question about plans

[Vernon McNew]

I am thinking about trying a set of plans from the WB store. Which power boat plans would be ussable with a 40 hp Murcury outboard? I am looking at the two Ben Garvey plans. Also would either of these be buildable using sheet aluminum instead of plywood? Does anyone have a guess about either of these questions?

[PugetSound]

The book "Forty Wooden Boats" lists the power capacity of Ben (the 16' Garvey) as being 15 to 35 Hp while Big Ben (the 19'Garvey) as being 35 to 75 Hp. You would probably be OK using the 40 Hp on the smaller boat so long as you didn't get too crazy about that extra 5 Hp. You might not like what the engine weight does to the trim of the boat when at rest though. I would opt for building the larger boat and using the 40 Hp on that.

[Rob H]

You might also take a peek Glen-L's design catalog. I remember 16' garvey in there, called Jimbo, that could handle up to 75hp. Higher sided than the Ben garveys, it was designed for more open water, and was spec'd for either plywood or aluminum. Are you a practiced TIG welder?

[Vernon McNew]

Thanks for the information, I will I am sure be visiting the forom many times in the near future with many more questions, after all I,ve never built a boat before. As far as tig welding goes I've done some, I'm a much better stick welder though, and I have a friend who uses a tig on aluminum as part of his job. I should think that with some practice we could pull it off, I could be wrong though. Am I going about this right, or should I try something alittle simpler for a first time project? If so any suggestions.

[Figment]

if you're looking to play with aluminum, look into Clark Craft (NY) they have a number of designs that specifically detail in aluminum.

[R. Ketterling]

I am not familiar with the plans that you are looking at but as a general idea changing from plywood to aluminum seems like it could cause a lot of problems. You would probably be better off not straying that far from the designer's intent. GlenL has many plans that specify aluminum and my guess would be that you would be better off using one of them rather than a wooden design.

[R. Ketterling]

I am not familiar with the plans that you are looking at but as a general idea changing from plywood to aluminum seems like it could cause a lot of problems. You would probably be better off not straying that far from the designer's intent. GlenL has many plans that specify aluminum and my guess would be that you would be better off using one of them rather than a wooden design.

[This message has been edited by R. Ketterling (edited 02-11-2002).]

[paladin]

also pay close attention to alloys specified and the construction methodology (welded/riveted) and do not substitute alloys......