Aluminum Design from AUS

[Rain City]

For someone thinking of a build thread topics like this are extremely helpful.

Beyond the value and virtues of an aluminum boat build the ability to accomodate one's physical requirements/limitations is a very attractive benefit.

At 6'4" and I had a few ergonomic criteria that a production boat would be unable to satisfy.

1)I wanted to have a cabin door that I could walk thorough without hitting my head.

2) I wanted to have a V-Berth that allowed me to sleep comfortably.

3) Higher than standard gunnel height (6" higher) so that I have the safety and security normally denied to tall people on smaller boats. Interestingly, when we take friends out for a ride, without fail, the women notice this enhanced gunnel height immediately and positively comment on it. I am nearly 70 and my days of climbing chairlift towers and practising lift evacuations are decades behind me.

4) V-Berth hatch size. Thanks to my scrounging cardboard sheeting from behind Future Electronics I was able to try construct different V Berth hatch size openings, and spec the one that could, if required, be the emegency exit that would allow my "quick" escape. 24" x 24"

5. Continous Flat floor. People seem to be able to step over a cabin door ledge without tripping once it is pointed out to them. I have seen a lot of people fall up and down over a single cabin step.

6. Robert did a great job installing hand holds/rails all over the boat.The higher gunnel rails are perfect handholds

7.Things I would want to talk to Robert about if I was building our boat anew:

a) explore the pros and cons of increasing the beam to 10 feet( we won't /don't trailer and the extra beam would greatly enhance the livability of the boat) We go out for 10- 12 days staying at Marina's or on the hook.

That would increase cabin storage space, allow for more dash space, provide more options for 4 passenger seating, and Yeti Cooler placement on the aft deck.

On very windy days the high bow of our boat is a bit of a sail and docking can be a bit more challenging. A bow thruster would have been a nice addition for the dozen or so times a year when the wind is stupid gusty.

It would be interesting to hear what folks who have done a build would do differently after living with their boat.

That was my number one request if I went custom. I want as big a beam as possible without needing way more power.

 

[Tomfoolery]

For someone thinking of a build thread topics like this are extremely helpful.

Beyond the value and virtues of an aluminum boat build the ability to accomodate one's physical requirements/limitations is a very attractive benefit.

At 6'4" and I had a few ergonomic criteria that a production boat would be unable to satisfy.

1)I wanted to have a cabin door that I could walk thorough without hitting my head.

2) I wanted to have a V-Berth that allowed me to sleep comfortably.

3) Higher than standard gunnel height (6" higher) so that I have the safety and security normally denied to tall people on smaller boats. Interestingly, when we take friends out for a ride, without fail, the women notice this enhanced gunnel height immediately and positively comment on it. I am nearly 70 and my days of climbing chairlift towers and practising lift evacuations are decades behind me.

4) V-Berth hatch size. Thanks to my scrounging cardboard sheeting from behind Future Electronics I was able to try construct different V Berth hatch size openings, and spec the one that could, if required, be the emegency exit that would allow my "quick" escape. 24" x 24"

5. Continous Flat floor. People seem to be able to step over a cabin door ledge without tripping once it is pointed out to them. I have seen a lot of people fall up and down over a single cabin step.

6. Robert did a great job installing hand holds/rails all over the boat.The higher gunnel rails are perfect handholds

7.Things I would want to talk to Robert about if I was building our boat anew:

a) explore the pros and cons of increasing the beam to 10 feet( we won't /don't trailer and the extra beam would greatly enhance the livability of the boat) We go out for 10- 12 days staying at Marina's or on the hook.

That would increase cabin storage space, allow for more dash space, provide more options for 4 passenger seating, and Yeti Cooler placement on the aft deck.

On very windy days the high bow of our boat is a bit of a sail and docking can be a bit more challenging. A bow thruster would have been a nice addition for the dozen or so times a year when the wind is stupid gusty.

It would be interesting to hear what folks who have done a build would do differently after living with their boat.

All good points and everything is a compromise I learn more and more every day. Our last boat was a 25.5 Sea Dory Tomcat catamaran. It was a nice level entry boat and had a large berth and was well designed in most aspects except for the tunnel height which was about 8 inches too shallow resulting in tunnel slap which drove me crazy sometimes. It rode very nicely in rougher seas however and took a lot to slow it down when the wind blew. But it was a larger boat to trailer and we wanted something a bit smaller with simpler systems and less maintenance with this build so we definitely had to make compromises. I am not too fond of the cabin step-down but at 6'2" I have lots of headroom still in the cabin. My gunnel heights are higher and I like that better for everything except releasing/reviving large fish which I now have to do from the swim grid on the stern. I put a large 2'X2' hatch in the cuddy as well for the exact reason of emergency egress if we ever needed to pop up and out. I also didn't have room for a built in fridge like the last boat so I bought a 12V Engel cooler and mounted it behind the passenger seat on a slide. It works perfectly with our setup and I also have a great cooler for car camping or any other non-boat cooler requirements. I also put a solar fan over the cuddy which draws air through the boat from a passive vent I installed in the head. That combined with a little dehumidifier I run all winter plus a saucer fan/heater keeps the boat bone dry with no mildew or mold problems. There are other small things I would change/add such as a dinghy davit on the roof and some kind of shade cover over the stern, but those can come later. Lots of tweaks to do over time but overall I am happy. I will mention the one main drawback to painting aluminum (other than electrolysis) is that you can't weld new stuff to the boat without destroying your paint on one side or the other, whereas fiberglass is potentially more versatile for small repairs/additions.