On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:10:01 -0500, DougC
wrote:

Recently I have gotten the urge to build a small rowing boat. The size
would be 15 feet or less, as I want it car-toppable.

I like the looks of the wineglass-transom rowing boats, but so far
haven't seen anything that quite matches what I think I'd want.

This web page shows one example of something that is /somewhat/ similar
to what I'd like:
http://www.clcboats.com/boatbuilding_classes/59.html
-although what I want differs greatly from this.

I may eventually hang a very small engine on it, but only 2 or 3 hp or so.

---------

One question I have is if the individual strips/planks usually change in
width from one end to the other. On most boats it appears they do not,
but on a few (such as the one linked above) it looks like they do.


Another matter I've noticed is that boats using this "strip"
construction are always wood. I would think that I would rather use
welded aluminum for easier maintenance, but I cannot find any commercial
or amateur boat manufacturer using this method for these plank-style
boats. The aluminum boats all look like the plywood boats -- using large
fairly-flat pieces with simple curves.
.....
Is there some reason that strips of aluminum cannot be joined this way?
-Aside from requiring welding a lot of thin pieces of aluminum, that is.


Lastly if there's an online site that shows photos of the different
types of boats, it'd be real nice. What other sites seem to call a skiff
or a dory, this page calls a yawl.
~

For what you are talking about - a 15 ft. boat, you are looking at a
massive amount of labor to build a welded "planked" boat.

In addition, if you are going to weld it, with any chance of having a
decent looking boat, you are going to be using a substantially
stronger and heavier construction then the stamped out aluminum boats,
like the Australian "Tinny" dinghy.

"Thinking outside the box" seems to be all the rage these days but to
be useful it really needs to include some consideration of "Why didn't
anyone else think of this bright idea"?

And, finally, what would be the advantage of a welded aluminum, 15 ft.
boat over a wooden or fiberglass boat of the same size?

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)