Aluminum Semi-Displacement Catamaran Build

[Bkay]

Well, 3ish weeks since my last update. A number of months ago I said I'd be miffed if they didn't deliver the boat in July and downright PO'ed if they didn't deliver in August. Now the question is whether late September is a possibility or if we are into Oct or Nov...I guess time will tell.

As it stands now, port and starboard ER have running gear in place (less rudders - which for some reason still don't seem to be finished), raw water plumbed, fuel filters in place, exhaust installed. Interior paint in main cabin is in and galley and settee should be roughed in by the weekend. They are starting on plumbing fuel lines and continuing with exterior railing this week. I plan another trip down there next week to get the ground truth.

In the meantime, here's a couple update photos so my deliver crew stays interested enough to wait out the final completion. First is stbd ER and second is helm after first shot of Multispec paint has been applied.

 

[cardude01]

Hurry up and wait!

(It will be worth the wait)

 

[Bkay]

Hurry up and wait!

Yah, 21 years in the Army - I've got waiting down to a science!

Thanks!

 

[Bkay]

Things are going slow - but going. But I like the quality of what I'm seeing and the guys doing the work take it seriously. I guess that's all you can hope for these days.

Here are shots of port boarding door, port side deck, and alternate steering station.

 

[Bkay]

A couple shots of the interior - I'm thinking about keeping it open like this...any thots?

 

[Bkay]

Here is the settee roughed in - this was all CNC cut.

Second is a shot of the mast after it's welded in place. I don't recall the boom box being in the Specifications...but I'll take it.

Third is a shot of the anchor roller being mocked in place. I think that cleat will be fine as is - what could go wrong?

 

[Genecop]

Whoops, can’t wait for the splash..

 

[Bkay]

Whoops, can’t wait for the splash..

Yep...

 

[cardude01]

Slow progress is better than no progress? Maybe they are taking their time making everything perfect! [emoji51]

 

[Bkay]

Slow progress is better than no progress? Maybe they are taking their time making everything perfect! [emoji51]

Well, there's definitely a component of wanting to get the first of a design right. They've done a couple things twice because the owner didn't like how it looked the first time. But it's also because they are juggling a couple jobs and are being bashful with resources. I'm trying to impact the latter without taking attention away from the former - there's always a juggling act when dealing with humans.

It's looking good and I'm heading back in a week to inspect again. I'll certainly let you know if it's worth the wait!

 

[Hobo]

Hello Bkay,


Have just come across this post sorry wasn’t around for the conception.
LOVE your boat is so in line with my fantasy boat . Thank you very much for sharing your build.


Hope this is not the end of your post and would like to ask some hopefully not to ignorant questions.


Post # 1. Your not painting the external topside only waterline & below. Painting only serves a visual function with no detriment to the ally being naked ? Non slip on deck though ?


Post # 1. John Deer 4045’s. Do you have a weight on them. Hang on about 400Kgs/873lbs each no gear box weight ?


Post # 5. djmarchard mentioned weight. Can you give some plate thickness ?


Post # 95. Brow does this serve a function ? Looks good though.


Post # 105. Soft patch on deck. Is this a bolt down plate ?


Do you have a name for her yet. FORTRESS comes to mind but may be a bit cocky in sea Gods eyes although Neptune may smile upon it and may he do so regardless of name.


All the best George

 

[Bkay]

Hope this is not the end of your post and would like to ask some hopefully not to ignorant questions.

George, Thanks for the comments. I'm at a tender stage of negotiations with the builder. So while I am not finished posting, I am avoiding any "negotiation in public". I am hopeful we'll get things sorted out in a gentlemanly fashion in due course and I can report on completion and performance.

Either way, I'll follow up with more details in the future - good or bad.

 

[Bkay]

Post # 1. Your not painting the external topside only waterline & below. Painting only serves a visual function with no detriment to the ally being naked ? Non slip on deck though ?


Post # 1. John Deer 4045’s. Do you have a weight on them. Hang on about 400Kgs/873lbs each no gear box weight ?


Post # 5. djmarchard mentioned weight. Can you give some plate thickness ?


Post # 95. Brow does this serve a function ? Looks good though.


Post # 105. Soft patch on deck. Is this a bolt down plate ?


Do you have a name for her yet. FORTRESS comes to mind but may be a bit cocky in sea Gods eyes although Neptune may smile upon it and may he do so regardless of name.

Let's see, for painting, only bottom paint and non-skid deck paint. Deck paint is commercial grade and I'm going with the lightest color I can get to avoid heat build up. I'd like to spend time barefoot, but in the heat of summer that's not going to be possible on aluminum. It is 5086 aluminum, so no topside paint is required. In fact, avoiding paint is the only thing that makes this affordable to me.

For plate thickness, I'll need to follow up since I've got that data in my construction notebook. More to follow.

The brow helps provide some rigidity to a fairly light weight roof, but mostly it's just the proper way to finish off a boat. And at the blazing speed of 14 knots, it provides aerodynamic advantage.

I didn't see the soft patch you mentioned in #105. But if you are talking about the side deck, there are two oval Bomar hatches on each side. One accesses the engine room forward of the engine and the other accesses the tank room. They are all 4 weld in hatches.

Regarding the name - no way I'm jinxing things by telling people her name! Who can afford taking that risk?

 

[Bkay]

Post # 5. djmarchard mentioned weight. Can you give some plate thickness ?

George, Here's the short summary:

Shell Plates: 3/16"
Wet Deck: 1/4"
Transverse Framing: 3/16"
Prop Tunnels: 3/8"
Longitudinal stiffeners: 1.5" x 1.5" x 1/4" T-bar
Bulkhead stiffeners: 2" x 1/4" flat bar
Deck Plate: 3/16"
Bulwark Framing 3/16"
Rub Rail: 2" Sch40 pipe
House shell plate: 1/8"
Visor: 1/8"

Plate is 5086 and extrusions are 6061.

 

[Hobo]

Thanks and appreciate response. Hope negotiations turn out ok


Regards George

 

[Bkay]

Thanks and appreciate response. Hope negotiations turn out ok

Thanks George. Things are looking up and everyone seems to be working in good faith. I'm cautiously optimistic!

The good news is the work looks good. No doubt they build a solid boat!

 

[Hobo]

Outside Negotiations

Presuming OK to discuss ask about your build outside of your negotiation elements.

Just to clarify: Quote from # 105

“ I have a watertight crash bulkhead forward on both hulls. That area is accessible from a soft patch on deck, so that is an area I can get to almost as easily after construction as during. So I might be inclined to put in some type of adhesive material that can help reduce noise, but is removable if I'm hearing the noise from the pointy end. ”

I understood this to be further forward than side deck shown or maybe in bow. Thanks for photo.
Gunwale seems higher than I imagined ?

Part of Fuel Tank ?

What will be your water capacity ? Will have black water tank ?

Telling people her name prematurely is a Jinx ? Sorry I wasn’t aware .

“Things are looking up and everyone seems to be working in good faith. I'm cautiously optimistic!
The good news is the work looks good. No doubt they build a solid boat! “

Great, Great and never a doubt. Thanks George

 

[Bkay]

“ I have a watertight crash bulkhead forward on both hulls. That area is accessible from a soft patch on deck, so that is an area I can get to almost as easily after construction as during. So I might be inclined to put in some type of adhesive material that can help reduce noise, but is removable if I'm hearing the noise from the pointy end. ”

Ah, yes. Sorry - plans changed somewhat. the soft patch is now located inside on the WT bulkhead. On a previous version of the boat build in Washington they had it on deck but opted to change for mine.

 

[Bkay]

I understood this to be further forward than side deck shown or maybe in bow. Thanks for photo.
Gunwale seems higher than I imagined ?

Part of Fuel Tank ?

What will be your water capacity ? Will have black water tank ?

The structure on the left of the first photo is the main cabin. So it's 6' and a few inches. The side bulwarks/gunnels are not visible in that photo. Below is a photo of the port side deck with house and bulwarks looking aft from forward deck. Rails have been added since that photo was taken.

Yes, the next photo you had was fuel tank. Total capacity is 300 gallons.

Water is 55 gallons total. I don't have a black water tank - I'm using a composting head. I do have a gray water tank for those times I want to avoid pumping gray water overboard. I realize the tankage is a little light - and I might come to regret that someday. But with my past experience I've found I'd rather avoid having more tankage than I need. I can't afford to carry the weight in a catamaran and I want to be able to turn over water and fuel in a reasonable time frame.

 

[Larmex99]

Bk, Your journey has me concerned as I have contracted a west coast cat builder to construct a 42 x 16 aluminum cat for Spring delivery. They are sure that 7 months is a comfortable time frame to complete but it looks like your experience is much different.

Was there anything involved in your delays like change orders, labor issues etc?

I hope that your wait is worthwhile for sure but I can’t (won’t) lose a year of boating at my age.

 

[Larmex99]

Thought that I would add my just-contracted new build Catamaran plans. This will be my 6th and final boat ending a long and immensely joyful life on the water. Time is catching up to me and my goal was to build a fairly fast, fuel efficient and stable boat that would allow me to be out on the water for extended periods with or without a second person on board. Hopefully I made a wise choice as my Offshore 54 is on the market now.

 

[Bkay]

Larmex99 - wow, that's a monster! Looks like you put Scott Jutson to work! She's going to be a beauty. As mentioned in my PM, your builder has a great reputation and I've talked to folks who have been repeat customers - I don't think you should be worried about them doing what they agreed to.

BTW - I have a nice little 28' lobster boat for sale. She'd make a great tender to your boat!
Best of luck.
Dave

 

[Bkay]

BTW - two things I had issue with when I inspected a similar boat in Washington - getting forward of the engines for maintenance and inspection is critical and climbing over the engine was a non-starter. So I added hatches that allowed me to enter the engine room either through the hatch shown on your sketch OR through oval Bomar hatches that are shown in post #171.

The other thing was the construction of the rudder. The original specifications called for a filler of Western Red Cedar. I have great respect for the designer, but putting tree wood against stainless steel rudder frame baffles me. When I found that out I asked for a different filler. We substituted a man-made, non-water absorbing filler material that will be epoxied to the stainless steel frame.

 

[Larmex99]

Thanks for the reply. I would like to keep in touch with you as this is quite a journey. Can’t wait to see your cat in the water. Should be beautiful!

 

[Bkay]

Thanks for the reply. I would like to keep in touch with you as this is quite a journey. Can’t wait to see your cat in the water. Should be beautiful!

Well, as my wife would say about a commercial grade, unpainted aluminum boat, she'll have a face that only a mother can love.

 

[Hobo]

Re: # 171 Thanks Bkay,

I was a bit lost there.


George

 

[Hobo]

Larmex99 Another amazing cat love these designs.
Like that raised helm area and plenty of others.

Be nice if you could document your journey as Bkay has ?

Any case big thanks for sharing George

 

[Larmex99]

Thanks, I will do my best to post as the boat evolves.

 

[Hobo]

Well, as my wife would say about a commercial grade, unpainted aluminum boat, she'll have a face that only a mother can love.

A painted face doesnt alawys reflect whats underneath.

 

[Bkay]

I took a trip to the boatyard yesterday. There were 5 guys working on the boat and they've made serious progress since my last visit 2 weeks ago.

First shot is windows and doors going it. Whiteboard partially fit to bulkheads and overhead.

Second shot is the sapele trim being used throughout - along with the standard "You touch you die" OSHA warnings.

Port ER with insulation fit, hatch welded out, fire system installed, and a blankie for the engine.

4th shot is the forward hatch over the berth being fit.

Last shot is the anchor roller - that's a nice little piece of kit.