Friday, September 20, 2013

Sailboats


Sailboats are on my mind for some reason, and I am busy researching how to build one. So for most people a description of a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money at. I am way too cheap for that type of thing, and I stumbled upon a blog on square boats, or sailing barges/scows. These are simple to build, square boats designed around full sheets of regular plywood. The skills required are moderate carpentry, which I can fake, and basic material. I am thinking that the final design will be a cross between a RV and a liveaboard sailboat. It will be built such that it can be lived in as an RV, while still on it’s trailer, so no water required. It will also be easy to launch and rig up the sail, so that if water is available, a quick enjoyable sail is practical.
My wife requires some minimums, such as indoor plumbing and walking headroom. This is not too bad, as I am the taller at 5‘7, so a 5‘8 height is enough for us (6‘ might make it easier to resell in the future, if things change)
I am planning on building the shell one summer, and then stripping the bits out of an old RV to get the fridge/stove water tanks and other bits. An old trailer I sold to a friend is one likely candidate, or maybe our present fifth wheel . I would like to weld up a custom wood stove for it as well, I have some ideas on that in my head as well.
This has nothing to do with Kung Fu, or the continuing repair of my lower back issues, it’s just what I am reading and thinking about right now. I don’t expect to start construction for at least two years either, but when I was looking at building a house, it took ten years of design and research first, and sailboats are nice to read about and plan as we go into the cold season.
Dennis Donohue