Boat Builder Central

Thanks ks8. How far did you tow it? And how fast were you driving? I was thinking about that type of tarp, but I was afraid they would rip at 60+ mph on the highway. That would be a lot cheaper than a semi-custom boat cover which runs ~$450 or more for a 23' boat and still leaves the bottom uncovered.

Do I need to cover my unfinished boat before I tow it? I am about to haul my VG23 from Kansas to California: 1,500 miles, I'm plannig for 3 days of driving. I already have it on a flatbed trailer, and the hull is glassed over (but not the deck). It is not faired and not painted, but I do have a coat...

I would think the 20x40 would be great. As an example based on my experience, I built the hull for my VG 23 in half of a 2-car garage, about 11' x 24' plus there was an ajoining area about 8' x 10' (and part of the time I took the whole garage). I say make room for 3 things: 1) the space the boat ta...

The boat is in storage and I haven't done much more since the last pictures. I believe Andrew Lucking's website/blog has some pictures of his boat further along (find the link here in the "Builder's Sail Boats" section). I've had to move 3 times for my job in less than a year, and I move a...

My own thoughts on stability curves, which make me question those that I do see: Location of cargo. Suppose a 4,000lb boat, the righting factor might be 8,000lb at its highest point (assuming the leverage arm is 2 feet: distance from Center of Gravity to the Center of Bouyancy). But what if the boat...

I built an FB11 a little over a year ago. When sailing I found that the daggerboard floated up (I did not add any weight/lead to it) and the seat helps hold it down. In order to put the board in or take it out I had to remove the seat. I recall running aground once in mud, and as stated by the desig...

The VG 23 has a few great features for a compromise of abilibties and small size: 1) it is seaworthy - the construction method leads to lots of strength (without weight) - the boat has a good stability curve, partially due to its topsides and flush deck - it has been proven off-shore as a Serpentine...

I am putting my unfinished boat (VG23) into storage for a year and I have two questions: 1) I'm about to buy a flatbed trailer to tow the boat. Should the trailer have some sort of suspension system? I'm worried that the vibrations from a 1,000+ mile tirp could cause damage to the boat. If Justin re...

I'm in a time crunch and I could use some advice. I have 2 weeks before I leave for a new job (USMC) and I will have to put my unfinshed VG23 in storage for a year. Then after that year I'll put the boat on a trailer and haul it from Kansas to either the East coast or West coast. I figure I have 3 o...

I'm building the centerboard trunk to my VG23 and I'm curious what other builders have done. I've never built or owned/maintained a centerboard boat before, so I'm trying to plan ahead. The boat may live in the water, I don't know yet. Before gluing the pieces together, I plan to paint on: 1) 5+ coa...