To build a boat is perhaps one of the most exciting dreams that most boaters as well as designers and craftsmen secretly have. Indeed, there is great satisfaction in seeing something so beautiful sail on the waters or even lie in the docks which one has either made with his own hands, or at least designed and had custom-built.
But boat building is no easy task. One of the oldest branch of engineering, building a boat involves constructing the hulls of boats and for sailboats, the masts, spars and rigging. Before anyone ventures into this exciting yet consuming task, one must first take the “boat building test”. Common Sense Boat has prepared a list of questions to see if their clients are ready to build their boats. Although the questions are originally intended for building Common Sense boats, the list can apply to assess one’s general attitude towards boat building.
Here’s the Boat Building Test:
1. Do you want to be a boat owner but:
A. Cannot afford or do not like plastic boats?
B. Cannot afford or do not want the upkeep of a traditional wooden boat?
C. Do not want the bank to own your boat?
2. Do you like or would you like to learn to work with your hands?
3. Do you want a boat designed to a specific purpose?
4. A boat that is better than a commercially available one?
5. Do not want a boat just to impress your neighbors or friends?
6. Am I comfortable with being different?
7. I want a project that has a high likelihood of success?
8. Do you have the support or tolerance from the rest of the family for an involved and consuming project?
9. Is boating an activity that excites or is at least gets tolerated by the rest of the family?
If you answer the questions in mostly affirmative, then it is believed that you have the makings of a boat builder.
What it takes to build a boat
Building a boat requires careful planning, meticulous sourcing of materials, serious attention to details, lots of testing, as well as thorough budgeting and cost analysis. It starts with having a general idea of the kind of boat that you want to build. Then you move to create or find the appropriate boat plan and boat design for your boat. There are free boat plans and boat designs that you can find on the Internet. Manufacturers and custom boat builders also have stock boat plans and boat kits that you can avail. Then you also need to do a cost estimate of the entire boat building process. Consider the construction materials, the cost of labor, boat yard fees wherever applicable, as well as other fees that you may incur if you outsource some service requirements to other providers.
Materials used in boat building include wood, fiberglass, aluminum, and steel-reinforced concrete. For building wooden boats, you could take advantage of relatively new products that will make your work easier. These are wood-based, clear, penetrating epoxy coating; hard epoxy adhesives, marine-grade plywood, durable high-tech caulk/adhesives; and two-parts paint.
Even if you the boat is custom-built, the owner has to be actively involved in the whole process to achieve success. Time is the most important investment of a prospective owner of a custom-made boat. He has to make frequent trips to the shipyard to check on the boat’s progress and remain in constant talks with the builder, architect and interior decorator. In most cases, the owner would also need to negotiate with suppliers for the materials. And then, there is the important task of making sure that the boat building process is done on time and on budget.
The key to maintaining your boat-building task manageable is to keep your boat design and boat systems simple. The more complicated your design and systems for your boat are, the longer time you will take to finish and the higher the cost of your boat building will get.
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