TravelWithTheGreens.com

How To Build Your Own Catamaran?

Building a cruising catamaran can be done in three main ways: refurbishing an old boat, purchasing a bare hull and deck molding for home-boat building, or starting from scratch and building everything, including the hull, on your own. This step-by-step guide will teach you how to design and size your catamaran, gather necessary materials, cut and assemble the pieces, lay fiberglass, and apply epoxy.

Building your own catamaran can be a daunting prospect, but it can be an exciting and rewarding experience. This guide provides a detailed history and journal of the boat-building adventure, highlighting the advantages, considerations, and a detailed history of building a DIY homemade 40ft catamaran.

To create the perfect catamaran layout, consider factors like a good hull design, optimal helm station placement, boat stability, and adequate load-carrying capacity. Building a catamaran from plywood catamaran designer Peter Snell of EASY Catamarans offers affordable fiberglass over plywood catamaran on a budget.

Building your own catamaran is another option to getting into your own boat. This guide covers the advantages, considerations, and a detailed process of pulling the bow together, stern to transom, square up diagonally the main bulkheads and brace, fit and cut chine panels, and more.

Engineer and teacher Martin Ellison shares his retirement project of building a 40ft catamaran with the help of epoxy. Our kits contain all the basic materials to build your boat to a faired shell stage, ready for painting and fit-out.

📹 What Does It Take To BUILD YOUR OWN CATAMARAN? – MJ Sailing

We have plans to build our own catamaran. And we’re going to take you through the process on how it’s done! Using a …

How To Build Your Own Catamaran?

📹 How To Build A Sailing Boat #1 – My Catamaran Hull Design Explained – Ep03

Here’s a short explainer on sailing catamaran hull design and the theory behind our own hulls. We have a quite distinctive and …

How To Build Your Own Catamaran?

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how to build your own catamaran

Debbie Green

I am a school teacher who was bitten by the travel bug many decades ago. My husband Billy has come along for the ride and now shares my dream to travel the world with our three children.The kids Pollyanna, 13, Cooper, 12 and Tommy 9 are in love with plane trips (thank goodness) and discovering new places, experiences and of course Disneyland.

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Nice to have you back building. Most sailing websites repeat the same boring stuff. Showing the world that the adventures to follow are attainable for anyone makes a huge difference. I dare say it is why most of your followers started perusal your website. You two work very well as a team and your article documentaries are interesting and motivating. I’m sure many will follow in your footprints.

I’ve been perusal you for quite awhile now but it’s still a shock to see those old photos. You were just babies!! I fully intend to watch the boat build. In 1973 my friends and I worked 10 months on two 63 foot cement hull sail boats. Goal was to crew on one for our labor in an around the world cruise. Worked 10 months and the owner had a heart attack. He lived but the plan was scrapped and I didn’t get to follow that dream.

I built my own 2,000 sw ft. house, and will never do it again. It was super time consuming, required updates for the next 5 years or so full of stressful moments, still required contractors for most things, and the costs were around 20% higher than planned. I now own a 1992 50′ Riva motor yacht (I’m overseas with the military ). In 1992, this boat sold for 1.2 million US. I know this boat inside out now and I can say unequivocally, I could never afford to build such a high quality boat myself. The hull is super solid – like brand new even after 28 years. I could not replicate what Riva did, the thickness of the materials, double teak decks, etc. The engineering and designing is masterful down to the way still super tight light panels slip into place so they will never rattle. The joinery is top grade. I’ve replaced many mechanical items – like the generator, batteries and battery chargers, navigation equipment, etc. Engines only have 400 hours on them. When I finally retire onto a trawler or power Cat, I will purchase an older, vey high quality used one that I know will outlast anything I could build myself. But you two are young, and you will learn a lot from this experience. And you seem to be prepared for the long haul. Also, everyone’s experience is different. You might just end up with the boat of your dreams. Good luck!

Matt & Jess, fellow Michigander here and I’ve followed you for years…love you both! With that said, although you don’t know me from Adam, please at least consider my advice here: we are entering a global recession/depression. Now is NOT the time to make such a financial commitment, when in fact, you’ll be able to purchase the boat of your dreams here within the next few years for a fraction of the cost when originally purchased new or used. By the time you’re going to start this project, you will have an extremely difficult time even selling your boat for anything close to what you consider fair value. I’m not trying to rain on your parade or seem like a doom and gloomer. Fact of the matter is that you should be saving every single dollar and preparing for the financial hardship of our generation. Keep Elements and give her all the amenities your heart desires, save your cash, and continue to explore the globe. As always, best of luck in whatever you choose.

Hi Matt and Jess, I am so glad that at 62 I am too old to ever attempt this kind of craziness. Whereas U2 are young and have the time and inclination to create. I know Matt is active on cruisers and Sailor‘s forum, have you to given any thought to how you will protect yourself against Epoxy sensitivity? There is a fellow who’s handle is “Chotu” Who has become extremely Epoxy sensitive halfway through his build and now has big problems. Just a bit of proactive thought for my favorite YouTubers.Cheers

Well, I’m knackered already 😴 Wish you the best of luck with everything. Thanks for taking us through the process of all that’s involved. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have the GO to take on something that big, ha. You two will do it “no bother” I;m quite sure, and have a beautiful boat at the end of it. Ahead, Warp 8 Mr Sulu.

Thank you for the beautiful insights! Past years, I’ve been researching and designing a lot on the making of similar-sized catamaran from recycled thermoplastic and agricultural waste-materials for the composite. I’m also designing techniques for avoiding expensive molds. The beautiful thing with the materiality I’m working around is not only the recycled part, but also that it is extra resilient to impacts, and that it also has naturally great antifouling characteristics.

Great description of the process Matt, I think you definitely are aware of the work involved and ready for it. I was hoping to hear the hull panels are shipped as long pieces, precut ready for assembly . Just 4×8’s is just a variation on a plywood design converted to fiberglass panels. Being in the business of making tooling for large fiberglass products including boats my approach if using flat panels would be to build my own long flat mold and make by infusing my own exterior hull panels. ( flat infusion is easy!) The interior structure could be from precut designers 4×8 panels. Have not been impressed with some if these designs made from cut up strips of coated panels, it wastes a lot of strength building that way and way to much fairing . But it’s going to be fun to watch, and maybe help in some way! Cheers Warren

Fun to see this article available today! Thank you. And beautiful intro to this one, too. This was exciting to listen to and Matt did a great job with your photo montage. I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety for you. I’m really looking forward to following you two on this build journey. As you know, here in the states, we’re getting our chance to experience the COVID-19 saga. I’m in California, San Jose, where we’re doing the “shelter in place”. As we were doing this, I realized, and feeling mildly inconvenienced, that you and Matt would be pros at this with your ocean crossings, etc. So what seems like a “big” deal here is less demanding than trying to navigate the open seas at the same time. So I’ve got a better attitude about it now. And you guys are a great team. We tried to do a batch of peanut butter cookies the other day and it wasn’t exactly our finest team moment…although now I have 48 cookies on emergency backup rations!! Looking forward to the live session, see you then. Stay well.

Wow what an undertaking. My father built his own yacht and it took a lot longer and cost a lot more than what he budgeted for at the start. I have no doubt you guys can do it. You are so talented in your article making whilst you have been sailing. I am sure you could monetise this by way of travel documentary or something similar so that you could buy a cat one day. Keep sailing as long as you can. You guys are the best.

I like both Grainger and Schionning. Beautiful designs from both. Orans I never drooled over the same way. Jeff’s son, Craig, has Spirited Designs and offers a pre-moulded bottom and deck-joint. It’s nice to have some curved surfaces instead of a angles. For the hull bottom it looks more like coming off a professional mold. I also believe it’s built in the upright direction so no flipping over the hulls.

I built an F-9A, carbon over DuraCore, in the early 90’s. It was one heck of a process that took 2 years. Building a strip planked boat like that is a huge undertaking so using those panels will save a lot of time. One very cool thing I discovered was regarding the peel-ply, Apparently a static energy builds up when the epoxy is drying. Try turning the lights off (or reducing them) when you pull off the peel-ply. It’s almost like a light show when this static energy is released. Also when cleaning epoxy from tools and hands, etc, you can use vinegar instead of acetone. It is much less caustic and cheaper too. Acetone should still be used for anything you will need to bond to though. Very satisfying, when you are done, to kick most other boats butts in a boat that you built yourself…

If the manufacturer of the kit is not paying for shipping, you are better off in finding a forwarding shipping company that will take possession of the kit overseas. This way they can be responsible for receiving the merchandise, insurance, customs, logistics, and delivery. Doing this with a single company is important if something goes wrong during the process since they cannot pass the ball to someone else and blame them for it.

As much as I would love to have another build to follow, considering the pandemic we find ourselves in, I am thinking it might we wise to hold off a couple months to see how everything shakes out. Best case, everything calms down and you guys order a kit, or worst case, the economy tanks, and 500K cats are up on the market for 100K…. Either way, I will be perusal along the way!

Sounds like an Ikea boat. Sounds very interesting with you doing it. Like Christmas presents for the kids, I try my best not to buy anything I have to assemble anymore. I know it saves money if I assemble in theory, but fustration with instructions and arguing with wife, I pay the store to put it together now. Lol Look forward to see this done by the two of you.

Admire the guts it take to start a project like this. Having done comparable constructions designs (aircraft not boats), take your time early in the build, to plan your pluming and electric infrastructure. If possible put in tubing to draw cables through and have lines ready inside them to pull cables. A well designed system will facilitate maintenance and future changes. All this is easiest done if you can avoid having to crawl through tight spaces later. Looking forward to follow your progress.

If you’ve built before, I’m sure you’ve used a water level. If not, get one and learn to use it. It’s basically just clear plastic tubing about 1/4″-3/8″ diameter x about 45-50′ long (for your 40′ boat). Although the newfangled laser levels will be great in a lot of cases, the handy-dandy clear plastic tubing is hard to beat – I brought this up because you mentioned in several times how critical leveling is.

Hi guys and thanks for the overview. Just as getting the form alignment carefully correct as a foundation for a straight boat please start without using the terms fiberglass and epoxy resin interchangeably. For novices who will undoubtedly follow your build it will be a great help. It shouldn’t be hard if you start out correctly. Maybe if you are applying fiberglass cloth/mat you could (and I know over the build it will become a bit of a time hog) say we are applying fiberglass mat using epoxy resin. Maybe it’s just a pet peeve but if people(and they do now) continue to use the terms interchangeably then there will be a more novices applying the resins incorrectly and suffering the failures. Best wishes on the build, I know it will be exciting. Your articles of your travel this year have all been beautiful.

Good luck with this build and if I may make a suggestion. Once you have the ‘shed’ built and prior to any boat building effort set and fix 3 battens (longer than the LOA of the cat) to the floor. The first to be fixed on the approximate centre line of the shed and the other two parallel to the centre line batten and set at either the extreme beam/2 measurement or the centrelines of the hulls. Once firmly fixed you can mark out some reference points with the aid of laser and a tape measure. This will pay off in spades when setting out the hulls.

Since you are looking at value you are obviously looking at resale price. To me some of these kits are fairly out of date on style. You would not want to go through this effort then find out a boat was less sellable as it was very “out of style” So I would make sure the style was pretty current. At the same time as much as you want to “personalize”, keep that next person in mind. Personallizing to make it perform better or live better is good. Personalizing to make it “unique” might not be. As an example, I am currently looking at large used Diesel RV’s. Some have things like a sofa pulled out and that replaced with a “fireplace” or fancy entertainment center. While that suited the original owners style, it does not fit mine and has therefore limited the future buyer pool. Just some thoughts. Are you considering building in Florida again? You were only 20 minutes from me, but I was not aware of your project then. I would guess some site slightly cooler would be in order. take care and good luck — Dale – Palm Beach Gardens FL.

use the flexisanders to all your sanding and fairing. I found out about them perusal saillife. they were a game changer. Now I get a professional look every time on large jobs. Also check out life on the mold he uses a spray system for all fiberglass and gel coat(50gal). I got a 1 gal cup gun from the fiberglass store. Paint is an option but when you are taking on a job as big as you are do the right thing first so you have no regrets later. some people will not agree but I rebuild wave runners and gel coat on a bottom will last much longer and provide more protection than paint. Just a suggestion but look into reinforcing the keels so you can ground the boat as needed rather than haul out it will save you a butt load of money, time, and fear (fear from running a ground). I can’t wait to see your build! PS during your build watch for those items you might need spares of and build a few extra while your doing it.

If you haven’t already, you should look at another YouTuber called life on the hills. You really need to see his work because he also explains the chemistry comparability between epoxy and traditional fiberglass chemicals. His work is almost too hard to believe one individual could have this much knowledge. His boat build has been going for two years.

What a daunting task. I wonder how often you’re going to say “Oops ” (or something stronger) during the course of this build. It’s going to be fun tagging along. If you haven’t already you need to check out Madds from Sail Life. He used a unique tool for fairing and sanding. One of the tools was power. Andy from Boatworks Today also picked up the same set. While still a tortuous task these tools significantly lessened the pain. I’m sure someone here can recall the name and supplier of these gadgets. You can also get some great tips on ventilation and dust extraction from Boatworks Today.

I like the Schionning G-Force 1400 or 1500 Cruise, I think that size would allow enough room in the deck house for what Onboard Lifestyle did that I really like a lot. I would also do a starboard and port protected helm position. The least expensive places to build a boat would probably be Brazil but that would be if you needed to higher help every now and then. If you completely did everything yourself than stay in America but then you would have property prices and food prices that are much higher than a place like Brazil. Something to consider. I look forward to your progress!

Good luck on your project. I’ve followed you for years and know you have the skills to do it to completion, but I think your underestimating the time it will take. In 1965,when I was 25 years old I built a kit boat 25 ft. in length, they said it would take 500 hours to build. It took 1200 hours to build. Good luck and stay safe.

Your episodes are all great, but this one was extremely interesting too! I thought about building a boat, but not one on this scale. Looking forward to following this process as it unfolds. Sure seems like a daunting project. I’d be skeptical except I’ve seen what you two are capable of.. Otherwise I’d predict financial ruin and divorce 😉 Stay safe and sane, both during this planning and build, and as we all sort through our current challenges with COVID-19. Crazy times, to be sure, might as well add building a bought into the mix!!

Clearly you guys have had solid exposure to glass work, which great. One thing with epoxies though is dermatitis with exposure to sanding dust, especially on such a scale as this. I have built several epoxy sheathed sea kayaks as well as a 30 ft deep vee, foam cored cruiser and skin reaction to sanding dust can be profound with prolonged exposure! The other catch with epoxies is amine blush and building in a humid environment can really hasten this. Less of an issue for you guys on the flat panels, but an issue with tabbing over previous layups. So best of luck and I am sure you will pull it off, but it is one hell of a project…

Matt, in about 6 months or perhaps a bit longer, the used boat market will be totally ruined and you’ll be able to buy a boat for pennies on the dollar. This will also be the case for planes, cars, houses, and the rest of the worlds markets. Scary times ahead that will dwarf the financial disasters of the past. ALso, boat manufactures will mostly be bankrupt by then so any kits will stop being produced.

You will be better off to go to bvi and buy a damaged hull There is a few catamarans and monohull still from 38 ft -50 ft long that you could get from about $5000 you will save over a year worth of work and more than $100000. I bought a lagoon 380 there and fixed it and sailed across to USA than Atlantic to uk .Let me know if I can be of any help

Advice :- build the boat yourselves and apply fairing compound, pay kids to sand it under your supervision, they have stamina beyond that of adults and take instruction quite well, are very cheap and normally available. Pay someone to paint the hulls – a professional will do it faster and better than you ever could – don’t try and fool yourselves. Fit the yacht out yourselves – it will be cheaper and you will learn and understand the systems which will help you when you inevitably have to fix them. After three years, assuming you aven’t divorced, enjoy sailing whilst fixing things, as usual 😉

Now is the first time I wish I was younger and in better physical good condition.. I would love to be the one article taping the build for you kids 😎 But I know I’m only able to do those things now days 😔 But I for sure will belaying here praying that God will lead you in the right direction gitting everything prepared for the build. And that God will give you kids all the stanima you’re going to need to see this bill of all the way through.. I love you kids and praying that God will bless you beyond measure…. BBE 🤗🤗🤗🤗

When you are looking for shop space make sure that you can actually get the completed cat to the ocean. I’ve see oversized load haulers have to cut down trees, move power poles, lights, and signs to get down the road. This gets hugely expensive and slows the move process. The more work that the hauler has to do the more expensive it will be and the more likely that you could have permit problems.

You have to find land and get a cover etc to built the Catamaran in. and customs check it out when it enters into your country. Why not do what I did as in go to Ikea and buy a self assemble closet then follow the instructions that say assembly in under 50 minutes and 13 days latter my easy to assemble closet tuned into a 4 bedroom 56 foot Catamaran. I cant wait to see what my five shelve book case turns into 🙂

I like what you are doing. I have one question at the moment. Why are you finding a building a construction site instead of buying or renting one that already exists? I am thinking that some warehouse space would work for this just need to find one with a wide enough opening so that you can get it outside when you are almost done.

Also you may want to watch some of the website sailing zingaro they had a home built boat it lasted them years but on a trip back from Easter island one of the pontoons took a hard hit in heavy seas and split the boat right down the top edge of the pontoon and the bridge deck they managed to lash it together enough with dinema rope and stuff to get it to shore but the boat was totaled you might want to watch that see where the boat failed and reinforce those areas with extra glass and such

Hi guy, This is going to be awesome to follow your build. Just thought I would throw an idea in the mix. Spirited 38 and 48 kit catamarans (Craig schionning design). I think you may like the way you construct the hulls the right way up. And the overall look is sweet. You have to head over to surf sail roam web site they have detailed their build and YouTube website. Either way can’t wait to see where you heard with this 🤘

The designs you mention don’t seem to have many windows in the hulls themselves, I don’t know if this is a strength consideration for this type of build, but it might be nice to have that increased light in the cabins. You could look at a few other off the shelf models perhaps for examples like the Lagoons, Fountaine Pajot or Outremer. Looking forward to seeing what you choose and the process.

This is goint to be so fun! Are you going to do all electrical? There are electrical motors that re-charges(when sailning). I mean, if you are going around the world – beeing free of diesel and cocking gas is quite good in that case. (That is my dream. To only have to shop for the dinghy-gas. 5 years until buying the cat)

When it comes to fairing and painting, get additional hands to help out. Whether that’s free help from the neighborhood, or contracted. Mads from Sail Life broke down and got help for that part. Even Leo from Sampson Boat Co was able to arrange volunteers to work in frame building parties. Consider it.

Not to be negative and it’s too late anyway do you want to really grow up to be boat builders? It’s a long and thankless job and no money in it, I have tried. Also would you go to sea in a kit boat built by amateurs however good intentioned? If you would, buy your friends boat. I have been a builder all my life, big boats, little boats, houses and furniture. It is great to look back and admire your own work. It’s also great to admire a great designers work, laying forward in the v birth, gazing aft at his work that he has devoted years to, that has evolved over many designs and sea miles. I realize your dilemma that you can’t make sailing articles for ever but another boat build article of mostly gluing and grinding? I have seen enough white protective clothing and masks for a wile now. I do love perusal Salt and Tar and SV Sneeker but only for their train wreck quality. Your voyage to Norway was truly a work of art and I was hoping to see maybe a Northwest Passage or something else off the beaten track. Whatever, I’ll still be perusal.

Considering the boat design is a well-known common hull shape, why not just have the entire hulls infused in a manufacturer’s form in one piece. Perfect shape and no structural weak points. No fairing. Then you can finish everything else ‘by hand’ with flat panels. You’ll have no shortage of work with finishing the insides and bulkheads and with joining the hulls and making the deck. But you won’t burn out building a pair of hulls.

You should look at Acorn to Arabella they’re built they built their boat house out of just wood was a plastic covering and they’ve been at it for a couple years and they’re build a big boat to give you some ideas of what you can do also Samson boat co built pretty much the same type of boat house both are on u tube they sell construction grade sheet plastic that has a nylon string grid built right into it so it’s really really strong you can buy the rolls up to 50 ft wide and a hundred feet long

Good tools are a major expense but do not short cut your budget. You can make do on a smaller project but on a project this size It will cost you. Staring from scratch budget about Twenty thousand for equipment. This might be a little low but shop around. You can reclaim some of that after the build. While you have time a lot of information is on line. I have done my share of spray painting and the proper technique is important. There some articles by pros from paint companies that are excellent. They also show the proper equipment. With out that it can be very frustrating I have done it both ways.

Sounds like fun, those Schionning cats are very cool! But I wonder why you are planning to build in the US? Why not rent a workshop in Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines etc where your dollar goes a long way, the weather is warm and quality tradespeople (and everything else) are a lot cheaper. It would be nice to have 2-3 staff.

Great idea will follow, one thing to ad to your mathematical mind, with my experience on cats, Installing equipment, running lines cables, is a pain, compared to a mono hull, Plan your cabling, to be run, work out a good place in the kit to install some tubing electable is ok, Than later when you change your mind, you pull more cables through, or pipes,

Well, as always, looks like you’ve done your homework! Pretty sure you will be the first to do this on YouTube from a kit….very nice run down of the massive build, I thought it was very interesting. Looks as if we will have an Atlantic crossing on the horizon? Stay well, congratulations and will not be missing any episodes! Thank you so much!

I was going to do the same thing. I was deciding between the Arrow 1280S and the Raku 44. I think what was the final decision for me was I wanted to build and CNC my own panels and Schionning won’t sell it that way, so I was was really leaning toward the Raku 44. I also designed my own boat and built a model that is very similar to the two designs. Check out my website for a article of the model and design process. In the end I bought a hurricane damaged Antares 44 two months ago that I plan to fix up. Best of luck to you. If you build anywhere near Florida, let me know and I’ll lend you a hand.

Good thing you picked foam core, balsa would be a disaster waiting to happen. I do not agree that a home build boat is necessarily better than a production boat. A boat build with a female mold and using foam core and infusion would in fact be better than this flat panel construction that relies on secondary bonding to keep the entire boat together.

You guys should talk about the dangers of a ‘Home-Built’ boat, the stigma that will always be attached to the re-sale value, and how you’ll never be able to get insurance (ask Zingaro). If you have a way around that, let everyone know…. or are you getting a professional build assist? BTW, my comment has nothing to do with the design, I love Schionning Cats and they are great (and fast) Cats.

Are you sure you will have the same confidence in this vessel ? You will move much faster and hitting something… I know which boat I would prefer. Foam Panels? Is it much cheaper then having them cut Aluminium? I am not a hater, what ever floats your boat…. But man, who in their right minds would swap Elements for something like that. Sacrifice 2 to 4 years for the swap? Life is short….

all i can think of is if your doing this so you will have a better asset after your done remember it will be a self built boat that has a much lower value then a standard boat. i think remember the best investment most people make it to buy a house Im not saying buy a house but what i’m saying is no one has the money to buy a house but everybody can get the cheep debt to buy a house and pay it off over the years. you might be better off to get a loan and buy a ready makw boat. or. build a house and sell it and buy the boat with that money. people are happy to buy self made house boats not so much. also maybe wait 6 months when boats are on crazy sale like after the 08 financial crash.

Sounds like don’t sweat spraying it get yourself a 3M accurate spray system where the tips and the cup liners are disposable and they have a tip that so big you can shoot gelcoat with it even and if you threw everyone every tip out every time it would get expensive but even the tip she can clean and reuse for quite a few applications

You might want to check Kurt Hughes as a designer. Here’s a link to a newly designed 45′ cat I was considering: multihullblog.com/2015/10/45-bridgedeck-cat-update/ Kurts plan pricing is reasonable, and he’s been in the game for many decades. You might also check out Spirited designs, at this link: spiriteddesigns.com.au/home Run by Craig and Marina Schionning. They have a 38 foot synergy design i found interesting. With that said, one of the major criticisms of ALL kit boats is that they’re greatly optimized for performance, not day to day livability. A kit boat really will deliver sailing speeds in excess of 20 knots; but they’re exhausting to sail, and very unforgiving of the slightest error. This is why people are willing to spend $250 – $300 K for a used, 10 year old production cat. They’re much slower, typically 8 to 10 knots; but they can carry much more stuff, and they’re much easier to sail, and much more forgiving to the inexperienced. I think it’s very telling that many owners sell their kit boats within a couple years of completing them. Kit boats look fantastic, and they’re a lot of fun for a weekend sail; but they just don’t work out very well as live aboard, 24/7 boats. You might want to research this point, if you haven’t already done so. Good luck to you! I’ll be following your website closely. Best, Charlie

I just want to see how thick the instructions are..lol. If my wife and I did this sort of thing together we would be divorced within a week! I am assuming you would be renting a shop that you could live in to do this build. Are you thinking of building this home in Michigan and sailing the finished product out of the Great Lakes like you did Serendipity?

Bunch of questions…are you serious about building it under a tent? You really need a pole barn. Like you, I built a small boat a few years back, an 18 foot sailboat…I hope you have a lot of friends who are going to be able to help with two 40 foot hulls. That is a lot of weight…how are you going to turn over the hulls and move them around? This is a major job. It seems like you have an idea what you are going to do, not sure you understand the scale. good luck.

Looking at the kit site they say about $200k in materials. The boat wild things is for sale for $266k why spend 2 years in building a boat when you could just buy one of the same specs. I understand enjoying building something yourself and the enjoyment that comes from it but this seems a bit excessive.

So you’re looking at an overall cost of around $500,000? Plus cost of a building and a few years of living expenses. Plan on living at the build site too to save money. And the current state of the world means maybe your kit supplier goes out of business. Step back and take a long cold shower before making a decision.

Buy a new reputible hull and decks and fit out yourself. You have a named product to sell later. One off boats lose too much on resale value. Cost just as much to fitout a reputable fiberglass hull and deck as it does for a one off. Difference is resale. Double or triple diagonal ply or timber covered in glass is lighter and stronger and you get a better shape. Or buy a quality reputable boat that needs some maintenance and refit. Lots of cheap one off boats for sale cheap because its easy to plan but hard to end up with a product as good as what the professional builders make.

10 years old… Hey mum/mom can I have an airfix model for xmas ? NO wait to your older 14 years old… Hey mum/mom please I really want an airfix model for xmas.. NO wait to your older 16 years old… MUM/MOM please can I have an airfix model now for xmas im way older.. NO wait to your older 18 years old.. Mum/mom please can I have an airfix model for xmas… NO your to old NOW…………… Hey Son iv been thinking I should have bought you an airfix model back when you were young. ill buy you one now…. Forget it mum/mom iv bought my own one its a full size Catamran and you ant coming on it.

wow YOU SAID A MOUTHFULL sounds like braindamage WHY ARE LOOKING TO PUNISH YOURSELVES ……you 2 are very capable of doing everything ive seen it from following you for years …..the build is hard on a marriage . you would be better off to get a job at mcdonalds and buy someone elses bad dream for cheap

Sir, I am extremely interested in this build process and product. That being said, your article consists of mostly of you talking. While you may be your own best fan, I am not! Too much talking not enough article of the build. article is of YOU! What a waste. Haven’t you heard a picture/video speaks a thousand words? Regardless, thank you for your effort.

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Ed Horstman designed TRIMARAN and CATAMARAN plans are drawn for the first time builder. Plans are concise and clearly drawn so the builder can easily follow each building step. Designs are continuously updated with your input and new ideas. Plans include full size patterns to 63'. The larger TRI's and CAT's have full radius hulls.With no lofting you build right away. The DESIGNER'S book TRIMARAN and CATAMARAN CONSTRUCTION is part of the plans (over 21') and covers all phases of construction. Plans are leased to build ONE boat, NO time limit. Tri-Star designs are proven designs, sailing the seven seas since 1964. Free consultation is provided to the original non-professional builder till he or she is sailing the seven seas. All boats may be built with flared hulls, with the exception of the TRI 25, TRI 26MT, CAT 27PC and the CAT 27. A DESIGN FEE for customer modifications to stock plans.

Small, Fast Catamaran Design


TRI-STAR CAT 14 Plans $ Slightly Larger, Fast Catamaran Design




TRI-STAR CAT 19 Plans $ Trailerable, Fast Catamaran Design with berthing areas



TRI-STAR CAT 27 PC Study Plans $
TRI-STAR CAT 27 PC Plans $

A comfortable micro-cruising catamaran.



TRI-STAR CAT 27 Study Plans $
TRI-STAR CAT 27 Plans $

CAT 34, designed as a mid-size comfortable, quick sailing catamaran with comfortable accomodations, a spacious bridge deck lounge area that has 6ft of headroom.


TRI-STAR CAT 34 Plans $ CAT 36 designed as a spacious, fast enjoyable sailing cataramarn with accomodations found only on much larger yachts.

TRI-STAR CAT 36 Study Plans $
TRI-STAR CAT 36 Plans $

CAT 38 designed as a spacious, fast enjoyable sailing cataramarn with accomodations found only on much larger yachts.

TRI-STAR CAT 38 Study Plans $
TRI-STAR CAT 38 Plans $

CAT 41 designed as a spacious, fast enjoyable sailing cataramarn with accomodations found only on much larger yachts.

TRI-STAR CAT 41 Study Plans $
TRI-STAR CAT 41 Plans $

CAT 51 is an elegant cruising or charter catamaran, designed for the owner desiring a spacious, enjoyable sailing catamaran.

TRI-STAR CAT 51 Study Plans $
TRI-STAR CAT 51 Plans $

CAT 55 is an elegant cruising or charter catamaran, designed for the owner desiring a spacious, enjoyable sailing catamaran.



TRI-STAR CAT 55 Study Plans $
TRI-STAR CAT 55 Plans $

 

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