BoatBanter.com - Free sailboat plans?

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Free sailboat plans?

Hello,

I'm looking for some boat plans for a small (18-24 feet) sailboat.
Something I can sail by myself but is strong enough to take on short blue
water trips. It should sleep 4. Plywood construction.

I've found some plans for boats which would work. One extra fancy one
is called the Vagabond 23.

A more realistic one is called the Pelican

Still another called the Elver which looks easy and cheap to build.

Before I go spending money on plans I hoped I might find some free
examples by mining places like this. Can anyone point me in the right
direction? So far all i've found in the free price range is silly bucket
boats and flat bottomed toy sailboats.

I'm not against paying for plans. But I would want to be sure there
are lots of success stories for a set of plans, Online, the vagabond 23
seems to have a lot of success stories. I was able to find lots of built
hulls and plenty of in-progress photos telling me that this is a project
that can be completed as advertised.

Enjoy!
Cruise

www.boat-links.com

I don't know if you can still look at the plans directory at
www.duckworksmagazine.com for free. you can look at the plans for sale
from the desingers whose plans they resell. the link to Gavin Atkins
website will hve free plans on it but they are likely all small boats.

interested in plywood catamarans?
www.jonesboats.com has some

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Didereaux wrote:
Try Stevenson Projects, been in business a long time, and literally
hundreds of their boats can be found everywhere. Very nice looking
and
easy construction. My personal favorite is their 'Weekender'.

http://www.stevproj.com/

He said Bluewater . . .
The Week-ender is unballasted and top heavy.

Don't compare that with the Vagabond 23. The VG23 is the successor of
the Serpentaire, a boat with many ocean crossings and some
circumnavigations on its palmares.
http://www.boatplans-online.com/prod....php?prod=VG23

He might build the "Vacationer" from Stevenson Projects and then
eventually go to a more ambitious project before doing any real
"Bluewater". I built tow of the Stevenson Projects "MiniCup"
daysailors and have been very pleased.

MrCruise wrote:
When I said short bluewater trips, I mean short blue water trips. To me,
this means fair weather runs to the reef 7 miles off shore from where I
live (Daytona Beach area).

The term "blue water" sailing means different things to different
people. To my mind, the phrase summons up images of certain household
cleaning products; but many people will indignantly insist that it means
'sailing around Cape Horn' or some such.

I would call your excursion 'open water day sailing' since you will not
be away from a sheltered harbor more than 14 hours, most likely much less.

... I like to fish out there and it's just scary
doing it in Frankenboat, my 14ft aluminum johnboat.

The vacationmer and weekender seem like easy projects for this type of
use. Or am I overestimating it's abilities?

I'd estimate the Stevenson Projects boat as less capable, weather &
sea-condition wise, than your johnboat. They are unballasted flat-iron
skiffs with added weight, and most of that up high where it's harmful.

They are cool looking but a bad choice IMHO for exposure to serious or
risky sailing. Of course, with added positive flotation, they'll at
least keep you from having to swim home, so they can't be all bad ;)

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Several boats come to mind although they are definitely more difficult to
build than the Weekender.

1. George Buehler's POGO. This is a little daysailor that will do nicely
for the use mentioned. it is small and built with plywood and easily
available materials. It is a cute boat that should be fun to sail but it is
also ballasted and is a durn sight more boat than it seems. The down side
is the plans are not free but you got a lot of question answering from
George.

2. Sam Devlin has a couple of small sail boats that are stitch and glue
design. His boats finish nicely and the boats that I have seen at the
Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend are good sailors. Sam also has a book
that is helpful in the building.

3. on the Goodchild site is a little boat called a mini MORC racer from the
late 50's. I love this little boat and it is made for ocean racing so it
can take quite a lot. It is of course a lot more to build but should be
within the ability of a first timer if you take your time on it.

Of course if you look around you can find a reasonable number of small to
medium size day sailors that are for sale and the cost is likely less than
you would pay for building one of these.

Brian

Most modern sailboats are not designed for fishing. You will probably find
them not very comfortable or convenient. Back in the days when small
sailboats were used for coastal fishing they were heavier and more stable
with a interior layout for fishing. I'd search the Interent and books at
the public library for descriptions of these fishing boats before deciding
which plans avaiable now are most suitable. Today you could build a
lighter, faster sailboat with a good interior layout for fishing. When
people used to fish along the shore from rowboats and sailboats they
depended a lot on the tide to carry them out and back. Sailboats are slow
and weak compared to even small outboard motors.

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William R. Watt wrote:
Most modern sailboats are not designed for fishing. You will probably
find
them not very comfortable or convenient. Back in the days when small
sailboats were used for coastal fishing they were heavier and more
stable
with a interior layout for fishing. I'd search the Interent and books
at
the public library for descriptions of these fishing boats before
deciding
which plans avaiable now are most suitable.

This is the main reason why I want to build a boat from scratch, So I can
outfit it for fishing from the ground up. I spent a few months looking at
used sailboats and while I saw a lot of great deals, I also saw a lot of
tearing out and rebuilding to suit my needs.

I've got a pretty good idea of what I need as far as layout. I don't need
a lot of room, I just need certain things a certain way. Live bait well,
rod racks and perhaps even two small outriggers. The speed of a sailing
boat is nearly perfect for trolling. We've done some fishing from my
friend's catamaran, the kind with a trampoline. I think it's called a hobi
cat. We've had execllent luck trolling while under sail getting to the
artifical reefs around the area.

Today you could build a
lighter, faster sailboat with a good interior layout for fishing. When
people used to fish along the shore from rowboats and sailboats they
depended a lot on the tide to carry them out and back. Sailboats are
slow
and weak compared to even small outboard motors.

The reason I want a sailboat instead of a small motorbot is because I
can't afford fuel. One day out in a motor cruiser can cost as much as $300
in fuel. This mixed with the fact that I'm not very good at fixing
engines... I decided a small custombuild sailboat is where I need to be.

I've nearly decided on the "The Vacationer" from the stevenson projects
website. Of all the boats I looked at, this one seems like the one I can
build everything myself, this includes keel, mast, and even the sails.

It's a cutback from my sleeps 4 requirement, but I decided that if I build
a towable, two can sleep in the van and two in the truck and if we're
going camping, everyones gonna sleep on the beach anyway.

It's also a cutback from my bluewater requirement, but I believe that with
attention to important areas while building, it'll be fine for fairweather
fishing near the coast. There are instructions to make it unsinkable.

Some people have said they're a little topheavy, I'm planning on the
weight of the batteries for the eletric motor will act as ballast. It's
got a 75lb thrust MinnKota which has a 24v system, two big deep cycle
batteries. And a third to run the bottom finder, radio, gps, and lights.

I looked at some very nice boats from some of the links people posted.
Thanks for the links, I visited them all. There were several boats from
the old magazine websties which looked intriguing but none had as many
on-line projects to fall back on when I'm having trouble. Of all the
projects I looked at, the weekender is the most built boat, and the most
documented boat on the internet. Next in line is the Voyager 23. But a 2
and a half year build time is daunting. I hope to be fishing by summertime.

I really appreciate everyones advice. It's not too late to change my mind.
If you're selling boat plans (or better yet giving them away), let me have
a look at what you have to offer. I'm semi-retired, I sell flower seeds on
the internet, so money (entire project cost) is also a major concern.

You've all been so helpful.

Enjoy!
Cruise

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 15:21:41 -0600,
(MrCruise) wrote:

Didereaux wrote:
Try Stevenson Projects, been in business a long time, and literally
hundreds of their boats can be found everywhere. Very nice looking and

easy construction. My personal favorite is their 'Weekender'.

http://www.stevproj.com/

Wow, thats an excellent looking project boat! Thanks for the link.
Certainly simpler than any of the other boats I've looked at. I like their
approach to sails and rigging. You could certainly replace most rigging at
walmart.

Just for the record, none of the Stevensons Projects boats are
suitable for blue water. They are flat bottomed boats, and none, not
even the Vacationer, have anywhere close to the interior "sitting head
room" that you would get on some of the other sailboats. I built and
still love my Weekender, but these boats are unballasted large
dinghys, not blue water sailers! And especially not if you plan to
spend a few nights a year sleeping on them. They are great fun for
day sailing, though.

Whatever you choose, finding a good on-line community of folks who
have built the boat is a very good thing.
- - -
http://www.messing-about.com
Resources for the Boat Builder, Renovator and Small Boat Skipper

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 16:04:05 -0600,
(MrCruise) wrote:

I've nearly decided on the "The Vacationer" from the stevenson projects
website. Of all the boats I looked at, this one seems like the one I can
build everything myself, this includes keel, mast, and even the sails.

There are several people who have built the Vacationer at my web site,
http://www.messing-about.com and a few who have added ballast. It
helps the boat tremendously, especially if added up in the forepeak.
There's also a few people who have taken the Pocket Cruiser and
stretched it to 124%, and it ends up being a very roomy boat. For the
amount of materials used, the PC is a more roomy boat (plumb bow, wide
transom and the cat rig means the mast is far forward for more room in
the cabin).

The Stevenson Projects boats are fun boats, and simple to build. You
can "camp out" in the cabin of the Vacationer OK, so with your
modified "sleeps 4" requirement, you can do OK with it.

Just remember that on any sail boat of this size, getting out to that
reef 7 miles away is going to take you over an hour at full speed
under sail (good wind, all that). Unlike a Hobie Cat, the Vacationer
will never exceed its hull speed of about 6 - 7 knots (well, it can,
but you will be "surfing down the face" and you don't want to go
there). Several of the builders have used electric outboards, and
they are OK if you are not trying to fight a current. They will push
the boat at about 3 - 4 knots, so if there's no wind, figure 2+ hours
out to the reef and back. If the gulf stream where you live is
stronger than that, you won't make headway against it. But a small 2
- 3hp gas outboard will push the Vacationer at hull speed and do
well.

The guys "down under" who sail these really push them to their limits,
dipping the rails in the water more on one sail than I do in a year of
sailing.
- - -
http://www.messing-about.com
Resources for the Boat Builder, Renovator and Small Boat Skipper