Hello,
I've always wanted to build a boat and have decided to start with one from a book by a man last named Rahl, I don't have it with me. I've worked with both wood and steal extensively and I am drawn towards wood. If I were going to build with steal (metal) I would only need a few new tools though. I'm just looking for personal experiences, mainly with the Hull.

--
Thank You,
Freddie L. Richard

"John Smith" ) writes:

Hello,
I've always wanted to build a boat and have decided to start with =
one from a book by a man last named Rahl, I don't have it with me. I've =

possibly "Boatbuilding in Your Own Backyard" by S S Rabl (1958)?

worked with both wood and steal extensively and I am drawn towards wood. =
If I were going to build with steal (metal) I would only need a few new =
tools though. I'm just looking for personal experiences, mainly with =
the Hull.

any specific questions?

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-freenet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

As a steel boat owner, I may be the best person to say, "for your first
project, use wood".

Steel is a wonderful material for a tough, strong boat. It has two problems
as a first project, however:
1) even skilled welders have a learning curve in putting together plating
that is fair and smooth without heat distortion.
2) steel is not well suited to boats under 25 feet LOA (others would draw
the line higher or lower, but there's a line). Small steel boats are very
heavy because the thinnest metal you can weld easily and won't rust through
in a heartbeat is too heavy.

So build a small wood boat -- plywood, strips, carvel, lapstrake -- whatever
makes your heart go pitty pat.

If you choose to use steel, then be careful to pick a design that is suited
to the material -- we're used to seeing fancy curves in steel cars, but
small steel boats have to built in shapes that can be bent from flat sheets,
not pressed into curves in expensive dies.

And build small. Boats are expensive because they take a lot of time to
build. Time and cost are roughly proportional to weight, so if you double
the length, you'll take eight times longer to build it.


--
Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com


.."John Smith" wrote in message
...
Hello,
I've always wanted to build a boat and have decided to start with one
from a book by a man last named Rahl, I don't have it with me. I've worked
with both wood and steal extensively and I am drawn towards wood. If I were
going to build with steal (metal) I would only need a few new tools though.
I'm just looking for personal experiences, mainly with the Hull.

--
Thank You,
Freddie L. Richard

John Smith wrote:
Hello,
I've always wanted to build a boat and have decided to start with
one from a book by a man last named Rahl, I don't have it with me. I've
worked with both wood and steal extensively and I am drawn towards
wood. If I were going to build with steal (metal) I would only need a
few new tools though. I'm just looking for personal experiences, mainly
with the Hull.

--
Thank You,
Freddie L. Richard



Depends on what you want. If you want a beautiful, shinny, fair dock
boat to take out and show off on a weekend, build it out of wood. If
you want one hard as a rock and could probably run over a rock and only
scratch the paint, build it out of steel. I could probably build one
now that would be close to perfect, but I've just crossed the learning
curve and I'm finished with all the welding for mine. I read on the web
site of a professional yacht builder the other day, "if you want it
perfectly fair, it'll cost an extra million". I'm happy with mine and
it's far from perfect, but it'll make a perfect retirement home for me.
I think I can shoot the rapids of the colorado, put on a new bottom
paint job and then go cruising.

Donald

--
I'm building a Steel Robert's 434. You can sneak a peek if you wish by
clicking on me link below.
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/o/donrayp/
'USA, Home of the best
politicians money can buy'

"John Smith" wrote in message ...
Hello,
I've always wanted to build a boat and have decided to start with
one from a book by a man last named Rahl, I don't have it with me. I've
worked with both wood and steal extensively and I am drawn towards wood.
If I were going to build with steal (metal) I would only need a few new
tools though. I'm just looking for personal experiences, mainly with
the Hull.

What size boat do you want to build?
What do you need your boat to do for you?
How will you power it?
How will you move it, or will it be docked/moored?
You have to give us more input if you want any useful information.
Scotty from SmallBoats.com

I was leaning towards steel because I worked proffessionally in steel
shipbuilding and repair, however, my welding skills (eye sight) has
deteriorated and I went with fiberglass for my retirement boat.

While considering steel I aquired a book called Steel Away and it is a book
that I recommend for anyone considering building in steel.. It would be most
helpful in selecting the building method, design(er), but also provides a
very good time and material estimator. I used the latter for my estimates,
even though I was working with a different material.

Anyone interested in this book, I'm getting ready to sell mine for $20 +
postage. It's in fair condtion, cover corners are slightly dog eared from
much use.

Sorry for the shameless sales pitch!

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Yes that is the book, my questions are not specific. I'm just looking for
some personal experiences with both to make my decision by.

--
Thank You,
Freddie L. Richard


"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...
"John Smith" ) writes:

Hello,
I've always wanted to build a boat and have decided to start with =
one from a book by a man last named Rahl, I don't have it with me. I've
=

possibly "Boatbuilding in Your Own Backyard" by S S Rabl (1958)?

worked with both wood and steal extensively and I am drawn towards wood.
=
If I were going to build with steal (metal) I would only need a few new
=
tools though. I'm just looking for personal experiences, mainly with =
the Hull.

any specific questions?

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community
network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-freenet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

There is a design in that book named TitMouse.
The boat looks quite ugly on paper but I saw one in the water and it is a
pretty boat IF you like old fashioned designs and accept less performance
than a modern design.
Don't forget to cover with linseed oil (first cold press only) after
caulking with moss and tar because modern materials like epoxy don't work .
.. .

Just teasing the epoxy critics . . .

--
Jacques
http://www.bateau.com


"Freddie Richard" wrote in message
...
Yes that is the book, my questions are not specific. I'm just looking for
some personal experiences with both to make my decision by.

--
Thank You,
Freddie L. Richard


"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...
"John Smith" ) writes:

Hello,
I've always wanted to build a boat and have decided to start with
=
one from a book by a man last named Rahl, I don't have it with me.
I've
=

possibly "Boatbuilding in Your Own Backyard" by S S Rabl (1958)?

worked with both wood and steal extensively and I am drawn towards
wood.
=
If I were going to build with steal (metal) I would only need a few
new
=
tools though. I'm just looking for personal experiences, mainly with
=
the Hull.

any specific questions?

--

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community
network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-freenet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's
returned