On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 22:54:38 +0100, "maric"
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

it means relativly cheap (its less than 100 kg), trailable on a light
trailer, but large enought for 3-4 people to go for a short trip, but also
for 2 people to enjoy peformance sailing.
It should also be possible to use outboard engine with it.
It should also look nice, most free designs on the net look outdated and not
very atractive.

That's because they are free.

Some honestly well-meant and bitterly learned advice

The plans cost $70 (?). This boat _properly built_, will cost you
around US$2500-3000. With O/B and trailer you are up for $4000.

And even though you may be enjoying yourself, your time at $5/hour is
worth another $1000 on this thing.

For many reasons, trying to build a boat on the cheap is great fun, if
you are maybe designing something and trying to save money until you
know it works. It's also great fun if you want to build a cheap boat.
But
- you should not build a boat simply to save money. Build for the
love of building.
- a boat is a critical piece of gear
- a badly-built boat will only be sold for peanuts. You lose the
lot.
- even a well-built amateur boat can be a loser. If you want a boat
that you can seel, you need to choose one that is _very_ popular, or
which has some sort of racing class etc. Either that or you need to
race it, so you can win high profile races. Then you can usually sell
for a profit.
- If you want a cheap boat, as distinct from wanting to _build_ a
boat, buy one secondhand. Seriously. You are out on the water, with,
if you buy halfway wisely and look after it, an item you can get your
money back on tomorrow.
- maintenance on any boat is a critical issue, and can cost as much
as 10% of the build cost per year. So skimping at first is
questionable

In built boats, I include "projects" that you buy for nothing and do
up. They are all for love, not money, unless you get very good at it.

Joshua Slocum's Spray, I think it was, was bought, then re-ribbed,
then reskinned over the ribs....G