Rules and Regulations for Building a Sailboat

[anjou]

Just to state the obvious.

Building WILL take far longer than you thought
Building WILL cost far more than you thought
Other life 'stuff' WILL get in the way and stretch your resources.
When you have time, you dont have money.
When you have money you dont have time.
Research and planning time is well spent BEFORE you commence.

As ive experienced with home aircraft builders, those in love with building rarely get to enjoy the fruits of their labours. If your building to save money, you will most likely earn more stacking shelves in a supermarket , pumping gas or bar tending.

With the used market so depressed, buy an abondoned project at an early stage, then you get to adapt to your style but get cheap materials and a good head start.

Dont underestimate the task.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by jakegator

Hello, Im planning on building a 36 foot sailboat, that will be used as a liveaboard. I was wondering if anyone knows the rules and regulations that I need to follow, to get insurance and whatever ever else I need to get.

Thank you, Jake

My advice would be to talk with a good designer - he/she will know the rules and be able to make you life easier in the build process, sure it will cost you money, but you will recoup that in my view in the build. I am presuming you are building a mono, so Someone like Bob Perry, dont know the man at all, but like his designs, would be a good start. He always appears to be an easy going guy on the forums that he participates on.

I think that a good designer will more than pay for himself.

[bill352]

Jake - there used to be a joke picture going around showing a roadside sign saying "Welcome to Centerville. Pop: 637 nice people and one old grouch."

I guess that's off topic. Don't know what made me think of it.

Anyway, let me tell you what other people told me when I thought about building a boat. You have to want to build a boat. IOW, if you want to go sailing, buy one. If you want to live aboard, buy one. Only if you're sure that the building itself is what you want should you start building. Sounds simple, but it's hard to get that clear sometimes.

(In case you're wondering, I went ahead and built, but I had a good job, lots of time and money [relatively speaking], a free place to build, and no deadline. And it was a small boat.)

Good luck.

[Benz]

Hi Jake,

You are being grossly mis-led by the naysayers. By all means build a boat--it's a lovely thing to do. I bought a bare hull to finish (Cape George 31', hull #30), and insured it with no trouble while still a bare hull. Took me three years, cost about $80,000 ($23,000 for the hull, the balance for the rest). For perspective, factory-finished CG 31 goes for about $400,000, and a used, ten-year-old one goes for $150,000 or so. So I got the best hull design on the market, the satisfaction of having built the rest myself, and a boat that suits my needs perfectly, for a fraction of the cost. Since launching her, we've sailed 7000 miles from California to Virginia throught the Panama Canal, and had no difficulty in getting BoatUS insurance when we returned to US waters (it's a fool's errand to insure when sailing foreign IMO.)
The CG rules are more about gear aboard than construction. I disregarded the ABYC entirely, since common sense is better than any set of rules made by self-appointed 'experts'. Feel free to PM me if I can help you in any way with design or construction info.
And for all you naysayers, for shame! If I had listened to the likes of you I'd still be scraping nasty old balsa core out of a half-wrecked Cheoy Lee tub, rather than sailing my lovely home-finished boat over the foaming billows. Let the fellow dream. You'll be astonished what can be accomplished with determination and hard work.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by bill352

You have to want to build a boat. IOW, if you want to go sailing, buy one. If you want to live aboard, buy one. Only if you're sure that the building itself is what you want should you start building.

Excellent point, and well worth re-emphasizing. Building a boat is NOT a cheap way to get a boat if sailing or living aboard is your passion. Building a boat WILL take longer than you expect, and cost more than you expect.

But if your passion is for the building itself, then by all means jump right in. Enjoy yourself. And realize that those who are telling you that you should buy a boat to fix up are those who have a passion for sailing, not a passion for building something.

[Wavewacker]

Very good advice here Jake, but it's probably for not, as to discuss this matter we need to know more.

What is the budget for the build....$5K, 50K, 100K, what do you expect to be sea ready?

How many boats have you built before?

How long ya been sailing Jake, what type of rig do you need?

And, whis boat, what palan?

Boat building is a sickness, I suffer from it as well, but during periods where the chills subside I see reality that tells me to build the dinghy and buy the mothership.

[rebel heart]

The worst thing the guy is going to do is get a ton of experience in boat building (which is honestly much more than nearly everyone on this forum). If that's the biggest mistake he makes in his life, good for him.

[atoll]

when i was 20 i started building a 35ft yacht,that i later sailed around the world,
looking back at the 3 years that it took me it was a great learning experiance,and taught me many things,probably most of all not to listen to armchair experts!!!!

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by atoll

when i was 20 i started building a 35ft yacht,that i later sailed around the world,
looking back at the 3 years that it took me it was a great learning experiance,and taught me many things,probably most of all not to listen to armchair experts!!!!

How many people walked by and said "you know, if I was doing that I'd...."

[Ike]

I Like that last comment by Rebel Heart.

Yes it will take a long time.
Yes it may end up costing more>
Yes it's a lot of pain and anguish.
But:
You will have the boat you want.
You will appreciate it more because of all the time and effort you put into.
It will be more than just a boat, it will be a labor of love.
And you will know every nut and bolt, and plank frame and wire in it.

And as for that comment about ignoring ABYC standards, ignore that comment. If you get a survey for insurance or should you decide to sell, that is exactly what the surveyor is looking for. ABYC is not a bunch of self appointed experts. Anyone who would say that knows nothing about ABYC and how the standards are developed. I have been an active member for 27 years, and sat on many committees that work on the standards, and I can assure you, if you think national politics gets nasty, go sit in on those committee meetings. Yes the public is welcome. There are many ways to build a boat and many people who have different opinions about how things should be done, and sometimes I think they are all sitting on the same committee. But in the end they do come to a consensus. I don't agree with everything ABYC does, but I do think a boat will be a lot safer if built to their standard, or for that matter, ABS, or ISO, or MCA or Det Norske Veritas, or some recognized accepted standard. There a a lot to chose from, and remarkably, they are all almost identical.

[rebel heart]

I ignored ABYC stuff originally because I assumed it was just more nonsense regulation created by industry experts who make money on selling/installing ABYC solutions. Instead, nine times out of ten, ABYC lays out real problems and has the most simplistic way to solve them, as well as a fair degree of flexibility.

If you deviate from ABYC at least know why you're doing it and keep an eye out for whatever problems you're exposing yourself to.

[boatman61]

You could do worse than look at Maurice Griffiths plans... lovely boats and the plans don't cost an arm and a leg...
Here's 3 in the 33ft range...
he also designed the better known Golden Hind 31 and WaterWitch 30..

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by jakegator

Hello, Im planning on building a 36 foot sailboat, that will be used as a liveaboard. I was wondering if anyone knows the rules and regulations that I need to follow, to get insurance and whatever ever else I need to get.

Thank you, Jake

My understanding is that in your part of the world your Govt is very interested in how you poop onboard - to the extent that men with guns are allowed to come aboard and check, at any time of the day or night........and I think you are also required to have written instructions on how to poop visibly displayed (not sure if that's with pics or without?).......

......so even if you can find own butt (whether with 1 hand or 2) might want to make sure you comply with the law early on.

Possibly their is also a pooping training course (and qualification?) for those who missed out first time around .