Princess 28 layout ideas

[Scott Dunsworth]

Garry I really like the pilot house version. Just add 4 or 5 more feet, some more beam and a 20 hp diesel and it would be for me.

We came back from 10,000 islands cruise with new dreams along with some old ones. There are folks that spend Jan. thru March down there on their boats. They make a run to a marina once a week for a pump out, water, fuel and supplies. Then back out they go. It just sounds like a great way to escape winter to me. Much better than all of the high cost and crowded tourist STUFF.

I know it would be a chore to tow a boat that size down and back with fuel costs and permits but probably worth it. If I can afford to drop it off at Kentucky lake in April on the way back up I could get good use out of her during the summer and fall. Then return to the Florida gulf keys area after Christmas. And some day start the Great circle cruise.

Dreams are good. Not always do able and sometimes should be kept just that, dreams. But that is what keeps us going.

Sorry I didn't mean to get off on that rabbit run.

Scott

[Garry]

No problem Scott, our dreams are the basis for layout ideas, boat design and everything else we do. I like your ideas about winter getaways and summer sailing.

Maybe someday we could do that... but for the foreseeable future we are limited in our getaway time. In all the years I have owned a seagoing cruising vessel, I have not seriously thought about cruising in Maine because of the short season and the long haul to get there and back south. But with the Princess 28 we could trailer up, launch, cruise for two weeks, load up, and get back to work to keep the finances solvent. Or shove off to the Bahamas for a couple weeks. That's our dream for now.

[Howard]

This is a question for Graham about the Princess 28 that I figured would be best attached to this previous thread vs. starting a new one.

Can a Princess 28 be built with 4' wide plywood, without running into problems with 4' plywood being wide enough for the bottom, or tall enough for the topsides?

Topside scarfs might need to be offset to fit the curvature from ends to the middle. I suspect the bottom can be constructed with built up layers in the aft section, with plywood running crossways if sections wider than 4' are needed, overlapping each underlying piece by 2' and using butt joints vs. scarfs.  Essentially, it would seem like the whole bottom could be built up as is done on the bow section of all these boats.

[Garry]

Howard,

The Princess 28 design is for cedar strip construction and would not be adaptable to plywood construction. IIRC, in my early conversations with Graham, he felt that the 28 was getting beyond the advantages of plywood construction. My interpretation was that it would be almost as time and dollar consuming to build with plywood and cedar strip or other methods. He also felt that a boat built for longer term cruising would benefit from round bilges to decrease the water slap noise at anchor as well as when at sail.