On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 16:23:51 -0700, "Brian D"
wrote:


a like manner, it's not fair to drive down the road and spot a late '60s
worn out runabout with rotten transom for $500 (including the trailer and
leaky ol' Johnson) and go away thinking that building your own is way too
expensive. Your homebuilt boat will be brand new, while the other one is
NOT. And many (some might say most) commercial boats are going to be built
to standards lower than yours and won't have the longevity that your
carefully built boat will have. And how do you place value on having the
boat outfitted exactly as you'd have it rather than forcing you (the square
peg) into a commercially built boat's configuration (the round hole)?

Brian D

Funny you should say that. I happen to have a mid 60's "runabout" that
had a rotten transom when I got it with a Johnson motor and trailer
and I paid $500 for it. I have gotten 4 years of solid use out of it.

But it is a 41 year old fiberglass boat that is showing it's age. All
the original wood has long rotted out and it flexes while underway and
has this thing it does sometimes where it just goes right for no
reason very violently when I hit a wake wrong.

So I need another one. One that costs less than $500 and that is safe.
I don't have money to spend on a fancy new jon boat at Outdoor World.
So I have read and read about building boats. I designed me a new
boat. One with a hull design that if I am right will allow it to be
stable and plane well enough to where there is almost no boat in the
water on plane. I build a cardboard model and am going to fiberglass
it soon as I get a chance and see if it works well in my pool. I have
a cousin who has an old RC outboard I can use for testing.

If that goes well then I plan to use 1/4 inch plywood and fiberglass
it inside and out. I figure that if I use the accessories from my old
boat and my old motor I can get my boat built for around $200. I know
that it won't last forever if I use regular plywood, but if I can get
5 seasons out of it I feel I will have reached my goal. Maybe by then
I will be able to afford a store bought boat.

And my new one will be bigger too.
Old one = 49 inch wide, 14ft long "V" front
New one = 60 inches wide, 15ft long. flat front

That way I can take more than one person fishing with me.




wrote in message
oups.com...
I have become interested in building a power boat, specifically, the
Glen-L Wee Hunk Pacific Dory (16') as a general purpose run around the
bay, up the river boat. My son thinks I can buy a boat for less than I
can build. My general estimates are as follows:

Motor (new) $4000
Other $1000
Trailer $1200

Total for building: $6200

He believes I can buy a used similar boat for less and he may be right.
Any perspective on this?