Way too expensive for me...

A new land speed record, some interesting details, and in the "Believe them when they say they're going to do shit" department...

Well at least it doesn't have that condomaran look. 

Listening to Moonalice

So it goes...

a fixer upper Hurricane cat that's going to need a lot more fixing...

Some good news in the Bahamas, regarding those10,000 lakes, and in the "I mean like really?" department...

Well this sure is depressing. It was floating Thursday.

 Bummer.

Listening to The A's (a bit weird but they grow on you)

So it goes...

An interesting cat...

Cost effective power, losing teachers, and Wendig with an artifact of rage and frustration...

Bernd Kohler has a new version of his KD860 design...

The KD860 Open

From where I sit there's a pressing need for an affordable small multihull that can be easily built and an open bridgedeck variation of the KD860 certainly fill a void.

One of my biggest issues with modern multihulls is the lack of simplicity and the idea that everyone wants a boat that will do well in the charter market. A situation that results in multihulls that are big, heavy and expensive.

The KD860 Open is by it's very nature simple which results in a lighter better performing cat that is also a lot more affordable.

My want list for a cruising cat for a couple is pretty spartan. A good place to sleep,a comfortable place to hang out/work, and, multihull performance.

Which, is pretty much describes the KD860 open to a "T". I'll be checking out the study plans ASAP and have more to say about the design and rig once I've had a chance to price it all out. In the meantime, there's more info over on the K-Designs website that you'll want to check out.

Listening to some songs for a certain mood

So it goes...

A different yacht charter...

EBM making sense, can't fix stupid, and in the "Take this job and shove it" department...

As some of you know, here on "So It Goes" we're, for want of a better description, Boat Pimps and have a charter brokerage. As a general rule I don't pimp charter boats on Boat Bits but have occasionally mentioned repositioning charters as they give an opportunity for long passages, different venues, or bargains.

One charter fleet we work with in Belize is repositioning some of their cats to the Rio Dulce for the "H" season. They are offering a per-cabin flotilla charter August 21-27 which includes sailing from Belize City to the Rio Dulce in Guatemala

For more information including an itinerary you can check it out on the Paradise Connections blog.

Listening to the Iron Leg Radio Show

So it goes... 

Way cooler than a Lagoon...

Pay's up for some, apt thoughts on music, and something scary about salt...

A very cool little multihull.

Sébastien Roubinet is no stranger to adventurous pursuits and his choice of a sailing craft tends to reflect that experience.

More about the project can be found here.

Listening to Steve Earle

So it goes...

On the right track but way too expensive...

Regarding Climate Gentrification, a very needful read, and in the "Big frelling question" department...

Well this is kind of interesting.

EcoCat 42

A home buildable flat panel derived catamaran using recyclable materials and bio-sourced resins.Way more expensive than I can afford but if you have a spare 350,000 euros laying around you might want to check it out.

Listening to the Jitters

So it goes...

a revised design...

EBM points out that a shortwave receiver might come in handy, all kinds of wrong, and in the "Not so deep cover Russian assets" department...

Revision is not a trait you see all that often in sailboat design. While a designers new design may include learned lessons from a previous design, the act of going back and making an older design better is fairly rare.

A sad fact when you consider the 20/20 view that hindsight enables.

The other day while looking at Bernd Kohler's website I noticed that he'd revised his Duo 1000 catamaran design...

 

Bernd had this to say about his changes...

"An update of my DUO 1000 design. Building a boat is a nice and satisfying experience. But sailing the result is more fun. So I improved the boat so far that over 200 pieces less are necessary and to be built. I changed from the biplane rig to a single mast rig for cost reasons."

Excising two hundred pieces of a design is a fairly serious revision. One that I find quite exciting and would love to study the revised plans to see just what Mr Kohler changed and the why of it. I expect I'd learn a lot in the process.

As a builder of boats myself, there is not a single build that I have not sat back after the boat was launched and made a list of what I would have done differently if building the design again. Except for dinghies I have not had the luxury of building with hindsight in total but what I have learned does become a big part of my boat-building evolution.

Listening to Kristin Diable

So it goes..

a niche that needs to be filled...

Scalzi on the current situation, today's word, and a very needful read...

I often find that my view of the cruising boat marketplace or, rather, my view of what some people want is not followed by those who make decisions about what boats get put on the market.

So, why did several readers of Boat Bits get excited about a new open bridgedeck catamaran yesterday and felt the need to tell me about it?

Apparently, after numerous requests for an open bridgedeck version of Bernd Kohler's KD 860 design, Bernd has come up with just that.

At just a kiss over 26-feet it would be less expensive, lighter, and have a larger payload then the KD 860. On the down side it has less interior space and only one double berth.

For a couple though it would be an affordable and easily built cat.

I expect there will be more info on the design soonish.

I'll also point out that Michael Schacht has a similar design in the works which has the added advantage of being demountable.

If you're like me and think this is a niche that you're interested in drop me a line...

Listening to Betty Moon cover Gimme Shelter

So it goes...

Here's a cat on foils ...

Chuck Wendig with a must read, a moment in history, and in the "It appears that someone thinks wind power is a good investment" department...

As I have some work to do and really can't come up with anything interesting to write, here's an electric foiling catamaran that just might entertain you for a moment.

 

Listening to the Punch Brothers

So it goes...

a little progress...

EBM finds a must watch interview, voter hijinks from the usual suspects, and some depressing news regarding libraries...

Michael Schacht is keeping busy. 

Looking good.

Listening to an album's worth of steely Dan coverage

So it goes...

Since we were talking biplane cats...

When being number 1 is a bad thing, an apt quote,  Sailing Anarchy making a good point, and in the "Well as long as we're banning books" department...

I've long admired this design from Kurt Hughes.

 More info can be found here.

Listening to Fatoumata Diawara

So it goes...

Something interesting in development...

I have a bad feeling about all this, more about flags of convenience, and in the "a whole lot of kelp in our future" department...

One big issue I have with folks designing multihulls these days is that hardly anyone is thinking about smaller, more affordable cruising boats. 

If you get into your way-back machine, you'll see there was a pretty active trade in small affordable cruising cats with designs like the Heavenly Twins, Hirondelle, Prout Sirocco, Catalac, and Iroquois to name a few production cats. At the same time, just about every multihull designer around were designing 26-30 foot boats for home builders.

What happened?

The market is still there for smaller designs if the mail I get is any kind of indicator whenever I write about smaller multihull designs.

Now, I sorta/kinda understand why purveyors of cats and tris focus on big buck clients because they want the big bucks, and folks with lots of money want bragging right with their boats.

The why of what's keeping designers from designing smaller boats is a whole different thing. Designing for home builders has always been about stock plans. The idea is that if someone wants a specific type of boat and they hire a naval architect to design it, the rights to the design remain with the architect who can sell it as a stock plan for a lot less than it cost to come up with. A good example is when I commissioned Phil Bolger to design Loose Moose 2. I paid a large (to me at least) chunk of money to Phil to design the boat and afterwards Phil continued to sell the plans for about 10% of what I paid. 

The cool thing about stock plans is that for the designer, if done right, it's pretty much all profit for very little work because the design work has already been paid. For the buyer of stock plans, it's great because they are getting a good plan for 10% of what it would cost if they had commissioned the design directly with the naval architect.

So far so good.

The problem arises in that most folks who can afford to commission a design don't want a small cruising cat or tri, while the folks who do want one can't afford to commission. This leaves us with a few designers working on spec; 90% who work on spec are doing so to lure clients who want big expensive designs. Resulting in a whole lot of hungry designers drawing 50-foot condomarans on spec and leaving a big hole in the market where small affordable designs should be.

We're lucky that there are a few architects that are into their craft and art, rather than the big buck payoff.

Which is why I really like it when I get an email with a work in progress like this...

Michael Schacht has an interesting biplane cat design in development that has me excited. For starters, it's 26-feet and with about the same accommodation as a Wharram Tiki 30, with either a lug or junk rig.

I'll repeat that last part: lug or junk rig! Be still my foolish heart.

What's not to like?

Granted, not everyone is like me and groks just how great an open bridgedeck, biplane lug-rigged catamaran would be. It has it own character, aesthetic, and unlike what most people think a modern cat should look like. For those of that ilk, I'll point you to Michael's Ghibli design. It's well worth taking a look at.

I'll be watching the development of this new design closely and will share more info as I get it.

Listening to Crumb

So it goes...

Big shoes to fill...

Someone I'm rooting for, a very good point, and a different way of telling time...

It’s been twelve years since Phil Bolger died. His passing left a gaping hole in the realm of sailboat design; a vacuum that has yet to be filled. I mention this because people like Bolger have a much greater influence than you might think and set an example that is both pervasive and important. I still miss Phil and the world of sailboat design really needs someone to replace him.

James Wharram died this week, leaving another void in the world of boat design. As far as I can see, no one is standing in the wings to take his place.

Not that there is a shortage of talented designers floating about. There are many, but few with the sort of grounded common sense and vision that made Wharram and Bolger stand out.

Too many designers are, to steal from a song, dedicated followers of fashion. They apply their considerable talents to whatever is currently in vogue. If condomarans or cattlemarans are in style, that’s what they’ll design. Now, I’m sure they’re designing great condo/cattlemarans but what about the folks who want or need something different?

How many designers actually listen to the people they are designing for?

A long time ago, I commissioned a cruising design and having the boat designed turned into something of a nightmare. The fundamental problem was that the designer never quite listened to what I said I wanted. In hindsight, he had a picture of what he thought I wanted mixed in with what he thought others would want. The ultimate design became something I hated and, I suspect, he did as well.

Not too long ago, I was reading a description of a design for an “affordable” cruising boat that included a plethora of systems* that made the boat fairly expensive; just the opposite of the affordable design brief. Or maybe the designer's definition of inexpensive is just a whole lot different than mine.

Bolger and Wharram both were often targets of derision by many. It takes a special fortitude to weather that sort of criticism and continue along one’s chosen path. Most designers I follow these days take the path of least resistance. Seriously, when did you last see a designer publishing a new design that shocked or outraged anyone?

Maybe it’s more than time for a bit of scandalization, shock, and (dare I say it?) awe.

Which is why I still miss Phil and losing James Wharram has left me gutted as they were both voices in the wilderness that were and are very much needed. The important question is who is going to take their place?

James Wharram in 1953

Listening to Sara Watkins

So it goes... 

*If anyone out there knows of a source for affordable carbon spars and lithium batteries please let me know.

Boat building, economics of scale, and two catamarans...

A new low on the greed front, something about child labor, and in the "Just how much insanity can you take" department... 

I'll get right to the point and point out that the old build-yourself-a-boat-in-your-yard model of building a boat is no longer with us. You can spell that D-E-A-D as the proverbial door nail. The cause of death is a combination of the powers that be and your neighbors being less accepting of folks working on things like a boat within view or earshot and mostly because the cost of materials has mostly priced the home boat-builder out of existence.

Seriously, from where I sit that's a real bummer.

Of course, the need for some folks with dreams of tropical anchorages to build their own boat will find cunning and creative ways around most obstacles and, as the late Hunter S Thompson pointed out...

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”

In my too many decades of experience in boat building I've learned that the folks who are most successful with boat projects are those who treat the exercise in a professional manner and treat the actual build just like a real business would.

One of the big disadvantages for home builders is that not only are the material costs high in general but that a single builder does not have the purchasing power to bring the costs of those materials to an affordable level.

Another disadvantage of note is that most sailboat designs available are not really all that builder friendly. Far too many stock designs take ease of building or material costs into account as most stock plans were never designed to be stock designs but to be built by professional builders.

With that in mind let's take a look at a couple of 30-foot catamarans...

The Wharram Tiki 30 is designed to be home built. It has a simple construction method using accessible materials. It's a pretty awesome design that can be built by a motivated builder in 900 hours of labor..

There's a bridge deck pod you can add to the build for more room but the thing is what makes it such a nice little catamaran is that it's a nice little catamaran. The headroom in the hulls is less than five-feet and the headroom over the berths is a kiss less than three-feet. The good news is that the design works just fine as it is .

However the inbuilt desire of many might want to make it bigger add more headroom which would become a much bigger, more expensive boat. Trying to make an significant changes while keeping the boat to thirty feet would destroy any vestige of performance and leave you an unfortunate result.

Building the boat as designed is easy and quick providing you treat the project like a real job.

One of the issues with the Wharram and other plywood designs is that as the cost of plywood keeps rising while the quality of "affordable" plywood becomes worse and worse.

Michael Schacht with his 30-foot design-in-progress ARGO in a lot of ways mirrors the simplicity of the Tiki 30 however, due to the high cost of plywood the decision to work with more affordable composites was taken.

Since the use of composites allows for a more refined shape and, when combined with a couple of simple molds and a modular construction, adds the possibility of a great reduction in labor.

The design as shown has quite a bit more room than the Tiki 30 albeit with the same headroom issues. Which, I'll point out that being 6'5" I would not find the headroom to be a deal breaker since if I want to stand up I can always go outside. As far as interior ergonomics go, the real test is simply having enough room to do the mundane tasks needful for life aboard.

Having built a Wharrram Tiki 31 and have more than a passing experience with modular construction I'll be getting into how one can build a Tiki 30 or an ARGO faster and cheaper when we get into the economics of scale and how it's going to be a major factor in successfully building either design.

Listening to Camila Cabello

So it goes...

a case for "different"...

You'll find this might make you furious, some places best avoided, and in the "The last place in the world I'd ride my bike or spend tourist dollars"  department...

Currently the boat design I find most interesting is the ARGO. Seriously, what's not to like? It's designed to fulfill a need, involves innovative building methods, and  it's meant to be affordable.

Where the problems come in is it's different in how people have come to think about multihulls in general and catamarans specifically. 

Being different is, at best, somewhat problematic.

That being what it is, different is, in this case, something of a necessity. Catamarans have become expensive so just the simple goal of an affordable catamaran is going to be different which requires one to not only accept that but get outside the box and embrace it.

Just think about that for a bit.

Next up we'll be talking about a comparison with the ARGO and a different 30-foot catamaran.

Listening to Daniel Meade

So it goes...

a few more thoughts on boat building...

Something I found especially depressing, a flat earth football team, and in the "Just spiraling down the ceramic throne" department...

Building a boat bigger than a dinghy is, generally speaking, a complex exercise. More importantly the bigger the boat the more complex it gets. 

Now, if I wanted to build a dinghy (like the Bolger Nymph) it might have a dozen or so parts, use up a couple or three sheets of plywood, cost a bit less than $200 in materials, and take somewhere around sixteen hours of labor to complete.

Let's say you want to build a catamaran just over thirty feet in length that you could sail off into the sunset with...

Richard Woods has a 31-foot cat (Tamar 31) that is fairly easy to build as catamarans go but is a whole lot more complex than the Bolger Nymph. For starters, there are many hundreds of bits that go together to build the boat, a hundred sheets of plywood or so, lumber framing, glass fiber/epoxy, and all the other needful systems that goes in to building and outfitting a cruising boat. Plus all those materials don't come cheap ($36-$40K) and then there is the labor which is going to take you a couple of thousand hours or, in more workaday terms, nearly a year of productive 8-hour work days.

That's going to be a little daunting for someone whose craft experience might be putting together an Ikea kitchen cabinet.

Which brings us to Michael Schacht's Argo...

Argo is a modular design that has me fairly excited as it's simple and quick to build which results in large savings in both time and money.

As the Argo is still a work in progress, I can't really get too deep into the how of building it but as far as building with a modular system I can point out a few things.

First of which is the bulk of the work is molding panels on a couple of molds and molds make a lot of sense where building boats in composite materials are concerned. In this case the molds are dead simple and can be built by your average tyro-level builder in a couple of days.

The construction of the boat requires one to make eighteen molded hull sections that are then assembled to make up the two hulls and bridgedeck pod. With a bow and body mold that means you could mold two sections a day which adds up to less than two weeks of labor.

Assembling the various pieces together would go fairly quickly and a couple of weeks would not be unheard of but, being a "the glass is half empty" kind of guy, why don't we say three weeks to which we add another month for the over all fit out...

Of course, to make this boat truly affordable (dare we say VolksCruiser?) we will also be building the rig and most of the needful hardware which will add another month to the mix but save a very large chunk of cash in the process.

So where do we stand so far?

Thirteen weeks or 520 hours of labor or 65 eight-hour days.

Kind of beats the 2000 hours of labor all to hell, does it not?

That said, all these projections assume the person or persons building the boat are capable of sustained, full-time productive labor and actually able to build the plan as drawn. Working part time on such a project will negate any time or cost savings. Just sayin'.

Now, if you really wanted to save even more time and money there are a lot of ways you could go and I'll be going into those in my next come soonish Argo post.

Listening to J Balvin

So it goes...

Here's a must read if you're thinking of building a boat...

A question I've been wondering about,  measuring stupidity, and something from the Brexit Fubar files...

Over at Proa File Michael lays down something of a manifesto of a sensible route for future home builders with his Argo design.

 

He makes a whole lot of sense.

I'll be writing a lot about the how and why of what makes the Argo series the sort of boat design that excites me in the very near future but, for the moment what you really need to do is go check out what Michael has to say about it.

You're still here?!?

Listening to the Iron Leg Radio Show

So it goes...

a new exciting design...

An interesting read on modern journalism, something regarding  rare earth elements, and in the "same old same false equivalency assholery" department...

As it happens, Michael Schacht (that Proa File guy) just sent me a very interesting drawing of a design for home builders he's currently working on...

The design is an evolutionary offshoot of his Bug Out Boat design that has come about in the quest to get a bit more displacement into the B.O.B. which entailed getting away from flat panel plywood construction.

Yeah, a fiberglass multihull for home builders that makes sense!

Now, while I find the AVION a very neat boat, what really excites me is the construction method. Michael has sorted out a system that involves just a few simple to build and inexpensive molds that allows the builder to fabricate a bunch of shaped panels that will, when put together, result in fair oval hulls. 

All in all an excellent way to build a good boat quickly and inexpensively.

I know that Michael will be putting a much more detailed article on the design and building method together that will be on Proa File so you might want to bookmark Proa File or add it to your RSS feed. Of course, as soon as there is any new Avion info available I'll be sure to mention it on Boat Bits,

Listening to Mike Zito

So it goes...

Regarding plans, stock and otherwise...

An excellent article on the late Tim Severin, not exactly surprising, and some Gulf Stream news...

Some recent emails concerning my post on Michael Schacht's Ghibli design gets to the heart of what's currently wrong with the current state of home building and restoring/rehabbing classic plastic sailboats for cruising.

In short, everyone wants to take something simple and complicate the living hell out of it.

In the case of the Ghibli just about every email wanted to make it longer, beamier, add dagger boards or foils, change the rig, change the propulsion system, make it out of something other than plywood, and just, in general, make a pretty simple design over complicated and a whole lot more expensive.

Which sorta/kinda misses the whole point of what a stock plan is all about.

Now, I'm sure that Michael would love to do a custom catamaran design just for you and would do his very best to make all of your dreams of what a perfect catamaran is a reality. But, it will cost you a serious chunk of change as well as a chunk of time.

Stock plans, on the other hand, can be bought for a fraction of the price of custom plans the savings of which will buy a chunk of materials that you can build your boat with which greatly appeals to my Mr Cheapseats proclivities.

As it happens, I've had two different designers design boats for me and the experience was wonderful in one case and awful in the other. The awful case being so depressing that I vowed to never repeat the getting a boat designed for just me ever again.

Stock plans, on the other hand are already finished (well except for those designers of the vaporware ilk) and you know exactly what the boat is going to be from the get go providing you actually follow the plans.

A good stock plan gives you everything you need to know about building a particular boat and that is really all it should provide. Over the years the idea of what a stock plan is supposed to be has morphed into more of a designer assisted learning experience which is somewhat problematic as a designer really should not be your nanny in the process of building your boat. The idea of 24/7 access to the designer so you can discuss how to do stuff you already should know on the subject of boatbuilding really should not be part of the process.

Designer as boatbuilding nanny brings up a couple of points as in my experience if you don't know how to build a boat when you start you're in for a very, shall we say, interesting experience that will not result in a good boat. Secondly, the fact is that building a couple of dinghies will give you the needful experience to get into a bigger cruising boat project.

George Buehler and Reuel Parker have both written excellent how-to books on building boats that will answer all your questions in terms of how to build their respective designs and it would be no bad thing if other designers followed their example. That said, I have a shelf full of boatbuilding books that I tend to use all the time on just about every boat project I find myself working on. Seriously, a few books on your shelf is a whole lot better than having your designer on speed-dial so you can interrupt his/her Sunday dinner with questions on why your epoxy is not setting up or how to make a proper scarf.

So, getting back to Ghibli, it's a small simple plywood catamaran that has any number of excellent features that would be possible to build in a reasonably short time for a moderate budget. Which in my eyes is a pretty impressive package of features in a small affordable envelope. It might or might not be the catamaran of your dreams but you really should take the time to actually look at what's there instead of trying to adapt it to something it's not.

Listening to the late Bunny Wailer

So it goes...

a new catamaran that's just what a lot of folks are looking for...

Some needful reading, a great Curtis Mayfield post, and in the "Symbolism speaks volumes" department...

A while back, I did a post on one of my favorite small production catamaran designs, the Prout Sirocco. Afterwards, I bemoaned the fact that no one designs boats like the Sirocco anymore to my friend Michael up in the PNW. 

So, here's what popped up in my mailbox yesterday...

Named after a hot dust-bearing wind of the North African desert, the Ghibli has a lot in common with the Sirocco. They're both twenty-six feet long, have a very similar accommodation, and both are shoal draft.

However, the Ghibli has a lot more going for it. For starters, it's a new design and there has been a lot of advances in multihulls in the last four decades since the Sirocco came on the scene. While I'm not a "Newer is always better" kinda guy, I will admit that improvements in construction and materials allows the Ghibli to weigh around a thousand pounds less than the Sirocco and, where multihulls are concerned, weight is a huge factor in performance.

I should also add that the styling is lot more what people think a modern cat is supposed to look like if that is something you find important.

Designed as a DIY-buildable cat it would be a relatively easy and fast build.  As costs go, you should be able to build a Ghibli for what a good condition 40-year old Sirocco is selling for. If you wanted to bring the costs down it would make sense to get together with some other Ghibli builders and co-op the buying of materials and suchlike which could really lighten the materials and systems costs.

I'm still waiting with anticipation on another design from Mr Schacht that he described as...

"I have a typically strange boat in the works that I think you’ll like".

My kinda guy!

Listening to UB40 cover Curtis Mayfield

So it goes...