Ocracoke 20

[Knot Reel]

Hello fellow boat builders, sawdust makers, epoxy addicts, and drinkers of the barley.

Brandy new to the site. I build boats. It's an addiction.

I've fallen hopelessly in love with the Ocracoke. It's going to be my next build.

I need to finish up a current project (wet sanding and painting) and clean the shop back up.

Need to finish up a massive shop crash cart I've been working on here and there.

Need to see about a bill of material so I can plan a budget for the build.

Just another one of them tarheel boat builders with beer on tap in the shop.

Four Oaks, NC.

[Gary]

I also have a boat building addiction. I found B & B and this site after seeing the Ocracoke 20 in the launching section of Woodenboat. I would love to make one my next project. I only have three small obstacles in my way space, time and money.

When you start please post pics of your build here.

[Knot Reel]

I have a few obstacles myself.

I love my shop but it's not complete.

It's a cabana style right now. I took an old WW2 ration tobacco barn made from terracotta tile and turned it into a tool room. Build nice heavy duty shelters on two sides in the shape of an L. I haven't closed the shelters in so I have no climate control.

I really like the openess of the shelters and have been reluctant to close it all in.

So this makes winter building not very productive.

However the tool room is large enough to prepare to build. Cut frames, build a keel, etc.

All of my tools from saws to welder are on casters. Roll em out and roll em in.

My latest endeavor while finishing up a couple of hybrid canoe/yaks was to build a large rolling tool crib. Just small enough to wheel through a standard 3 foot door. She is 4 feet wide with double doors 5-1/2" thick.

The doors themselves have casters on them. Roll it under the shelter swing open the doors and I can go to war.

All of my hand tools and portable power tools are in it. All of my pneumatic nail gins, staplers, finish guns etc. Drawers for sockets, wrenches, router attachments etc.

The inside of the doors themselves are storage for tools. Levels, T-squares, etc.

The bottom of the cabinet houses my pancake compressor, hose reels, bypass valve for shop air or pancake air. Cord reel and light reel.

Sony receiver/ amp that is remote. CD player and 2 kicker speakers in the top of the doors.

Covered the whole thing in laminated flooring.

Roll it out, plug it in and have the option of plugging shop air into it.

I got tired of hunting my tools. :x

So I have to complete that project. Fine tune it.

Second, my wife passed away in May. The estate is keeping me busy enough.

I would love to be able to cut some frames , get a strongback built and work on the keel over the winter and get prepared to go to town on it by spring.

I love my shop though. I live on a large working farm. Family farm. I didn't want a backyard shop. Too many distractions. So I utilized an existing barn that is across the road and down in the bottom of a field tucked into the edge of the woods. Ran phone lines, built a 200 amp service, poured some concrete slick as a babies butt, and installed an alarm system.

Took an old double door fridge freezer and bored two holes in the door. One generic beer tap and one Guiness tap. One keg of Shiner Bock and one keg of Guiness. Put a Holland grill down there and wallah, it's a boat building barn. Once in a while we'll cook a hog down there just to chop up , split up,and freeze. Kind of the hang out for a few good friends.

Hidden from view. Not advertised. Only a few people know it's even there.

If we don't do anything else we eat and drink good.

[Gary]

Sounds like a great place to build a boat or just hang out. My space problem is lack of land, moved into town 17 years ago when son started school. I will have a hard time getting wife to leave the city conveniences and have a lengthened commute.

[Knot Reel]

Ever checked into some of those storage places?

I've seen people rent the larger units and put small cabinet shops in them and run other businesses out of them. You could build a good sized boat in some of those units and many of them are 24/7 access.