about time or effort etc but lets just concentrate if it is possible or not.

P.S. thank you dear reader for waisting a part of your life reading my silly ideas

[shorebird]

Most project boats will still have an interior intact, so refurbishing it should be pretty straight forward without needing plans. A simple drawing of the vessel interior should provide enough information to redo the interior, other parts of the vessel, such as rigging, it may be helpful to have plans, but the specifications may be simply available online as well.

[Tsofli]

ha! Thanks for the answer. most boats i see at the price range i look (dirt cheap and even cheaper) are missing wooden parts inside. And i am a terrible carpenter or anything diy really. but i want to learn

[Tsofli]

So i guess it not something you can do. Ok thanks guys

[GILow]

Depends a bit on how good you want it to look, how long you want it to last and what sort of duties the boat will be expected to perform.

I am about 10% of the way through our interior refit at the moment. I would consider myself pretty practical having renovated five houses and built one plus having converted a bus to a motor home and renovated a caravan interior.

Despite this I frequently have to decide to go for function over form as I simply do not have the time or skill to get the level of finish I would really like. I see form as the one area I am willing to compromise since function and durability are critical to me.

There are plenty of good books on the subject. Perhaps borrow a few and decide from those if you have the skills and time. Someone on this forum once pointed out to me that the interior fitout is a much bigger job than we realise and they were quite right. But as I said to them it is at least an area I can fix with hard work and the skills I have so a good boat that is otherwise well behaved and constructed was worth my time.

Matt

[Tsofli]

That was the best answer for me, to understand. I have no skills really but i have to start somewhere. I am impressed with the bus job u did.

I am just kind of broke and try to get to sail, on a boat i will own on my budget with no loans. I just can't allow my self to finance a boat

[Zach]

You can do it, if you add 2 to 3 inches to hull side and scribe it to fit.

Most boats, try as they may... are not symmetrical, and are only as close in tolerance to the designers line plans as the builder deemed necessary to get. So, what fits on one side, normally does not fit very well on the other side.

There are way to many people in the boat building world that subscribe to "you can't look at both sides at the same time." Those folks, build the plug the fiberglass boat is built off of... too.

Cheers,

Zach

[Boracay]

The overwhelming criteria is the size of the boat.

Refitting a small boat (say under 25') can be a straightforward and pleasant task and, depending on the work to be done, may be "completed" while still having a normal life.

As the boat becomes larger the cost, time and energy involve increase exponentially and the probability of unfortunate social consequences (divorce, separation, accidents, unemployment...) also increases dramatically.

As a general rule of thumb it is better to flip burgers for a few years and then buy a boat in reasonable condition than it is to buy one in poor condition and to try to fix it up.

Have a look in your local yacht graveyard if you want to see what I'm getting at.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Tsofli

That was the best answer for me, to understand. I have no skills really but i have to start somewhere. I am impressed with the bus job u did.

I am just kind of broke and try to get to sail, on a boat i will own on my budget with no loans. I just can't allow my self to finance a boat

Listen to what the others have said, there is truth in all the previous posts; especially what Borocay posted.

I have refitted 3 vessels (and after each I vowed never to do it again).

Size is really one deciding factor.

Another is the scale of the work required, it would be very unusual to find a boat with a good hull and good rig, sails and engine (and it's systems) in good condition but with a sad interior. Finding a good hull should be fairly easy but if the interior is shot, so will the rig, sails engine and so forth - unless you are very very lucky.

So not only do you have to refit the interior, you will need to refit / replace essential aspects of the boat i.e. sails etc.

The dollars climb rapidly and the time taken skyrockets and every foot longer cubes the cost.

I am concerned when you say you don't currently have the skills or the dollars. You can get by without one but not both.

Some options are:

1. Start small and see how you go, if it doesn't out, not much is lost and on the one hand you might quickly develop the skills and be able to tackle something bigger.

2. Learn to live with less below (less is more ). You really only need a dry bunk, somewhere to sit, a small galley (single burner portable stove), maybe a sink, maybe a head. The rest is luxury that you must decide for yourself if you are willing to pay the price in terms of time and money.

3. Find another dream to follow.

As Borocay also suggested, find the local boat graveyard of broken dreams; there will be give away old boats there that have broken many a dream. Every sizeable waterfront or riverside port has one somewhere it seems. Usually in the less shiny side of town.

But yes, it is doable - just might not be easy.

[GILow]

Don't forget, if you really want to sail, that there are plenty of trailerable boats that would be heaps of fun, really cheap to buy, and would give you a "safe" introduction to the skills required to maintain and refit something bigger. Hey, if you turned out to be good at doing it you might even make a small profit. (OK, sorry, that's probably a lie, but at least you should not waste TOO much money.)

I don't know where you are based, but something I would suggest in Australia is a Hartley TS16. A good one is still worth a bit of money, ("A Class", Hartley TS16)

but a "floater" that can be sailed and learned on would be really cheap.

Here's a remarkable (MAJOR) restoration project, which, if you could get to this level of carpentry, would leave you knowing you were ready to tackle something bigger.

Hartley TS16 Restoration Project


Honestly, these are the most incredible boats to sail, and you can even overnight in one, which is enough for most sane people.

If you are not in Australia, there is probably an equivalent local boat to consider, and people on this forum would be able to suggest good options. Sometimes I read the boat recommendations from cruisers in other countries and I get seriously jealous of the boats that are available outside of Oz.

Matt