new kid in town

[manatee]

i am interested in making a spindrift 12, amanda or possibly the birder2 kayak. no prior woodworking/boat building experience. approximately how many hours could i plan on each of these designs taking, for a 1st timer? i have a friend who completed a spindrift and am sure i could get some help/advice from him. this is such an open ended question, and am sure each "newby" wants someone out there to tell them "yes you can."...............manatee

[Peter HK]

I'll give you my experience, it may help. I had sailed for many years on racing dinghies, small catamarans, then as crew are larger offshore boats (initially monos then multihulls) and finally bought a series of larger boats myself including a Farrier F31, then a Chamberlain 34 ft tri, and finally a cruising catamaran. I used to pay other people to repair the inevitable damage of hard racing (dismastings etc) and marveled at how they could fix timber and fibreglass so you could hardly tell. One time I inherited an 8 ft fibreglass tender with ply thwarts that had rotted out and thought I would have a go at repairing it in the garage at home. I read a few books, bought some ply and epoxy and glass and fixed it. The first time I rowed over to another yacht the skipper said "what a nice dinghy".

I was amazed at how quickly I learnt to use epoxy/fillet/glass....the first few attempts were ugly but the learning curve was fast and by the time I'd finished that job (maybe 20 hours) I was reasonably proficient. I also realised I enjoyed the task and decided to build from scratch. I selected a John Welsford design (Golden Bay Dinghy), shortened it a little to 11.5 ft and started building. That boat took me 170 hours to complete and would be about the same amount of work as a spindrift 12. Since then I've built a few more...a kayak, a Bolger 30 ft folding schooner, a CS17 and I'm midway through a nesting catspaw. If I built the Golden Bay dinghy again, now, I'd probably knock off 40-50 hours from the build time as one learns to be more efficient.

Anyone can build a boat, the techniques are easy to acquire, it's satisfying and the only really important thing is persistence. Make sure the first few epoxy fillets and bits of glass are in places that will be well hidden in the end (or do a few practice ones first)

Cheers

Peter HK

[manatee]

Thanks Peter HK. have sailed in local competitions years ago, had a wooden Hartley 10 that was beautifully made-but did not sail well.plan to sell a Grady-White 19 i have now, and want to make a boat that is small and a joy to be in. i understand that the fillets can stay pliable for some time, and with some care, can be made smooth. we have high humidity and warmer weather here in the Southern US, so it may be an advantage having to wait a little. it sounds like, if i am dilligent, it might be doable by me alone, in a few months. we have rivers, and salt water bays, icw's and the Gulf of Mexico near. thanks for your advice.................alan

[Peter HK]

Hot is better than cold for epoxy- there are slow hardeners for summer and you can keep building in winter. Here in Brisbane is like Florida in temperature terms. Learning how thick to make the epoxy for the differents jobs etc is all part of the skill. Fillets can be made very neatly, especially with wet on wet glass tape and a brush. In terms of time though it always take 2-3 times longer than you think it might at the beginning.

Good luck

Peter HK

[Hirilonde]

I don't think a time frame should have much if anything to do with the decision to build or not. As Peter said building, or repair projects for that matter take a lot longer than you think. At least at first they do. I suggest that you should build a boat vs. buying one because you think it would be fun, satisfying, you can customize, you love wood, you like the design, you want another hobby, or some combination of these or other reasons. Most if not all of us build because building is an important part of the process, not just to achieve a result. If you can't enjoy the build I doubt you will finish. Anyone with patience, perseverance, willingness to enlist help (posting here qualifies) and a love for accomplishment can build a nice B&B boat.

[my36]

I'm also a first time builder - just finishing up a Spindrift 10N.

The 'problem' with being a first time builder is that amount of time required to research

each step. Things like, what kind or wood and epoxy to user, where to order

it, how to fillet, how to do a gunwale...takes a tremendous about of time to look into.

I spent almost as much time doing the research as doing the building. My next boat will

be much faster and much better quality.

As already mentioned, you should only build if you will enjoy the build/research process,

not just because you want the final product.

Lawrence

[Ken_Potts]

"...am sure each 'newby' wants someone out there to tell them 'yes you can.'"

Hey Manatee - You can do it. Everyone who has responded to your post was once in the position of building their first boat. As long as you stick with it and make sure you're enjoying the process you'll end up with a nice little boat (and probably the intent to build another one).

There - you've officially been told "Yes you can". Don't forget to post some pictures of your project from time to time.