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Project boat (might) need a home

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2K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  SilverFly 
#1 · (Edited)
After much deliberation, and sadness, I am considering giving up on my long-ignored boat project. We are prepping to sell our house and unless I can find a place to store it, I will probably have to cut it up and throw it in a dumpster. I have a significant investment of time, money and memories invested in this, so I wouldn't object to accepting modest purchase price, but my primary concern is that it went to someone who will finish her out properly. Some materials that could be included is some CVG Red Cedar I was going to use to line the hull interior, and some old CVG Fir barn beams that my Dad salvaged. Beautiful stuff when ripped down that the keel, chines, and stringers are already laminated with using West System epoxy. I also have a pair of brand new 2003 (?) 25hp Mercury 2-strokes still in crates to go with it (not giving those away!). One "freebie" is a single axel tilt-bed trailer for an 18' boat. It needs work but has "good bones". My plan was to have it sand-blasted, paint/rewire it, and build bunks to match the hull.

Anyway, due to a series of major life-changing events over the last 25 years, the hull is basically finished - but otherwise an empty shell - and is still sitting on the construction dolly in my garage. Either I haven't had the time or money, and for many years neither one. The main issue last few years has mostly been lack of work space. Which really sucks because we are hoping to find acreage and build a smaller retirement home with a shop. Unfortunately our realtor made it clear the house will sell quickly so we will have to find a place to rent while we search for a build site.

But before I get into specifics on the project, some back story on this is probably in order. This all started with my Grandfather who was a shipwright who worked on wooden sailing vessels in Norway before he immigrated to the Bellingham area sometime in the early 1910's. Grandpa built many small craft for friends and neighbors, and taught my Dad a great deal in the process. More importantly he gave Dad the boat building bug. I say "boat" building, but Dad's aspirations went well beyond craft that could be built in a home garage. He was a brilliant mechanical engineer, who dreamt of building world cruising sailboats and immersed himself in the subject. He studied Chapelle and other notable marine architects, researched historic craft of the PNW, and there were always stacks of Wooden boat magazines in his study. He even designed several full-keel cruising hulls. Unfortunately none of which ever materialized other than as models (which I still have). Designing and building skiffs and other small craft was another matter, and we built several together over the years which were all excellent, and well-used boats in their own rights.

So in 1996 when my first wife and I moved into our "dream home" that had a 3-car garage, and was walking distance from a boat ramp on the lower Columbia River - I was drawing up plans almost immediately. The project started as a variant on my Dad's basic skiff. I was on a tight budget at the time so I kept it at 14' - even though I wanted something I could potentially take onto the ocean (with the ultimate dream of trips to WCVI). Likely why I had barely started laying plywood on the jig when I realized the beam was excessive for a 14' boat. My solution was a pair of 3' integrated hull extensions at the stern - effectively creating a outboard well and extended the LOA to 17'6". Dad hated the idea of an outboard hanging off the back of a square transom - seeing it as a "sinker" just waiting for a big wave to crest from behind and swamp the boat. Whether a justifiable concern or not, this fear infected me as well. So I took the idea a step further by designing the well to accommodate twin outboards. In retrospect, maybe not the way I would do it now - especially with the advent of reliable 4-stroke O/B's. But in 1996 the memory of fighting cantankerous Evinrude's and an old Gale over the years, was still fresh in my memory. Outboards were the only problems we ever had with any of these boats.

So the design is what it is. If by some chance someone was interesting in taking this on, there are serious design and construction challenges to consider. Or "opportunities" depending on experience and perspective. I have drawings but no formalized plans. This is essentially a "blank canvas", empty hull that can be finished however. My original idea was as a center console, although I did draw up a few small cuddy cabin versions. What I can say about this hull is that it is based on smaller craft that proved their worth on both coasts of Vancouver Island, Northern Puget Sound, coastal bays, the Columbia River (including Bouy 10), and even Lake Michigan when we lived in Wisconsin for 5 years.

Anyway, here's the design I'm calling the "Bar Fly". If I can't finish her I would love to see what the right craftsman could do with her.

Bar_Fly.jpg

Hull flipping day in '96.

FlippedHull2.png


Hull_flipping_day.jpg


Interesting 1-to-1 overlay comparison with a 19' Bartender . I thought they might be similar but didn't expect this close of a match. Forgive me George Caulkins!

Bar_Fly_Tender_overlay.png
 
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#2 ·
After much deliberation, and sadness, I am considering giving up on my long-ignored boat project. We are prepping to sell our house and unless I can find a place to store it, I will probably have to cut it up and throw it in a dumpster. I have a significant investment of time, money and memories invested in this, so I wouldn't object to accepting modest purchase price, but my primary concern is that it went to someone who will finish her out properly. Other materials that could be included is some CVG Red Cedar I was going to use to line the hull interior, and some old CVG Fir barn beams that my Dad salvaged. Beautiful stuff that the keel, chines, and stringers are already laminated with using West System epoxy. I also have a pair of brand new 2003 (?) 25hp Mercury 2-strokes still in crates to go with it (not giving those away!). One other "freebie" is a single axel tilt-bed trailer for an 18' boat. It needs work but has "good bones". My plan was to have it sand-blasted, paint/rewire it, and build bunks to match the hull.

Anyway, due to a series of major life-changing events over the last 25 years, the hull is basically finished - but otherwise an empty shell - and is still sitting on the construction dolly in my garage. Either I haven't had the time or money, and usually neither. The main issue last few years has mostly been lack of space. Which really sucks because we are hoping to find acreage and build a smaller retirement home with a shop. Unfortunately our realtor made it clear the house will sell quickly so we will have to find a place to rent while we search for a build site.

But before I get into specifics on the project, some back story on this is probably in order. My Grandfather was a shipwright who worked on wooden sailing vessels in Norway before he immigrated to the Bellingham area sometime in the early 1900's. Grandpa built many small craft for friends and neighbors, and taught my Dad a great deal in the process. More importantly he gave Dad the boat building bug. I say "boat" building, but Dad's aspirations went well beyond craft that could be built in a home garage. He was a brilliant mechanical engineer, who dreamt of building world cruising sailboats and immersed himself in the subject. He studied Chapelle and other notable marine architects, researched historic craft of the PNW, and there were always stacks of Wooden boat magazines in his study. He even designed several full-keel cruising hulls. Unfortunately none of which ever materialized other than as models (which I still have). Designing and building skiffs and other small craft was another matter, and we built several together over the years which were all excellent, and well-used boats in their own rights.

So in 1996 when my first wife and I moved into our "dream home" that had a 3-car garage, and was walking distance from a boat ramp on the lower Columbia River - I was drawing up plans almost immediately. The project started as a variant on my Dad's basic skiff. I was on a tight budget at the time so I kept it at 14' - even though I wanted something I could potentially take onto the ocean (with the ultimate dream of trips to WCVI). Likely why I had barely started laying plywood on the jig when I realized the beam was excessive for a 14' boat. My solution was a pair of 3' integrated hull extensions at the stern - effectively creating a outboard well. Dad hated the idea of an outboard hanging off the back of a square transom - seeing it as a "sinker" just waiting for a big wave to crest from behind and swamp the boat. Whether a justifiable concern or not, this fear infected me as well. So I took the idea a step further by designing the well to accommodate twin outboards. In retrospect, maybe not the way I would do it now - especially with the advent of reliable 4-stroke O/B's. But in 1996 the memory of fighting cantankerous Evinrude's and an old Gale over the years, was still fresh in my memory. Outboards were the only problems we ever had with any of these boats.

So the design is what it is. If by some chance someone was interesting in taking this on, there are serious design and construction challenges to consider. Or "opportunities" depending on experience and perspective. I have drawings but no formalized plans. This is essentially a "blank canvas", empty hull that can be finished however. My original idea was as a center console, although I did draw up a few small cuddy cabin versions. What I can say about this hull is that it is based on smaller craft that proved their worth on both coasts of Vancouver Island, Northern Puget Sound, coastal bays, the Columbia River (including Bouy 10), and even Lake Michigan when we lived in Wisconsin for 5 years.

Anyway, here's the design I'm calling the "Bar Fly". If I can't finish her I would love to see what the right craftsman could.

View attachment 277291
Hull flipping day in '96.

View attachment 277289

View attachment 277290

Interesting 1-to-1 overlay comparison with a 19' Bartender (blue). I thought they might be similar but didn't expect this close of a match. Forgive me George Caulkins!

View attachment 277292
that looks great, but how wide are the gunnels? nice boat
 
#4 ·
A few more pics.

Dad's original skiff drawing that I almost threw out a few years ago with some water logged papers we were storing under the house (effing condensate pump died). This was the basic design that started a series of skiffs over 30 or so years.

Dads_1st_Skiff_cropped.jpg


Maiden launch of build #1 with Mom at the oars on Lake Whatcom. A couple years before I was built.

Dads_1st_Skiff.jpg


Center console concept drawing for the boat-shaped storage device currently buried in my garage.
CenterConsoleRev3.png


And here's a pic of a 19' Bartender linked from the Bartender Boats website, to get some idea of what she might look like finished out.

 
#5 ·
A few more pics.

Dad's original skiff drawing that I almost threw out a few years ago with some water logged papers we were storing under the house (effing condensate pump died). This was the basic design that started a series of skiffs over 30 or so years.

View attachment 277341

Maiden launch of build #1 with Mom at the oars on Lake Whatcom. A couple years before I was built.

View attachment 277342

Center console concept drawing for the boat-shaped storage device currently buried in my garage.
View attachment 277343

And here's a pic of a 19' Bartender linked from the Bartender Boats website, to get some idea of what she might look like finished out.

I'm really impressed by your Dad's drawings and attention to detail.
I'm also surprised that somebody hasn't jumped at this already as the craftsmanship in the photos looks to be excellent.
If nothing else maybe you could look into donating it to a high school or tech school wood shop class.
 
#9 · (Edited)
If I am reading this right, you built this Hull in 1996 and it's been in storage for 25 years! Are you sure it's still sound after all that time?
Good question. It's been kept completely dry the whole time, and since the hull is essentially an empty shell at this point, the only enclosed cavities where condensation (and rot) could start, are the foam filled bulkheads at the stern. These could be easily opened up to inspect, but since I saturated the interior surfaces with West System epoxy, I'm doubtful there would be any issues.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Getting ready to put the house on the market within a month. Modified the free trailer I got many years ago to support the hull still mounted on the construcion dolly. Just need to properly tarp and wire up some temporary lights to haul it to my buddies place. First time the boat has been out of the garage since we moved in 2008. Our next home (wherever that is) will have a shop.

Wheel Tire Vehicle Wood Naval architecture
 
#14 ·
Nope. We're looking for buildable property within reasonable commute range of work (Camas). Market is still pretty hot but cooling a tad so our realtor is advising to sell sooner than later. We've found a property we like but there financing hurdles to clear needing a well drilled. Might be in rental for a while, but having equity in the bank will make property hunting much much easier.
 
#16 ·
That looks like a nice design, reminds me of a Simmons sea skiff with the motor in the recessed transom.
Thanks. Simmons are beautiful hulls with a great reputation. The similarity with a Simmons is the likely the upward sweeping sheerline. Although, mine has a foot and change more beam for the same LOA, and vee at the transom. Probably more in common with a Tolman skiff.
 
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