TWL: Re: Backer plates
Bob,
The next question (no answer) is would you do this again? After I had
finished building a boat from a bare hull and deck (38 feet)--no floors, no
engine, no bulkheads, etc--I said I have had a wonderful learning curve, but I
do not think I would try this again.
The short answer is YES. My project was quite different from yours,
however. All the work of building has been done by Q-West. They
have done an outstanding job on a very difficult design. The work is
being done on a fixed price basis (aside from a few change orders
along the way, and the cost of shipping the engine to Norway for
repair) so although the project has taken much longer than planned,
the budget hasn't gotten too far out of hand. The yard says that
most of the delays were caused by the small size of the vessel
restricting the number of men able to work at any given time, so
although the schedule stretched out quite a bit, the total man hours
are still pretty close to their original estimates.
In fact, I am seriously considering building a bigger boat (probably
a "value engineered" aka "cost reduced" version the Greatheart 60
http://www.kastenmarine.com/greatheart58.htm) and have received US,
NZ and Canadian bids on this project. New Zealand again appears to
be the best place to build in terms of value and quality, because of
the current favorable exchange rate.
I first started with plans to build a 46 foot steel boat for my wife
and myself (Gulliver, http://xsw.com/gulliver) but the estimates for
building at that time scared me off. One of Boojum's original
appeals was that it offered a chance to do a "small" building project
first, to make some mistakes and learn the ropes on a smaller (ie.
less expensive) scale. (Small boats also appeal strongly to my wife,
a Flicka owner, and this made the project a much easier sell.) Since
starting Boojum, we have added two children to the family, and the
Greatheart 60 is really designed to provide a long range cruising
home for us. Although it is 60 feet long, its displacement is about
the same as a Nordhavn 46 -- it is just longer, narrower, and lower.
This tradeoff doesn't make much sense for a boat that will spend most
of it's life at the dock or in marinas charging by the foot, but
yields more speed, comfort and economy when passagemaking and living
on the hook.
If the cost of the GH60 can't be brought into line, I will probably
wind up buying a used N46. In the meantime, I'm in no hurry on the
next boat, as we plan to enjoy Boojum for as long as she will
accommodate us, and probably keep her for overland exploration of
lakes and canals even after the big boat is up and running.
(Sorry if my answer to a simple question turned into a rant!)
We all are so sorry that you have had the problems. I just could not
believe it about the SABB. Having owned one; they are such reliable beasts!
As they say down under, "No worries!"
I don't think anyone, including the yard and the factory, could quite
believe it either... All reports from the yard now indicate that
Boojum has a very sweet engine, and I hope that my experience will be
more like yours (and other Sabb owners I have spoken with) from here
on out!
Take care, and we all enjoy your posts.