scbafreak wrote:
I am currently having a very difficult time getting information on
boat building and I would really appreciate any help I could get
here.

Here is the situation. I am 26 and live in an apartment in Orange
County California. I am considering building a boat starting a few
years from now to live on. I plan to start several years from now
to allow time to save money and get more sailing experience. I am
largely plannng to do this because of outrageous housing costs

Have you checked mooring fees? Taxes?
____________

Here is what I would really like to know. Has anyone out there
done this or something similar that I can answer these questions
for me.

1) How much will this cost.

Not hard to figure but you have to have a material list. Then add in
spars, sails, running & standing rigging, electronics, engine etc.
_______________

2) How many man hours would it take.

You have a job and intend to do this evenings and weekends? Then
think man years, not hours. I have a friend that finished a strip
built Tahiti ketch recently. IIRC, he worked on it for close to two
decades.

BTW, I'm not a big "strip" fan but I sure like it better than plywood.
__________________

3) How much of the build (in approximate percentage) must be done
before I can launch it and move onto it.

IIRC, a bare hull - no accommodation - represents about 15% of the
cost/work.
____________________

4) Is it realistically cheaper to buy an old boat then fix it up to
make it realiable and what I would want. (this would probably
only be an option if building turns out to be too expensive but
would not be limited to wood boats)

That depends totally on the condition of the old boat. In some cases
it could work but in others you'd be spending more in both money and
time than if building from the keel up. Generally - especially given
your experience - I'd advise against it.
___________________

Everyone seems to say that there is no real answer to these
questions because it depends on the person and the boat, but that
is really not very helpful.
I understand that these things can range but if someone has done it
themselves then that would give me some sort of comparison.

"Everyone" is right. My guesstimate - a wild one - would be $150,000
to $250,000. Here is a site that discusses both time and $$ but it is
for multi-hull boats. Given the number of owner built ply cats that
used to be around I'd think a mono hull would require more of both $$
& time.
http://www.f-boat.com/pages/costs.html

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Have you checked mooring fees? Taxes?
"Everyone" is right. My guesstimate - a wild one - would be $150,000
to $250,000. Here is a site that discusses both time and $$ but it is
for multi-hull boats. Given the number of owner built ply cats that
used to be around I'd think a mono hull would require more of both $$
& time.
http://www.f-boat.com/pages/costs.html

All of this is still less than buying a house. Median cost of a house in O.C.
is currently 600K and in five years it will be even more. Long Beach is not
any better. If I keep the boat there I realize there will be fees but is
that more expensive than owning a house? Is it more expensive if I can pull
of the uild without any loans at all and maybe only taking out a loan for
spars sails rigging and some electronic equipment if at all?

--
Message posted via BoatKB.com
http://www.boatkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/build/200608/1

scbafreak via BoatKB.com wrote:
Have you checked mooring fees? Taxes?
"Everyone" is right. My guesstimate - a wild one - would be
$150,000 to $250,000. Here is a site that discusses both time and
$$ but it is for multi-hull boats. Given the number of owner
built ply cats that used to be around I'd think a mono hull would
require more of both $$ & time.
http://www.f-boat.com/pages/costs.html

All of this is still less than buying a house. Median cost of a
house in O.C. is currently 600K and in five years it will be even
more.

Ah, but in five years all of us - except retirees such as myself -
will be earning more. Isn't government induced inflation grand?

Long Beach is not any better. If I keep the boat there I
realize there will be fees but is that more expensive than owning a
house? Is it more expensive if I can pull of the uild without any
loans at all and maybe only taking out a loan for spars sails
rigging and some electronic equipment if at all?

I realize housing in CA - and other areas including Honolulu which is
the reason I left - is ridiculous. I feel safe in saying you could
build a hell of a boat for less than a junky house would cost you in
CA. However, that POS house will increase in price - price, not
value - over the coming inflation-is-a-way-of-life years. A boat
might too but I kinda doubt it.

I also forgot to mention stuff like hull insurance and maintenance.
Forty years ago I was living in Honolulu and in much the same position
as you are now...even then, houses were expensive there and I didn't
want any I could afford. I didn't build a boat, bought an older one
and wife, dog and I lived on it for 10 years. Took a lot of $$ and
time but I liked it (more than did the wife). For that time and money
we had a living area - in a 42' ketch - that wasn't much bigger than a
tract house guest bedroom. We each had our very own but small hanging
locker though. One learns to simplify...

Oh yeah...hull insurance and maintenance. I don't recall what
insurance was - been too long ago - but it wasn't cheap. Maintenance
& dry dock fees ran me the equivalent of $10,000 - $12,000 per year.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

dadiOH wrote:
scbafreak via BoatKB.com wrote:
Have you checked mooring fees? Taxes?
"Everyone" is right. My guesstimate - a wild one - would be
$150,000 to $250,000. Here is a site that discusses both time and
$$ but it is for multi-hull boats. Given the number of owner
built ply cats that used to be around I'd think a mono hull would
require more of both $$ & time.
http://www.f-boat.com/pages/costs.html

All of this is still less than buying a house. Median cost of a
house in O.C. is currently 600K and in five years it will be even
more.

Ah, but in five years all of us - except retirees such as myself -
will be earning more. Isn't government induced inflation grand?

Long Beach is not any better. If I keep the boat there I
realize there will be fees but is that more expensive than owning a
house? Is it more expensive if I can pull of the uild without any
loans at all and maybe only taking out a loan for spars sails
rigging and some electronic equipment if at all?

I realize housing in CA - and other areas including Honolulu which is
the reason I left - is ridiculous. I feel safe in saying you could
build a hell of a boat for less than a junky house would cost you in
CA. However, that POS house will increase in price - price, not
value - over the coming inflation-is-a-way-of-life years. A boat
might too but I kinda doubt it.

I also forgot to mention stuff like hull insurance and maintenance.
Forty years ago I was living in Honolulu and in much the same position
as you are now...even then, houses were expensive there and I didn't
want any I could afford. I didn't build a boat, bought an older one
and wife, dog and I lived on it for 10 years. Took a lot of $$ and
time but I liked it (more than did the wife). For that time and money
we had a living area - in a 42' ketch - that wasn't much bigger than a
tract house guest bedroom. We each had our very own but small hanging
locker though. One learns to simplify...

Oh yeah...hull insurance and maintenance. I don't recall what
insurance was - been too long ago - but it wasn't cheap. Maintenance
& dry dock fees ran me the equivalent of $10,000 - $12,000 per year.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Building a boat from scratch makes no sense financially. Currently,
there are plenty of storm damaged boats available for very little that
could be fixed up. In many cases, the cost of shipping them to CA
would be more than you would pay to buy them. In many cases, the boats
are completely outfitted but simply need some hull repairs and
re-wiring.