Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Hi Fellow Builders,
Haven't done much to document the progress on this boat. But spring is arriving in New England so it's time to get this project finished.

Project started in August with arrival of plans and a pile of BS1088 Meranti from Maine Coast Lumber. As anyone doing one of these knows, it "looks" like a boat in a hurry......but that's where the work really begins!



As fall arrived and there was no way I wanted to do the real messy fairing, priming and painting in my attached garage I decided to flip the boat and concentrate on the structural part of the job over the winter. The first flip of the boat was pretty easy with just 2 of us safely turning the bare (bit skinned) hull and getting it on a work cradle. Doing it this way meant that there would be 2 more flips of a MUCH heavier boat down the road. These will be of a hull at around 500# but much stiffer than the flimsy skin only hull.

The plan all along has been to aim for a light, simple but stable boat used mainly to knock-around and fish the immediate coastal area at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Boat needed dry storage, a place for 2-4 to sit or hang onto and a center console 'cause I'm just tired of tiller steering. Power would be 25 to 30 hp max. based on the loads we expected to carry and our modest need for speed. BTW....Jacques' "Planing Analysis" was real helpful in deciding to go with the modest power option. It's worth a look if you're considering this build. I was a bit concerned about keeping dry as the freeboard is a bit low (my opinion only). Following Steve292 in the UK helped a lot and I decided on rocking the gunwale extension to raise the sheer more at the bow than the stern. I would up with an 8" extension which raised the bow sheer by 5" and the stern by 2.5". Happy to say that I like it!



Progress continued through late fall and winter steadily. Lots of time spent on figuring out storage, gunwale construction and how to make some changes to the transom and splash well (which will be a removable glass over foam structure eventually).


Yesterday's mission was to get the boat from the work cradle onto my small but very useful trailer.......done! Now boat can be moved in and out as weather allows. This keeps the really messy sanding and stinky Awlgrip primer out in the open.


OK, that's enough for today but more pictures will be coming as this continues.

Bill in CT
Remedy32

BTW.....pictures are from my gallery.....remedy32/FS17 in CT

Boat looks great Bill. I've been keeping my eye on your gallery, watching your boat come together. Glad you started a thread. Look forward to seeing her hit the water! Keep us posted on your progress!

Been busy rebuilding sailboats for profit ( or so I'm saying) so the FS17 has slowed a bit.

Latest things are managing to get a Yamaha 25 ELR for a fair price that seems to run very well! Thanks to the forum for information that the 703 side mount control can be reversed. Managed to build console from foam core that was around the workshop. Next will be to skin it with glass and one form of resin of another. Should be a lot lighter than 3/8 Meranti for sure. Should also allow for nice rounding of all edges since the foam is 3/4" thick. Might make a mold if it comes out nice enough.

Just about time to flip the hull back over to get the bottom done.

bill in CT

Looking good!

Latest things are managing to get a Yamaha 25 ELR for a fair price that seems to run very well!

http://savannah.craigslist.org/boa/1716934680.html

here's a good deal on a 70

http://savannah.craigslist.org/boa/1717886167.html

I saw that one C.L. It made me think.....Maybe my little 15 fter can handle a 70hp 2 stroke. The weight is less than the 50hp 4 stroke. Then I decided that Jacques puts a max hp for a reason, and I came back to reality. If a 50hp in that condition, that age, at that price, I'll be all over it

Will

It would be a great motor for the FS17

Fact was that here in New England it wasn't easy to find many nice 25-35 hp used motors. Lots of folks wanted top dollar for really beat up motors. There seemed to be many more 60-100 hp motors for sale but listening to JM's suggestions I'm sticking with the lower power option. I'm pretty excited about the prospect of 20+ kts. at a bit over 2 gph. Also nice to be able to consider a 9-12 gallon tank as well. After 30 years on sailboats anything over 20 kts seems like warp speed to me.

bill

Finally back to the FS17! the last few weeks were hectic finishing the extensive refit of a 32' racing sailboat.....but at last in the water and competing.

Managed to get a posse of boat flippers together for hot dogs last weekend and got the boat turned "back" over. It's a lot heavier than the first flip (of just the skin and transom) with the interior structure fully in place. A few diagonal 2x 4's made the gunwale rigid enough to carry the load as we turned it over without much excitement. One more flip to go in about 3 weeks I hope.

When the hull was glassed about 6 months ago I didn't pay enough attention to the "fairness" of the last 8 feet of the bottom. I would up with 2 pretty good sized hollows; the deeper one nearly 1/4". With a lot of 1708 biax around it seemed like a good plan to fill with fabric and resin and not just mud (quick fair etc). To new builders a note to really pay attention to the fairness BEFORE you glass the hull bottom OR be prepared for lots of expensive mudding.

Skeg is 3 layers of 10mm Meranti and will be glassed over with 2-3layers of 1708; should be bulletproof!




Started making the edges square with some Marine Tex that was around the shop. Forgot what "fun" it is to work with that stuff! But it made a nice hard edge to fair into. Hopefully the boat will get faired next week and painted the following week. Time will tell.

Bill in CT
FS17

Nice work Will
Just one thing, I am sure the lamination sched. calls for the transom to be glassed all over, forgive me if I am wrong but yours doesn't seem to be in the pics. Did you not glass because of intending to using low HP?
Regards,
Steve

Steve,
Yes it does get glasses. When it was in the garage that side was very hard to reach so I delayed till now. With the boat outside it'll be easy and quick; this week I'm thinking.

Bill

Bet this is familiar to many. Ever notice how easy it is to get sidetracked when trying to build a boat? This console is a perfect example.

I got a few 4x8 sheets of "semi structural" foam core for very little $$. Not dense enough for a hull but used in many things like truck bodies etc. Seemed like the prefect material for the console and an engine box for a friends diesel sailboat engine. The stuff is very easy to shape and thick enough to make large radius curved edges. My plan was to just glass over it and have a console. After looking for a ready to go console in glass on the web at $400-700 I'm ready to make a mold.

Sidetracked once again!





Bill in CT

Radius that inside turn at the back of the seat and it will release from the mold easier. Looks good

OK, the messy part really gets going now. After the dust mess created last year building an FL14 my new project moved outdoors for the fairing/painting process. We flipped the boat 2 weeks ago and the weather has not been very cooperative since.

I've been real happy using Quick Fair but lets face it the stuff is not cheap especially when you factor in how much gets sanded off and dumped in the trash can. I'm back to mixing my own with resin. Seems to work well! Once you have a good idea of how much resin/filler is needed for a particular batch size mixing is pretty quick. My mix is about 4 oz. (mixed) resin plus 8 (liquid measure) ounces of filler for a fairly stiff paste. Comes off the trowel nicely and sands well. Don't expect the "buttery" smoothness of QF, it's just not that smooth.

Looks like it will take 3 passes of this "bog" to get fair enough to consider starting the graphite bottom treatment. I'll probably longboard after the 3rd layer and do a bit of spot filling after that. Very good news is that the hull is pretty darn fair by design, especially in the forward third. The areas that had a pronounced hollow around the middle of the boat are filling in nicely and now are within 1/16" of fair.

The skeg is laminated to the boat with 17 ox biax tape overlapping the bottom. Seems pretty tough, time will tell.



One more piece of glass to do on the transom and the topsides can start getting faired as well.



And of course INSIDE the garage the console project continues. Last pictures lacked an inside fillet on the seat and I don' think that would EVER have come out of a mold later.


Well if the sun ever comes out here the pace will pick up. Pressure is on for 4th of July....we'll see.

Bill in CT
FS17

OK maybe another FLIP by the 4th of July!

Good to see the posts about when fairing is done last week. I've been over this bottom 3 or 4 times and it's looking pretty good. Hollows are gone and one more sanding to go before graphite time. Topsides will probably get another pass of the "mud" mix before a high build surfacing primer.

This is the WORST part of the job for sure!



bill

Bill...boat is looking great. Your getting really close now. Must feel good! Looking foward to seeing her all finished!

OK time to start spraying!

One last look at the hull.



And 30 minutes later.



This is a two part high solids epoxy polyamide from Pro-Line (Sherwin-Williams in San Diego); my former employer. Sprays well, good hide and pretty good fill/sanding properties. Got 2 coats on the areas to be painted and this revealed lots of small defects and a bit of fabric print on the starboard side. Time for a little more filler and then a final 2 coats of primer tinted to a medium gray. Finish will be 2 part urethane (Awlgrip or whatever) in a medium to dark blue.

Bottom will get masked off tomorrow and the graphite mess will get underway. Hey fellow FS17 builders, how did you lay out the waterline? I'm planning on using a laser level but am open to any other suggestions.

Still might make the final flip by July 4th.

bill

p>s> it's nice to know that the other side of the boat is just about ready to finish paint!!

Bottom will get masked off tomorrow and the graphite mess will get underway. Hey fellow FS17 builders, how did you lay out the waterline? I'm planning on using a laser level but am open to any other suggestions

I used a laser as well. I marked down the baseline onto the transom, leveled the hull side to side & fore & aft( the last 8ft or so of the keel is level so use that) & worked around. I did it at night to see the line better
Looks good!!!
Steve

Thanks Steve!!

The laser in the dark made sighting the waterline a pretty simple task. A series of small marker spots and tape the following morning, then ready to go.

I got one "coat" of this stuff on with lots of small runs and brushmarks. The sun cured it very fast and I was able to wet sand that afternoon following a rain shower. This stuff is VERY HARD! A fresh sheet of 100x wet or dry paper hardly cuts at all. I've done 6 or more Interprotect 2000 bottoms and this stuff is way tougher to sand. I'll probably remask and add 2 more coats; maybe a stripe coat as well to the edges and centerline near the cutwater. Will not be using the same finish standards as the last few sailboats, that's for sure!



And a shot from the other side.



I'll probably give the entire thing one careful wet sanding with the 10" sanding block and call it done (the black stuff that is). A flip is in the near future.

bill

4th of July: lots of food, refreshments and able bodied boat flippers!

It was so easy with 6 men that nobody even snapped a picture. Two things to keep in mind if you flip a complete (or near) boat; bracing the hull at the widest point and extending the transom to match the widest beam of the boat. A simple 2x4 X bolted in at frame C (on the FS17) and a 2x6 bolted to the transom athwartships took care of making the boat stiff enough to rest on the one side as she flipped.

Still to go are painting of the hull topsides, glassing of the cockpit sole and finishing the inside of the cockpit.



And of course finishing the console and rigging. Plenty of summer left though.



bill in CT

Light in the tunnel!!!

Finally some perfect paint spraying weather in the Northeast. Last month's trip to Bermuda and visit with Paul Coleman while there to see his Novi 23 project (bright yellow one) gave me the nerve to stray from my normal drab New England colors.

With all masking, paint color mixing, spray gun final rinse out (and on and on) done last night 2 coats of my own turquoise color were a breeze to shoot in less than an hour BEFORE most neighbors were even up to comment on fumes or color. The best part is always tearing off the tape and getting a good look at what you've done. Finish is very glossy and uniform. Not to the "yacht" quality Shine spoke of last week in another post but pretty darn good.





With a bit of luck the deck, coaming and lockers will get done next week in a more subtle Awlgrip "off white".

She will get wet this summer.....I promise!

Bill in CT

p>s> Paul's Novi is really coming along. Nice clean work and what a spot to be working in as well! I'll post a shot or two from my visit.

Very nice shade of Turquoise. It contrasts well with the black bottom and white deck

Thats a really nice colour, I like that a lot, what paint is it?
Nice finish you got as well
Steve

remedy32 wrote: Not to the "yacht" quality Shine spoke of last week in another post but pretty darn good.

I'll say... looks great to me. If mine looks anywhere near that good I'll be very proud....

Looking forward to seeing more.

-Matt

Wow Boat looks great!! I really like the extended sheer line you did. Look of an OD w/o the flat bottom. Color really makes it-great choice-very fine work. You are inspiring me to get rolling on mine. I still go back and forth on the sheer line though. Really, like you results.

Mike

Mike,
Thanks for the feedback. I'm happy with the way the extended sheer/bulwark has worked out but still am not a fan of the bow "droop" in the forward most 24" or so. I left it as drawn on the plan because I liked the overall design so much. If I were to start over again I would surely refair the sheerline from just in front of frame "C" to produce a single upward curve ending at he bow. Take a look for pictures of "JimMac's" FS17 done about 18 months ago. He actually refaired the bow with the boat nearly completed. I don't know how difficult it would be for Jacques to offer this shape as an option as I think it would please the eye of lots of potential builders here in the Northeast. Examples of the shapes I would like are the Bristol Skiff (17') and the Eastern 18; one a bit smaller one quite a bit bigger. Both much more costly!

As has been said before on the site "it's a New England thing".

Bill

As has been said before on the site "it's a New England thing"

Must be a Georgia thing too , because I really like the raised bow line myself. I'm going to have to figure that out when I build the AB23. Something about a flat sheer that doesn't strike me.

Nice looking paint job - love the color!

Glad I'm not completely alone on this sheer line thing.

I admit to being a fan of the E18 below. That said, I'm very glad that I chose to build the FS17. It's going to be a great boat, I'm sure.

But,this sheer does just suit my eye better.



bill

I agree on the sheer, that E18 looks "right". So many of the molded boats have a flat sheer, part of the reason they all look the same.

Now, I want another look at the pilothouse boat behind it!

nm

At last done spraying the hull and topsides!

Seemed like an unending project but the Off White Awlgrip is finally done. Perfect 2 days for priming and finishing.
A small amount of brush and roller work to do the deck and hull inside faces and it'll be time to get wet before fall gets here.

Bill

Sweet. Don't be bashful I think you'll make the fall splash.

She'll be done just in time to chase those albies!

I'm happy with the way the extended sheer/bulwark has worked out but still am not a fan of the bow "droop" in the forward most 24" or so.

Your boat looks good to me man

If I were to start over again I would surely refair the sheerline from just in front of frame "C" to produce a single upward curve ending at he bow. Take a look for pictures of "JimMac's" FS17 done about 18 months ago.

I did-wow...that's it. I think that is where i'm leaning. 5" bow lift like yours, but starting at C.

You boat is amazing. Color, lines, just awesome!! Waiting on the weather to ease up a and work to simmer a little-thinking you'll be splashin' in the fall and I'll be just getting started. Keep it up - your lighting the way!!

Mike

Bill-

The more i look at your boat...the more i really am intrigued by the lines. I read and re-read trying to find exactly how you did your extension...but it still puzzles me. I have the plans for the FS17-waiting for work to settle a little before i begin my build-which give me plenty of time to ponder...

Following Steve292 in the UK helped a lot and I decided on rocking the gunwale extension to raise the sheer more at the bow than the stern. I would up with an 8" extension which raised the bow sheer by 5" and the stern by 2.5". Happy to say that I like it!

Me too!! But how did you set your sheer line???

when you cut molds A thru E plus the transom what did you add to each station?? did you use the given sheer line of the extension and just go from 5" to 2.5 straight back?? or??? im just confused, yet really pleased with you results.

While i like JimMacs extension as you suggested(the extension lift, curve-from C to bow) the more i think about it, the more i like the lapstrake apperance your boat has with the full length extension. now if i could just figure out how in the $%^& you did it????

Mike

Mike,
I'll try to explain better........

There's no need to change the frames except for the transom and "A" since these both all stay in the completed boat. The height of "E" should be fine as shown I think. Yes, I know I left it out! (or part of it that is). I will be adding some form of bulkhead eventually between the two aft lockers, promise! I made the transom 4" taller and trimmed the excess off once I flipped the boat the first time because I wasn't sure how much I was going to raise the sheer at first. I built the final A frame much later since I had the boat right side up for all of last winter in the garage. I realized that I was more concerned with raising the sheer line at the bow than the stern. This led me to make a 8" extension bulwark using the method on pages 24 & 25 of the building notes. I think I did this after the hull was started making it more work than while the long side panels were laying flat on the floor; but still doable.

The building notes suggest that the bulwark overlap the side by 1/2; so 4" in my case. I decided to attach the extension with about a 5" overlap at the transom and just a 3" overlap at the bow. By "rocking" the extension I made the boat a bit "deeper" at the bow. If I were to do it again I would fair the extension differently to get rid of the bow "droop" which is a bit more pronounced than I like. There was some discussion of this on the thread about a month ago and a few others seemed to agree. Even done this way the panel is very rugged.

Overall I'm very happy with the way the boat has turned out. It's strong beyond anything I could have imagined and is pretty good looking considering the simplicity of construction. I'm hoping to get into the water this week or next weekend for at least a test run or two. I'm so antsy to go that I may rig up something to fill in for the unfinished console or just rig some sort of tiller.

Let me know if you need a bit more help.

bill

Wow, it's hard to imagine that this has taken fourteen months but that's what the calendar says.



Was pretty windy but after endless fiddling it was time to head to the (very nearby) launch ramp and get her wet. For those who've been following you can see that this is not the molded console I've been working on for months. I made the decision to just bang some plywood together quickly so that the boat could be rigged and used before another season ended! The bigger console will be ready for spring along with the mold allowing me to make more quickly. I'll also finish the hatches and a few other things over the coming winter.

What about the boat? About as I expected; we left the dock with 2 full sized adults and a fair amount of extra junk. I plan to get an accurate weight one day this fall but I'm betting the rigged boat is 750-850# all up. We were in a no wake zone all around the ramp. Motored about 10 minutes into the wind (chop) and turned back south with at about 3/4 power I'm guessing. GPS recorded 17 kts. against about 2.5kt. current. I'm guessing that she'll do in the low 20's at this weight in flat water and properly trimmed. I'm liking the old Yamaha 25 2 stroke a lot; simple, light and well matched to the boat if you are not in need of huge speed.

More pictures and stats to follow later this week (with a bit of luck).

Thanks to all for the continued encouragement.

Bill in CT

Congrats on the splash She looks mighty fine sitting there where she belongs. I'd also be pleased with 20's from a 25hp. That should be great on fuel and there's seldom a need to go any faster in a fishing boat. Of course most of us want to go fast, but my Dad has been fishing successfully for years and years and has never owned a boat that would go over about 30 with his primary boat for the last 20 years being one that tops out at 24mph Enjoy it and that fuel you'll save by not feeding a bigger engine

Congrats! How did you attach the temporary console?

great looking paint good luck with her.
Dave

Matt,
Temporary console attached with 4 S/S T nuts and screws through an inside turned flange built into it. T-nuts pushed in from below deck through the access hole. I've left the entire center "bay" from frame A to the stern open below the deck. Limber holes in each frame allow any water that enters to collect aft. There's a 6" round Beckson hatch near the transom to allow that bit of water to be removed. I'll post a few more pictures later with how this all was done. The "real" console will be attached more substantially but for now, near shore, this seems to be more than OK.

Bill

I got a question from another potential builder about the boat and realized my answer might be helpful to others. Here are a few more observations having taken the boat out 3 or 4 times now.

Re: Glass used for bottom lamination

I did not follow the plan recommendations since I had a lot of 10 oz. woven cloth on hand. The plan calls for one layer of 12 oz. biax. I substituted 2 layers of 10 oz. (0/90 cloth) and offset one layer 45 degrees to the centerline of the boat. This probably is a bit heavier than their recommendation but not much. And I do find the cloth easier to fill/fair than the biax. The bottom of the boat came out VERY stiff between the internal structural grid and the glassed plywood. Looking back on the build I see the greatest opportunities for building lighter in using okume rather than meranti plywood. This would save 25% of the core weight instantly. The two heaviest pieces of the build are the cockpit sole (around 68 lbs. for the meranti plywood alone) and the transom lamination ( maybe 40 lbs in the meranti). Keep in mind that the okume is MUCH more expensive in most places though.

If I were buying all the material I would use the 12 oz. biax for sure. If cost were less a factor I would use the okume plywood.

I made a few other changes to the boat for personal reasons like leaving out the motorwell bulkhead and relocating the "A" frame a bit forward. I will be adding a bulkhead in front of the transom over the winter but it will be further aft (closer to transom) than the design shows. I understand Jacques' concerns about this but have decided to trust my own judgement. I would follow the plan unless you have some compelling reason not to in this area.

Performance is still very good considering the low power I'm using. Boat cruises with 2 adults aboard at 18-20 mph (15-17 kts) using just a bit more/less than 2 gallons per hour. Not bad for a 20 year old 2 stroke. The boat tracks and steers very nicely and handles a bit of chop well. It's interesting how the boat transitions from low speed to planing. There's very little change in trim at all; a few degrees at most. The boat just goes faster progressively; smoothly between 8 mph and 24 or so.

I had considered powering with as little as 20 hp originally. I would not try this now unless the boat was tiller steered and built very lightly; say 450 lbs. (less engine only) or less. I think that 25-40 hp is perfect of the boat. If I were buying a now motor for a center console build I would strongly consider the 30 hp Evinrude Etec at around 175 lbs. I think the 40 hp 4 strokes (at around 240 lbs.) are too heavy for the back of this boat.

I'll be adding more information as I get it together like the finished weight etc.

Hope this helps a bit and good luck with the build.

Bill
FS17
FL14

Bill,

how in the h**l did i miss this??? Major Congrats on your splash sir!! boat looks great!! love to know some more numbers and overall feel of the boat when you've had more time to play with it. Oh, and of course more pics.

Mike

Just saw the paint and splash pictures. Nice! Someone looks happy.

I missed it too! I've been watching this build and somehow missed the launch! Nicely done Bill!!! Boat looks great! Congrats!

Wow, I really like what you did with the shear line. Would you be willing to share how you did it if I ever get around to building an FS17?

Thanks GPO,
Actually I think that I've detailed it pretty well earlier in this thread but if not I would be happy to repeat. I really like the boat in most every way. The biggest thing I might change if I were starting over would be to stretch it by 10% in length only making her almost 19 ft. In it's present form the 25 2 stroke works well. I think the perfect motor would be 30-40 hp while still being light; maybe the Evinrude Etec 30.

bill

Cool fall weather arrived today in CT just in time for the first sail of my son's 65" stitch and glue model sailboat. FS17 was ready and able to track the model down as we zipped back and forth on Rogers Lake in Old Lyme, CT.



Bill

Wow, that's the coolest model boat I've ever seen. I thought mine was cool with twin inboards, but it's nothing compared to that one

Nice... now he can build the next one with a scale of one inch equals one inch.

Bill that's one neat sailboat.!

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Actually John's a veteran of the full scale America's Cup 2007 in Valencia as Sail Designer for Team China. Even working with the newest team with the smallest budget is an amazing experience! Mom and dad got to ride in the chase boat, a 400 hp inflatable if you can imagine that.



Next one gets the paint job!!

Bill

remedy32 wrote:I got a question from another potential builder about the boat and realized my answer might be helpful to others. Here are a few more observations having taken the boat out 3 or 4 times now.

Re: Glass used for bottom lamination

I did not follow the plan recommendations since I had a lot of 10 oz. woven cloth on hand. The plan calls for one layer of 12 oz. biax. I substituted 2 layers of 10 oz. (0/90 cloth) and offset one layer 45 degrees to the centerline of the boat. This probably is a bit heavier than their recommendation but not much. And I do find the cloth easier to fill/fair than the biax. The bottom of the boat came out VERY stiff between the internal structural grid and the glassed plywood. Looking back on the build I see the greatest opportunities for building lighter in using okume rather than meranti plywood. This would save 25% of the core weight instantly. The two heaviest pieces of the build are the cockpit sole (around 68 lbs. for the meranti plywood alone) and the transom lamination ( maybe 40 lbs in the meranti). Keep in mind that the okume is MUCH more expensive in most places though.

If I were buying all the material I would use the 12 oz. biax for sure. If cost were less a factor I would use the okume plywood.

I made a few other changes to the boat for personal reasons like leaving out the motorwell bulkhead and relocating the "A" frame a bit forward. I will be adding a bulkhead in front of the transom over the winter but it will be further aft (closer to transom) than the design shows. I understand Jacques' concerns about this but have decided to trust my own judgement. I would follow the plan unless you have some compelling reason not to in this area.

Performance is still very good considering the low power I'm using. Boat cruises with 2 adults aboard at 18-20 mph (15-17 kts) using just a bit more/less than 2 gallons per hour. Not bad for a 20 year old 2 stroke. The boat tracks and steers very nicely and handles a bit of chop well. It's interesting how the boat transitions from low speed to planing. There's very little change in trim at all; a few degrees at most. The boat just goes faster progressively; smoothly between 8 mph and 24 or so.

I had considered powering with as little as 20 hp originally. I would not try this now unless the boat was tiller steered and built very lightly; say 450 lbs. (less engine only) or less. I think that 25-40 hp is perfect of the boat. If I were buying a now motor for a center console build I would strongly consider the 30 hp Evinrude Etec at around 175 lbs. I think the 40 hp 4 strokes (at around 240 lbs.) are too heavy for the back of this boat.

I'll be adding more information as I get it together like the finished weight etc.

Hope this helps a bit and good luck with the build.

Bill
FS17
FL14

Hi Bill,

I was reading your threads as you suggested. With regard to plywood selection, I think you made the right choice. Yes, there is around a 70 lb. weight gain, but Meranti is structurally much stronger and more importantly, far more rot resistant. The downside of building in wood composite is that any breach of the fiberglass will cause water to wick into the wood. Meranti good, Okoume bad!

Bill,

Care to share your dimensions for your forward deck area? I'm about to pull the trigger on installing mine and I'd love to know how what I have in mind compares with what you did.

Thanks,

Matt

Hi Matt,
When I built the boat I didn't record the exact dimensions of the forward areas. I know that I did relocate the forward most bulkhead by 4" further forward. I think the aft edge of the seat is 18" aft of the "A" location on the plan (is that "B" then?). The seating area is a bit tall for a casting deck and about 22" fore-aft. Probably about 9-10" high and very comfortable to sit on.

I'd be happy to measure BUT.........boat is under this mess, next to the shed, but safe and dry



making it almost impossible. I think some of the pictures in my gallery will help you as well with dimension and location.

bill

What?? You're not going to run outside and dig it out to measure?

Actually, that's pretty much what I wanted to know. I don't need the exact measurements.

Thanks,

Matt

remedy32 wrote:Hi Matt,
When I built the boat I didn't record the exact dimensions of the forward areas. I know that I did relocate the forward most bulkhead by 4" further forward. I think the aft edge of the seat is 18" aft of the "A" location on the plan (is that "B" then?). The seating area is a bit tall for a casting deck and about 22" fore-aft. Probably about 9-10" high and very comfortable to sit on.

I'd be happy to measure BUT.........boat is under this mess, next to the shed, but safe and dry



making it almost impossible. I think some of the pictures in my gallery will help you as well with dimension and location.

bill

You're not going to charge me a royalty if I use your design are you? The more I ponder this, the better your design seems to me. By my judgement, the aft station that forms the vertical part of the seat would sit halfway between "B" and the design location of "A." Is your measurement of the seat height from the sole? Taking the measurement from the sole to what should be the horizontal line formed by intersecting the bow/chine intersection parallel to the sole gives me 9 1/4"

Thanks,

Matt

Matt,
If I tried to charge a royalty I'd probably have to give it directly to Eastern Boats from whom I got a lot of ideas.

Eastern 18

Bigger boat but same idea. In fact I wish JM would do up one of his 18-19 footers in exactly this style.

I actually did get under the cover today with the excuse of propping it up a bit more and measured the seat. The seat is +/- 22" fore-aft and 9-3/4 above the finished sole top. Looking at the plan that makes sense as I made the seat end at location "A+"; halfway between A & B.

Feel free to copy as much or little as you see fit. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with that vision of this boat.

bill

Thanks! That Eastern boat's bow looks great... Maybe I'll mock up something like that and see how it works too. Anyway, how did you get your measurements for A+? I'm working with Google Sketchup and reality, and they don't always mesh, since I can't really account for the curvature of the hull.

Edit: Now i'm gonna start thinking about a leaning post too.... it never ends, does it?

-M

Straightedge across the boat and cardboard templates.

bill

Funny you should mention the leaning post. When I loaded the picture I had the same thought about doing it.

bill

I like the "Eastern inspiration". That is what I would like mine to end up looking like. Very nice layout and puts a picture with the concept. Even if it belongs to someone else. Not sure about the leaning post but the front is exactly what I was leaning toward.
BF2

remedy32 wrote:Funny you should mention the leaning post. When I loaded the picture I had the same thought about doing it.

bill

I've been thinking about it as well, but with only 3' 6" between the console & the motorwell bulkhead I don't know how viable an idea it is.
I may post the question in the power boat section, can I use that pic, as that is the type of post I've been thinking about.
Steve

but with only 3' 6" between the console & the motorwell bulkhead I don't know how viable an idea it is.

That's why I changed the motor well bulkhead on my boat. The area behind the center console seemed way too cramped for me. I still need to add an additional bulkhead of some sort but I just didn't want to give up a full 18" back there. I think some sort of leaning post or seat will fit the way my boat is set up but it can't be as big as the Eastern's....we'll see.

bill

steve292 wrote: I've been thinking about it as well, but with only 3' 6" between the console & the motorwell bulkhead I don't know how viable an idea it is.
I may post the question in the power boat section, can I use that pic, as that is the type of post I've been thinking about.
Steve

I'm thinking of more of a post myself, literally a leaning post. No storage or anything like that. This will be my first remote-steer boat that I've owned so I'm not going to lock myself into anything until I see what i need, but I sure do like sitting and trolling. If I wasn't planning on taking this one out of the bay, I'd probably be looking at more of a sitting down driving position.

-M