Planning for the Future

[NorthLight]

Hi Everyone-

My name is Mark Arvidson. I'm a master's student in naval architecture at the University of Michigan. After graduating this summer, I'll be working as a Naval Architect somewhere-to-be-decided.

I designed and built a couple of sailing dinghys with cut mahoghany frames and Okoume plywood/fiberglass hulls. I'd like to build my own sloop about 25-30 feet long, but I don't have the big-boat building experience.

I have a few books on the subject to include Bud McIntosh's, and I am a subscriber to WoodenBoat Mag. I have some tools, to include a portable table saw, hand-held drill, jig-saw, wood chisels, about 10 clamps of various sizes, a router, straight edges, tape measures, digital camera, and the experience of building the meantioned 14-16 foot sailboats.

I have a couple questions:

1.What tools would you recommend I acquire before building/restoring a 25-30 foot sailboat?

2.Should I restore a boat that's in relatively good shape to see how it was put together(...kind of like Ross Gannon and his reverse engineering), or should I use my books and the extensive knowledge of the boatbuilders on this forum to build a boat from scratch?

[Norman Bernstein]

I'm strictly an amateur, but I couldn't live without:

1) My Bosch 5" random orbit sander,
2) A hand-held power plane (mine's a Black and Decker cheapie, but it works well)
3) A sears Craftsman router

The tools I DO live without, but wish I had the room for:

4) A 14" bandsaw
5) A 12" planer

[Billy Bones]

Welcome.

Read and commit everything in the wbfaqs to memory.

Here's the Building and Repair faq:

http://www.woodenboat-ubb.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=011860

You can build almost anything with a skilsaw and a block plane. Bandsaw is nice, router, sanders, more sanders yadayada.

Others will be along shortly to guide you further or scorch you, depending.

[Ron Carter]

I have the 14" band saw ans the 12" planer and find both indispensable. Am borrowing the son-in-law's held held power plane this afternoon to see if I want to add one to the inventory. A good jack plane, low angle block plane, and spoke shave are on my must have list too.

[NorthLight]

I love the quick responses on this forum!

Billy, thanks for the FAQ page. Everything from A to W. I've got it bookmarked.

I'll be making a "Mark's Wish List" of tools based on the responses here. Thanks.

Here's a couple of photos of my 14ft boat, taken in Dyes Inlet, Washington, with about 5-10 kts of wind.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid200/p493b7079cf02948c12c33e14feb57ccc/f08898fc.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid200/p73ce9e648afebf692194c5f95c919246/f08898de.jpg

[michigangeorge]

Mark, get that fine degree and hang it up in a tar paper shack somewhere in the wonderful northern Michigan environment so you can use your best senses to design great and interesting boats for the average person (most of us on this site). We need someone to replace Bill Garden, Henry Scheel, Olin Stephens etc. Throw that computor away along with any hope of making money and sit down with pencil, brains and imagination and we will reward you with more work than you can handle. Best of luck :)

[ahp]

Mark,

Glad to hear from you. You are graduating from a great university. I recieved my BSE and MSE there in 1955 and 1957, but not in Naval Architecture.

Do they still have the 600 + ft test tank? I had heard that they had shortened it. Maybe West Engineering Bldg. doesn't even exist anymore.

When I was in grad school we had a fleet of 11 ft sailing dingys in our sailing club that had been designed at Michigan. Are they gone too?

[NorthLight]

MichiganGeorge- I've already given that quite a bit of thought. I may end up designing and building boats for a living in the future, or at least as a hobby business. I'd like a bigger paycheck to pay for my dreams to start off with.

AHP- The tow tank is still in West Engineering, now called West Hall, and is the only engineering that goes on down there on Central Campus. They recently drained, repainted, and filled it back up. They still have sailing dinghys on the nearby lake, but I don't have time to sail, given my MSE degree is done in one year. The University of Michigan is definetly top notch, as was my undergrad at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Peace-
Mark