Who built a kit boat?

[vonovik]

You all know that I'm of the opinion that all anchors are too small, the wrong kind and you don't have enough chain.

All guns are too small, the wrong kind and you don't have enough ammunition.

I have a new rule that applies to boat builders.
Your clamps are too small, the wrong kind and you don't have enough.

HopCar,

Anchors I will not talk about.

I will disagree on all the gun stuff.

But the clamps, funny you should bring that up. Just the other day I was looking at my box of clamps thinking..... I need bigger clamps, more of a selection and just plain don't have enough.

So if we just give you the anchor plus the clamps that's 2/3. Weird how that number keeps coming up. So this is for you!

Jim

 

[Nomad Willy]

I built a kit boat in 1951 when I was 12. A 28lb canvas covered kayak made w spruce strips. It was a hard chine affair w a rather large open cockpit much like a "Folboat". It was a "Deadham" kit kayak. Probably had 2000 copper tacks to fasten the canvas. Aircraft "dope" and paint on the canvas. Paddled it a lot off the beach on Camano Is WA.

In college I designed a boat that was intended to be level running, fuel efficient and soft riding like the new (then) deep V hulls. Called it the Easy Rider re it's design intent before the movie of the same name.
Built her in the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1972. I was a shop teacher then and got permission to build the Rider in the school shop. I worked on design, engineering and work plans while my students and I assembled the Rider during "construction" class. Launched w a big boom truck over the side of a bridge. Gave each student a ride out on the waves of the bar where Masset Inlet meets Dixon Entrance.

The boat (28' X 9') was very smooth riding, (for a very light boat) seaworthy, and w almost magical directional stability. Very accurate course changes could be made w equally accurate returns. On very large waves running beam to seas sliding sideways instead of capsizing by chine tripping was an unexpected plus especially when my life was in danger .. and in this way it was once in bad weather in Dixon Entrance.

The Easy Rider was a great boat as I designed her but not of much for general use as she was very dependent on very light displacement. Put much weight in her and performance went south fast. As I ran her w a 55hp Johnson 3 cyl. OB she cruised at 12-13 knots. Took her to Juneau where I lived for a few years and a bit later ran her down to WA state as part of a move. Would rather not tell you how she came to an end.

 

[rwidman]

I built dozens of kit boats when I was 10-12 years old. Battleships, destroyers, submarines, etc. My room was full of them and my mother refused to dust them.

 

[Portuguese]

...Not from a kit but from scratch. I built an Amigo from Glen-L back in 1977. That boat already had 3 owners and keeps sailing on weekends.
Then came a Big Hunk dory in 1984. That one also fishes until today. All wooden boats with epoxy glue. reliable, easy to build and fun to cruise. My first scare in a boat of my own was in the Big Hunk called Sstressless. From 4:00 PM to 6 AM, 14 hours 35 miles offshore with a 90 hp Mariner that did not wanted to start, out of VHF reach, and very few fresh water, and visibility almost zero due to intense rain.
Mama sold the boat a month after!

 

[mattkab]

I never finished the sailing rig portion, but I built a V-10 from bateau.com.

This thread reminds me that I should finish it up and teach my daughter to sail in it