Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

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JSHaley
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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by JSHaley »

jbo,

I too am interested in a shanty boat style craft. The GT27 is beautiful but to ambitious a project (right now) and actually the GT23 is large too. I have been looking at a canal boat plan that is 18' and have looked at the 20' design you posted earlier. That designer also has several garvey type hulls he puts a cabin on too. Then I found this site and am getting dizzy with the amount of choices here. I learned a lot from this thread so figured I would share a bit of my own musings in case they are of use.

My size limitation is partly due to garage, hull budget, motor budget and tow vehicle rated for 3500lbs. I am in upstate NY, very close to the Erie Canal, several canals in Canada and small lakes. So I am not looking for speed. Will go with newer motor instead of faster speed. My intent is similar to yours to use this as a floating RV. I too am a backpacker and am looking for something to find out of the way places to overnight in, sipping a cup of coffee while listening to the loons.

Standing room: I would prefer a low profile to reduce windage on the water and the highway. There are a few designs that provide standing headroom in the center aisle and not over the seating area. The roof is arched or slanted. I am also intrigued by "pop tops" commonly found on Catalina sailboats and also on the 1970's vintage "hunter compact jr" RV trailer and current Meerkat trailers. To me it reduces weight and windage.

Head: Yes, my princess wants a throne. Like yours she is adamant about walls rather than curtains. The small Roadtrek van campers have bathrooms configured in such a way that when you open the door to the cubby the door locks in place across the aisle. So you are half covered. Depending on location of head in floor plan this may be enough, like if it is pushed back with rear bulkhead. I am amazed at the variety of portable heads - composting and what not, but my princess spec's her throne out with moving water - the Thetford Curve model has caught her eye. Honestly, we have this boat design backwards. Should send the marine architect the measurements of such a throne and say "here, build a boat around this." I would include a folding shelf or closet rod in the airspace above the head. I suspect the onboar head would be used sparingly and am overly cheap with the space usage. I could see hooks for duffle bags, easily tossed aside as needed.

Side decks: So my boat will have to be easily trailered. I subscribe to the same viewpoint as you - smaller the boat greater the use. I would love to push the interior space out to the max trailer width but also want more deck space. One designer seems to have folding elbows that swing out and accept a simple platform or grating as a narrow (6"?) side deck. Hey - that increases width 1'!

Intrigued by the GT27 landing craft bow ramp as well. A proper swim deck on an outboard can be tricky but who says it must be at the stern?

Many shanty boats include a small wood burning stove. Some designers fit this in so it is seasonal - not taking up space on hot summer days but doing a great job of extending the season. With proper ventilation I will start out with a buddy type propane heater. There are marine stoves, wood or propane, but their installs look fixed. I have the heater so intend to use it. Can install CO and smoke detector.

The 18' canal cruiser I admire has berths set up like a sailboat. The berths extend under the decking. The canal boat extends them under the fore deck, sailboats of course extend them under the rear. My princess affectionately calls these "wooden coffins." But it is an easy way to have two separate berths dedicated. With my sailboats I found the under deck portion of the berths made great places to throw your duffle bag too during day sails.

I saw a powerboat design for a V berth I like. Instead of the traditional v-berth separated by bulkhead from the cabin it was open. At the helm you could put your foot on the v-berth. Van campers commonly have extend-a-bed functionality where a bench pulls out to a berth and I can see something like this on my boat but understand it does not pass your dedicated requirement. I also like the RV style flip out sofas (RV Sofas)to quickly transform day space to night space. Again, I understand this is not in your spec.

AC would be luxurious. There are spots on the Erie canal that offer electrical hook ups. So my intent would be to cut out for a window unit that could be installed when not venturing off grid. I would also however look into energy efficient RV style windows (dual pane and tinted). Expensive I know - an alternative could be simple awnings to keep the solar impact low. Could go with something simple like car windshield reflectors too. The composite nature of designs on this site lend themselves well to an insulated roof too. I thought of two simple dc powered vents, one probably in the head area. Set them up to push/pull air. White reflective roof, possibly some insulation there. Prevent as much heat from getting in with passive methods.

This site sells composite panels. I am unfamiliar with their use but am intrigued about possible weight savings for interior bulkheads or fixtures. If you wanted to go a bit crazy you could design the cabin as an empty box and then handle the interior furnishings with aluminum strut building systems like 80/20. Would enable you to reconfigure your living space as needed to some extent. I think I built to many forts with giant tinker toys as a youth.

Electronics on board may be simplified by one of the units sold to the outdoor crowd that regularly plug into solar panels. Goal Yeti is one such vendor. I think such a unit is more expensive than wiring your own panel, outlets, etc but for me the advantages of it being so portable might outweigh that.

I toy with the idea of an electric outboard with spare battery. Charging while I am at work, ready to play. But I do not know enough yet to give up on a trusty dino fuel OB. I would also include one or two stand up paddleboard paddles.

I see a lot of "counter space" dedicated to kitchen activity in boats and campers. Elaborate slide out mechanisms, hammered copper sinks, electric faucets. This is all nice but when I backpack I set my trusty alky stove on a flat rock and start brewing. I can see a folding or removable counter occupying the airspace above seating or storage. A collapsible basin maybe for the dishes - out of site out of mind. A sink with faucet would be great but in an 18' boat the kitchen and head should share such extravagance.

They sell simple butane can cook top units but I also have a trusty trangia Alky stove. Wish to avoid running propane lines I think.

I see the portable DC fridges but will start out with yee-olde-ice-chest. Probably two. One for casual access and one set up for longevity. I could build this in with proper foam paneling and such but my old Precision sailboat actually had an ice check with teak across the lid that doubled as a step/bench. Dual functionality you know.

Lost on hull shape. Leaning towards garvey. Like the low power requirements of pontoons but it increases the air draft to much for towing and on water. I did see a cat with a pop-DOWN floor section but view that as overly complex. I see you started with the trusty barge footprint and that I think is where I am headed too. Super intrigued by the inverted-V TX 18 but I think I like it because it is different and that is not the best way to go about this.

So thanks again for information in your thread, I look forward to seeing updates. I hope you can use one or two of the above ideas. Sorry to getting long winded.

John

silentneko
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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by silentneko »

Just a heads up on garage building. I was working on a design for a shanty the other day, and interior height got me stumped a bit. I'm 6'3", so I'd want at least 6'6" of standing height in the center, but 7ft would be better. I also want at least 6" stringers. Combined with coring and insulation, that puts me well over 7ft. It's still a very small profile, but on top of a trailer, we are at 9ft plus. I'll have an RV style roof AC as I hate window shakers in a small space, so I'm 10ft+.

I say all this because most shops have a "10ft door. " that really only measures 9.5ft and only if you can pull in level. Measure your garages, where it will be stored, and then figure out the build process.
Built: 15ft Skiff, 16ft Skiff, Modified Cheap Canoe, and an FS17.

silentneko
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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by silentneko »

Also here's a good video series about live-aboards and shantys. He's still making videos, but has 10 or so up right now.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9 ... BEHsAJuqxR
Built: 15ft Skiff, 16ft Skiff, Modified Cheap Canoe, and an FS17.

jbo_c
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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by jbo_c »

Thanks for all the prose, John. Sounds like you and I think a lot a like. I enjoyed the read and already have in mind implementing several things at least along the lines of things you propose. I’ll keep posting, though work is probably halted until March or so when I’ll kick back into gear.

Good point about heights, Neko. There’s a fun family story here about when my grandfather built a boat in the house stairwell in the 40’s, then had to cut it in half to get it out of the house. :)

I do like that Idyllic Dreams series. I appreciate his sense of humor.

Jbo

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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by jbo_c »

Finally at a point where I can start working on the shanty again. I got some cypress cut down to make some runners for the bottom to help with tracking. Wanted to install this weekend but had rain forecast the whole time. Didn’t end up raining. Wish I’d installed the runners.

But . . .

Saw a listing on the local marketplace for an old(1967) Evinrude 18hp same as my “family heirloom” engine - only with electric start!!! It’s in my barn now. Picked it up for $100 and will get parts that would have cost me close to $800 for mine and I can convert to electric start. So, while not ideal, my old family outboard will definitely spend at least the first few seasons as primary power for the shanty.

Now, to actually get it ready to go on the water . . .

Need to install the runners, do “a little” fairing, coat with graphite, and flip. Thinking(hoping) if I can get it flipped before fall that I’ll be able to actually get some work done on our warmer winter days so I can launch not too late into next spring/summer.

The best paid plans . . .

Jbo

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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by WouldWork »

As I started building another boat last week I've been reading through posts catching up, as I've been absent from the board for quite a while. It's nice to see many builds that I previously watched have now hit the water and some other exciting projects are on the go - this being one of them.

I find this a very interesting build and your program sounds similar to what I want in a retirement boat one day in years to come.

Keep the updates and pics coming, looking forward to your progress.

Cam.
Completed:
CC14 Canoe
V12 Sailing Dinghy
In Progress:
D5 dinghy

jbo_c
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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by jbo_c »

Will do. - and I hope not to disappoint(either of us).

Jbo

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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by jbo_c »

Ended up rehabbing a house for my daughter and her husband, so not much done this year. There’s a VERY small chance I finish it to the point of flipping it if we have a warm lead in to the rest of winter.

But I did get runners installed.

Jbo

Image

jbo_c
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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by jbo_c »

Well, crap. Finally mixed a bad batch of epoxy this weekend. The details are unimportant, so here they are:

My son came to help me and I was, of course, excited he would take time to come hang out with Dad. I’m 99.9% sure the first batch after he arrived and we were visiting/catching up/talking plans was mixed 1:1 instead of 2:1. (By me.)

Happily/sadly the goal for the night was to glass the compound joints where the runners meet the hull. The first batch was the neat epoxy to go down before we started glassing. So the three layers of glass we put down were “floating” on a thin film of never-going-to-cure epoxy.

Confirmed this afternoon when I got home from church. The glass was all nicely cured but (with lots of effort) peeled off the runners/boat. Poop.

The “happy” part is that I wasn’t trying to glass the full runners, only the compound angles where the runners meet the boat. So the part(s) that had to be removed “only” amounted to four sections about 16” long.

Now to figure out how to get the uncured layer off so we can start them over. :)

Jbo

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Last edited by Jaysen on Sun Nov 06, 2022 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Fix image tags

jbo_c
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Re: Shanty boat build - self design BBC materials

Post by jbo_c »

I give up. I’ve tried like 6 times to post the image and can’t make it happen.

Jbo

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