making a hull?

[?Dave]

i read something on the internet where a guy claimed to build his own hull. it looked pretty good. it was a speed boat hull. is this really possible and if so where do you get the specs for the hull you want?

[hsbob]

look to glen l marine, clark craft.....

if you dont have any glass experience it can be an expensive propisition.

[Li'l Toy]

But most plans are for flatbottoms, I believe. It is much harder to get a good v-step hull in wood, though a few guys did very well (John McCall, Nick Chapman, Ed Hauptner) with racing hulls in the 60s and 70s. Of course, if you are really into it, you can make a plug out of almost anything, make a mold, then make your own fiberglass boat, but that is a real task. If you aren't a hull design genius, there are far better fiberglass boats out there that you can buy used for less.

If you want a project, look at the GlenL and Clark Craft plans--there are some others too--search the internet. But know what you are building--there was a guy on here who wanted to build a Glen L C-D runabout--a classic flatbottom kneel down racing runabout, but he didn't realize it wasn't a V, was probably overpowering it, and not sure if it could run where he wanted it to.

I've built 6 or 7plywood boats--3 a little more complicated, the rest of the 8' variety, mostly MiniMaxs. Always a rewarding experinece, loved those boats, but I just don't think I could find plans and build what my Hydrostream or my Eliminator bring to the table. On the other hand, at least in my mind, there is a huge element of pride to show up at one of the hot boat gatherings with a nice looking rig you built yorself.

What are you looking to build? Get lots of help on this board if you do decide to build to be sure your plans will do what you want.

[chynewalkr]

i know glen l has plans for a 30 foot or so deep v, its really the only vee hull ive seen in plan form. and i think it is a fiberglass one off hull

[hsbob]

there are several v hull from glen l that are deep v in the 16, 18,21 ' range. i built the 16 stilleto in 69 and would never build a wooden boat again. it ended up costing as much as buying a fiberglass boat. in the 6 yrs i had it the maintance cost was another 1/2 the price of the boat.

[CUDA]

Fiberglass is FUN

and lots of work

[jphii]

Post some pics of the new deck Cuda.

[Matt Gent]

V-bottom boats in stitch & glue:

www.boatbuildercentral.com

Great message forum too. Most are fishing boats, but you could modify the deck & hull to whatever you want.

I've designed a little 12' vintage utility style boat based on their "fast skiff" plan, too many projects right now to start it but some day I'll build one.

[Bryan Heaberlin]

I have seen several builders of hydroplanes on the internet, I believe they are made out of 1/4 okume plywood and epoxy, the ones I have seen are works of art and are meant for racing, bateau.com sells the materials as cheaply as anyone I am currently building one of their flats boats. I would do a search for the hydro builders and contact them if a fast v-hull is what you want to build.. there are guys all over these boatbuildingforums designing stuff all the time maybe you can get with them and discuss.

[Forkin' Crazy]

i read something on the internet where a guy claimed to build his own hull. it looked pretty good. it was a speed boat hull. is this really possible and if so where do you get the specs for the hull you want?

It is not that hard. Especially if you have a history in wood work, glass work, engineering, and a will to make something different. The boat manufacture I first went to work for had a good idea of what he wanted and built a plug out of wood, fiberglass and bondo. It can be done, but takes a lot of hard work, and a whole lot of luck

[EXCALIBUR]

hello, look the new photo in race gallery, excalibur.
My brother and me we are build this boat, and this experience is very exciting.
The boat is an 28 feet, the top speed is 82mph in rought sea. whit only 200hp. and 76mph, in glass sea !!!.

[afr]

i did just what crazy said