yep, it most certainly does young fella.
what does that involve?
what does that involve?- Joined
- May 27, 2019
- Messages
- 31
- Points
- 58
I was a Naval Architect but after graduating specialised in the field of propellers and spent my working life in a propeller company supplying to the larger sector of the market. Making small period models gives me just as much fascination
I built two sailing vessels that were large enough to go adventuring aboard. The first one was all mahogany with sawn frames, an historical working boat design. My wife and I (public school teachers at the time with summers free) made that one home for an entire summer. While on that summer cruise we saw the vessel we would need if we wanted to really escape. As soon as we got back, I ordered the initial materials. It was a 3 year build after which we quit our jobs and sailed away for 21 years. No kidding!
Back to ship models again now and love them just as much, but differently.
Back to ship models again now and love them just as much, but differently.
great story, Are there any photos you can share with us?
That’s something most people can only dream about! Kudos
ship ahoy, is your name Errol Flynn by any chance?
yes, some photos (build and adventuring) would be nice Jimsky. how much did the build cost? and could you tell me/us some of the adventuring you and your wife did during the 21 years on the high seas.
i would love to do what you and your wife did, but when reality sets in (well, mine anyway) i then think of all the dangers and risks and the dream fades away very quickly. i've seen too many things that can go wrong, but it's being at the mercy of the weather that bothers me most.
you and your wife are very brave for doing what you did, but if the risks are little, so are the rewards.
nice career choice bigpropdoc. i'm beginning to find out what sort of specialities there are in ship building. a learning curve for me.
Her are some of the pictures. These go back to film camera days so I am actually photographing photographs to get them on here now.
This is the first boat I spoke of. She's a Cape Cod Catboat and we named her/him Harvie.
The amazing thing about these historic workboats is that their beam is equal to half their length. This one is 22 feet long, so we had a very roomy cockpit and a nice cabin with separate head, complete gally and 2 full size berths, as well as lots of storage. But not enough headroom to stand up in. Also, I have no idea who that youngster is in this picture.
The year is around 1973. Too bad you can't see it, but Harvie was gaff rigged. A lot of sail for a small boat. Off the wind with the steel centerboard cranked nearly up, nothing could catch us. Well almost nothing. The mast is a solid 8" diameter stick glued up out of 2 by 8 planks and hewed round with an adze and hand plane.
I will try to get some more photos out tomorrow, including some of the second boat that we really escaped in.
This is the first boat I spoke of. She's a Cape Cod Catboat and we named her/him Harvie.
The amazing thing about these historic workboats is that their beam is equal to half their length. This one is 22 feet long, so we had a very roomy cockpit and a nice cabin with separate head, complete gally and 2 full size berths, as well as lots of storage. But not enough headroom to stand up in. Also, I have no idea who that youngster is in this picture.
The year is around 1973. Too bad you can't see it, but Harvie was gaff rigged. A lot of sail for a small boat. Off the wind with the steel centerboard cranked nearly up, nothing could catch us. Well almost nothing. The mast is a solid 8" diameter stick glued up out of 2 by 8 planks and hewed round with an adze and hand plane.
I will try to get some more photos out tomorrow, including some of the second boat that we really escaped in.
Last edited:
Brother Beau:
As far as 1:1 boats, I built the ones pictured in post #13 plus the one below. That is an Arctic Tern HV built from a kit from Pygmy Boats. Stitch-and-glue, fiberglass and epoxy over okoume plywood, 17' X 23". I used all of them and sold some later. The thing is, you can only use one at a time. In regard to making money, it's an old story. People say "Wow, if you sold your _______* , you could make money." However, making things for money means you have to consider material costs, schedules, deadlines, logistics for selling, etc. All of which reduce the fun. And if you do the math, you find that you're earning $1.99 per hour. My aim is to make a couple of bucks here and there to show my wife that my hobbies are not complete money pits. I doubt that I'm fooling her.
Fair winds!
* fill in the blank: e.g., boats, duck decoys, bicycles, model ships
Brother Jimmy:
Now that's real boatbuilding! But what's a Cape Cod cat doing on the Chesapeake? At least she is v-bottom in the Chesapeake style. I see that you're in Easton. I've been through there a couple of times on the way to the small craft festival in St. Michaels. Very nice.
Fair winds!
$1.99 per hour aye. i think i might have a job for you AndyA.
i didn't really mean making boats as a business, but selling them when you're finished with them. as you said, the logistics and all the other factors, but they don't really come in to it when you do it as a hobby and when you're finished with them (using and/or displaying) you could obviously recoup some of the expenses at least and buy more models or make more 1:1 scale boats.
i must say that i love your kayaks. (not a euphemism
). it looks similar to the other one you have shown earlier. nice lines and colour (i'm saying beige) and nice paddle work.
A few more photos of Harvie. One of the interior and the last winter before launch. Raising the mast was a little frightening. You can see that we thought 2 men could hold it and slowly lower it to it's step in the lower stem timber. Fortunately it went straight into the very massive step.
This is obviously a very important part of the previously mentioned "materials" that I ordered when we got home from our summer on Harvie. This is a bare fiberglass hull from Westsail corp. It came straight from the mold and weighs around 9 tons. What you don't see is the 1000 board feet of rough teak wood that I ordered from a local lumber supply, and several pallets full of salvaged stainless steel from a local salvage yard. I selected the steel based upon one characteristic -- it had to be non magnetic. There's also a 2-cylinder diesel waiting nearby.
There are 3 pieces of fiberglass here: the hull, the deck structure, and rudder. I actually replaced the rudder a few years later with my own more hydrodynamic design.
We named this boat "Odyssey." I don't think the pictures show it, but both Harvie and Odyssey were built in the same spot next to our house. So we always had power and a phone line from the house. The first winter, we put a good electric heater aboard Odyssey. Even when it was snowing outside, Cynthia is grading her student's papers and I'm constructing cabinets and plumbing and electrical wiring, etc, etc.
Getting closer!
The picture from astern while sailing downwind was taken in the Virgin Islands.
Because I was already a very devoted scratch builder of ship models, I did things a little differently with these full-size builds. For example, I built all the spars from scratch. I built all of the blocks from scratch out of teak and stainless steel, and turned the sheaves and axle pins on a lathe. I welded up all pulpits and stanchions from salvaged stainless. I built Odyssey's 50 gallon fuel tank from scratch. I even learned how to design and build refrigeration equipment so I could build an engine-driven cold-plate freezer/reefer for Odyssey. I learned how to sew so I could make and upholster all of the cushions and mattresses. I thought about building the sails, but decided to leave that to the real pros.
Regarding the issue of making money. I agree that we build models or real ships either for enjoyment or as an all-out business, but not both. I did sell Harvie for a bit less than a year's salary in my teaching job at the time. I also sold an article to Rudder Magazine on "How to Make Your Own Wood Shell Blocks" All of that cash went straight into Odyssey's completion.
This is obviously a very important part of the previously mentioned "materials" that I ordered when we got home from our summer on Harvie. This is a bare fiberglass hull from Westsail corp. It came straight from the mold and weighs around 9 tons. What you don't see is the 1000 board feet of rough teak wood that I ordered from a local lumber supply, and several pallets full of salvaged stainless steel from a local salvage yard. I selected the steel based upon one characteristic -- it had to be non magnetic. There's also a 2-cylinder diesel waiting nearby.
There are 3 pieces of fiberglass here: the hull, the deck structure, and rudder. I actually replaced the rudder a few years later with my own more hydrodynamic design.
We named this boat "Odyssey." I don't think the pictures show it, but both Harvie and Odyssey were built in the same spot next to our house. So we always had power and a phone line from the house. The first winter, we put a good electric heater aboard Odyssey. Even when it was snowing outside, Cynthia is grading her student's papers and I'm constructing cabinets and plumbing and electrical wiring, etc, etc.
Getting closer!
The picture from astern while sailing downwind was taken in the Virgin Islands.
Because I was already a very devoted scratch builder of ship models, I did things a little differently with these full-size builds. For example, I built all the spars from scratch. I built all of the blocks from scratch out of teak and stainless steel, and turned the sheaves and axle pins on a lathe. I welded up all pulpits and stanchions from salvaged stainless. I built Odyssey's 50 gallon fuel tank from scratch. I even learned how to design and build refrigeration equipment so I could build an engine-driven cold-plate freezer/reefer for Odyssey. I learned how to sew so I could make and upholster all of the cushions and mattresses. I thought about building the sails, but decided to leave that to the real pros.
Regarding the issue of making money. I agree that we build models or real ships either for enjoyment or as an all-out business, but not both. I did sell Harvie for a bit less than a year's salary in my teaching job at the time. I also sold an article to Rudder Magazine on "How to Make Your Own Wood Shell Blocks" All of that cash went straight into Odyssey's completion.
Last edited:
absolutely fascinating Jimmy. i'm learning so much from reading these posts. a week ago i knew virtually nothing about sailing/motor vessels other than they float (hopefully) now i have a better understanding about some of the many aspects involved in making watercraft. still much to learn though.
Take also a look at the video @Jimsky posted once
5 Years Neighbors Laughed While We Built a YACHT in Backyard, But then...
I came across this video and instantly thought to share it with all of you. Sounds like a Ukrainian couple, it took them 5 years to complete the build. Enjoy the Holidays everyone.
shipsofscale.com
Done! the most interesting 13 minutes ever watching a YouTube vid. love it!