mhtimber
New Member
- Dec 5, 2009
- 117
- Boat Info
- 320 Sundancer 2006, Raymarine C80 2KW radome
- Engines
- Horizon 350 Mag Bravo III
Hi everyone,
Ever since upgrading to a 320 I have missed the ability to trailer my old 270 back and forth between the lake and the ocean. In 2007 we had our 320 hauled to the ocean for an early summer cruise and we're doing it again this year for a run down to Cape Cod and islands. But going to the ocean once every 3 - 4 years just doesn't cut it for me; so I'm building a 28' Offshore Skiff, designed by Dave Gerr of Gerr Marine. This boat will be trailerable, owner-maintainable, a better over-all sea boat, and use a lot less fuel.
And while having two reasonably large boats may sound a bit excessive I can actually build this 28' for less than it would cost to get out of my current boat; and the combined cost of both boats, all in, is tens or hundreds of thousands dollars cheaper than upgrading again to an even larger boat.
For those interested in following this project there will be a running thread on the Wooden Boat Forum and I have created a blog to document the project as well; the blog page is up but not pretty yet, and will pretty much mirror the forum.
So far I have completed the full size lofting, created full size paper patterns and 1/4" plywood templates for all frame members and am now cutting the actual frame pieces from VG Doug Fir 2x4 stock. The hull sheathing will be Okoume plywood sealed with epoxy and covered in fiberglass cloth. Power will be a single Evinrude E-Tec 90 or thereabouts; plans call for a cruising speed of 16 kts, top speed of 19 kts, with a 75 hp. Many of these boats are used by commercial fisherman, they are excellent sea boats and very rugged.
We love our 320 but it's impractical to transport frequently and fuel burn severely limits the long distance trips, so we're taking the road less travel and building a purpose specific boat to meet my ocean cruising cravings:
Ever since upgrading to a 320 I have missed the ability to trailer my old 270 back and forth between the lake and the ocean. In 2007 we had our 320 hauled to the ocean for an early summer cruise and we're doing it again this year for a run down to Cape Cod and islands. But going to the ocean once every 3 - 4 years just doesn't cut it for me; so I'm building a 28' Offshore Skiff, designed by Dave Gerr of Gerr Marine. This boat will be trailerable, owner-maintainable, a better over-all sea boat, and use a lot less fuel.
And while having two reasonably large boats may sound a bit excessive I can actually build this 28' for less than it would cost to get out of my current boat; and the combined cost of both boats, all in, is tens or hundreds of thousands dollars cheaper than upgrading again to an even larger boat.
For those interested in following this project there will be a running thread on the Wooden Boat Forum and I have created a blog to document the project as well; the blog page is up but not pretty yet, and will pretty much mirror the forum.
So far I have completed the full size lofting, created full size paper patterns and 1/4" plywood templates for all frame members and am now cutting the actual frame pieces from VG Doug Fir 2x4 stock. The hull sheathing will be Okoume plywood sealed with epoxy and covered in fiberglass cloth. Power will be a single Evinrude E-Tec 90 or thereabouts; plans call for a cruising speed of 16 kts, top speed of 19 kts, with a 75 hp. Many of these boats are used by commercial fisherman, they are excellent sea boats and very rugged.
We love our 320 but it's impractical to transport frequently and fuel burn severely limits the long distance trips, so we're taking the road less travel and building a purpose specific boat to meet my ocean cruising cravings:
