New Member gearing up to build my first sailboat

[Bwhiteboomer]

Hello Cruisers Forum,
I'm gearing up on research and anything I can attain before I begin to build my first Sailboat. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brad

[asistephen]

Why would you ? But a built boat it’s a no brainier !!!

[capt jgw]

I built a 24 footer back in the 1980's. Took 4 years and cost twice what I could have gotten a decent used boat for. And had next to 0 resale value. My advice is "DON'T DO IT!"

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Bwhiteboomer

Hello Cruisers Forum,
I'm gearing up on research and anything I can attain before I begin to build my first Sailboat. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brad

What are you building?

[Celestialsailor]

First...Welcome to the forum. I have built, from scratch two steel sailboats and helped a friend on another. I am a type "A" personality and I can assure you with all confidence, it will take you at least twice as long than the person selling you the plans is telling you (Bruce Roberts comes to mind) and will cost you three times as much. Even after 35 years from my last build, I can still see the white scars of the gashes and punctures to my body.

All that said, I switched horses and began restoring fiberglass sailboats. Older ones are stout and generally well put together. Even then, there is a lot to learn about which brands to look at and what to look for. It's like real estate. You buy the worst house in the best neighborhood.

You might want to fill in on your bio, so we know where you are. You might also want to share what experience you have with boat maintenance.

[Bwhiteboomer]

John Marples Seaclipper 24,,, trimaran.

Thanks,
Brad

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Bwhiteboomer

John Marples Seaclipper 24,,, trimaran.

Thanks,
Brad

Cool!

Wood/epoxy/glass?
Constant camber?
Foam?

[Bwhiteboomer]

Funny I was just talking to John Marples today,,, about Foam vs Okoume. Okoume it is.
I have an old Catalina 22 that I'm going to cannibalize for mast, rig, hatches rudder tiller, trailer and hardware.
Most of the advice,, I asked for,, replies have been to abort at all costs!!!!
Can't seem to find a used Trimaran for under $40,000.

Did you build you boat?

Thanks,
Brad

[Bwhiteboomer]

I just read your post about the Things that can go wrong when building a boat.
Does seem overwhelming. Marples assures me that the Seaclipper series is the easiest. Have you ever seen a Seaclipper sailing about?

[5BTM]

Don't.

I think that the ratio for completed vs abandoned is about 1 for 50 and the completed ones, for the most part, look like crap.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Bwhiteboomer

Funny I was just talking to John Marples today,,, about Foam vs Okoume. Okoume it is.
I have an old Catalina 22 that I'm going to cannibalize for mast, rig, hatches rudder tiller, trailer and hardware.
Most of the advice,, I asked for,, replies have been to abort at all costs!!!!
Can't seem to find a used Trimaran for under $40,000.

Did you build you boat?

Thanks,
Brad

Okoume is good stuff. BS1088. Boulter Plywood is a good source to get authentic stuff.

What I have noticed using that wood is forget thinking coating it in epoxy will keep it from rotting. You must also cover it in fiberglass. Otherwise, any continuous immersion will find its way into the wood.

Absolutely nothing wrong with using BS1088 Okoume. It’s just about as light as foam/glass.

Nice to have all that hardware around from the Catalina. That’s quite a hull upgrade for the Catalina. Ha ha.

Yeah, no. You shouldn’t do it. Run! It’s been the worst experience of my life building mine but the mast is final going up next week. It’s hell. It’s agony. It’s just awful . But a 24ft tri sounds a lot better than my extra beamy 50ft cat to build.

[MicHughV]

I'll chip in here and basically tell you what you've already read.

Like you, I had grandiose plans to build my own boat.
Why build it...simple...I didn't have the cash to buy one.

I sat down and figured out to the last cent everything I thought would need and planned my time accordingly.
To wit, I thought $9K and one year of my time ought to do it. As stated above, I chose a Bruce Roberts 38. Started in 1979. Why this boat ? I have no idea. I saw a picture in a magazine that I fell in love with. It was a ketch. At that time, I couldn't tell a ketch from a stick in the ground.

But I prided myself on being the world's best scrounger.
Until that time, I had never built anything of substance and I had barely enough skill to know which end of a hammer to hold.

Three years later and about 4 times the cost, I splashed it.

I wrote a book about my building efforts if you want to read the nitty gritty of how it all went down. Go to Amazon and type in " and the sea called my name" and you will be directed to the book.

In the process of building mine, I got to know several other amateur builders, two of which, were building trimarans, amongst others.
Everyone of them had woefully miscalculated the time and effort it took.

Nonetheless, on the plus side, I had the time of my life. The three odd years I spent building it were probably the best three years of my life. There is nothing quite like building your dream with your own two hands.

I've attached on of my favorite pics to inspire you. The moment my hull was rolled over from upside down to right side up. It was like witnessing childbirth.

Hope this inspires you.

[MicHughV]

whoops...wrong picture....I built that dink too as a trial run, but this is the one

[Bwhiteboomer]

I found a lumber yard here in San Diego that sells joubert okoume 1088. 6mm $76 a sheet.
Do you have a Youtube channel? pics of your boat?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Bwhiteboomer

I found a lumber yard here in San Diego that sells joubert okoume 1088. 6mm $76 a sheet.
Do you have a Youtube channel? pics of your boat?

I don’t advise taking on yet another job filming and producing videos. You’ll have enough work ahead of you without that added to it. There is no way I’d even film and produce videos as a job in any sense. Waaaay too much work and no life to yourself.

After that passionate answer, I have more. I’ve had death threats and all sorts of crazy people saying they’re coming by my boat build to torch it and to kill me. I’m not interested in sharing anything to identify me or my boat after that experience. However, several forum members have drawn the golden ticket. Ha ha ha. I have invites going out for a sail this winter to members here who have helped with my questions.

And Boulter vs your lumberyard is probably like a Burton/Sims thing. Same thing, different coasts. Just a geographic difference. Glad you already found a source.