Shanty Saga

Feb 2, 2006

I got a little sidetracked from my newest Sharpie project by the notion of a Shanty-Cruiser...

I have come up with a modular type design... the hull starts out with a shanty style rectangle shape with an attachable bow section.. both compartmentalized. So far I have the main shanty hull almost framed in and expect to start glassing the bottom and sides in about a week or two...

the sides and with framing almost complete (click images to enlarge)

the bottom on the hull's mid section...hoping to start some glassing by the weekend

Feb 14, 2006

Got the bottom glassed, multiple layers of resin and cloth..

one more day curing and I'm gonna do some sanding and paint...I am not going to try for a million dollar finish...just sealed wood mainly...I don't want to be worried about bumps and scratches with this one as with all my others, it will be meant to be used...

March 8, 2006

I need to get you some more pics of my shanty cruiser project... it's coming along... been working on the cabin framing and walls... it ain't gonna be beautiful but it should be a comfortable curiosity.

March 9, 2006

Took a few pics of my project this aft...still planning on holding off on adding the bow section till I get further along with the cabin work and then bring it outside the 'shop'...

this one makes my other boat projects look like a warm up...

mainly just winging it... every so often I draw some things out and ponder options for a bit with a cup of coffee before I move on and think about the next day's work beforehand...

April 16, 2006

Here is the bow section

May 3, 2006

Finally got my new digicam figured out...(I think:) anyway here are some updated pics of the Shantyboat I've been working on...

Here's a Stbd Shot... still haven't got the aft modular section on yet

...have it just about ready to glass in as you will see in the next pic

here's the aft sec...

the bow sec and the mid and aft sections are totally modular with watertight bulheads and each piece should float on it's own...

here you can see a port rear quartering angle...pre install of the aft section...

my trailer bunks (new performance skiff trailer) extend a ways beyond the current end to facilitate my aft section...I have already had it on in dry fit...hoping to have it glassed in and ready to paint in a few days...

My 'go to guy' and Friend Snake is lined up to help me put it on... he was thankfully on hand for the hair raising evolution of jacking and blocking this thing to get it on it's new trailer and the install of the bow section... that was unfortunately during my digicam-less period and I missed pics of that circus.... it was a hard day... Bow section went on easy but the blocking and jacking was a job and a half..... he has agreed to crew for me on the test dip, hopefully in a few weeks if my old guy back problems mellow down some...

I have the Motor mounts already made for the twin electrics I have for it, but will need to see the waterline before installing the Motormount for the gas Johnson that will go between the twin electrics...

I went with bright wood on the fwd and aft sliders...standard white on the sides to blend in...

Here's a fwd quartering shot...

With the bright finished fwd and aft sliding doors I have the "Shotgun Shack" effect, and serious flow thru ventilation.. we've had a little rain since it went on the trailer and so far no leaks inside around the doors.... this thing is kinda retro looking and I have a ways to go, esp on the inside but I am looking Fwd to the test dip... this boat has been considerably more of an undertaking than my others... it's a behemoth compared to my them but I am looking forward to the cabin space... after the cabin on my Clipper 21 trailer sailer... at 6'1" I bumped my head way too many times and I made sure this one has standing room for me...

here's a straight on aft shot...

next to the Sharpie you can see my Tow vehicle... 67 Chevy with 400 Small block and rock crusher 4 spd tranny with granny gear... will darn near pull stumps... this thing is actually light for what it is and the truck shouldn't grunt at all... as you can probably tell by now I like old and retro stuff...:)

July 12, 2006

my boy has already claimed it...you can see the trees out thru the top of the hatch...

here you can see the aft section on with the hatchcover I made for the battery/storage compartment inside...

My carpentry is not first class boatwright stuff but it is functional...

I thought about using a hinge but we'll see how this works out first...we had a good hard rain last night and I found no water inside today...a good sign...

I expect to be putting on the motor mounts for the twin electrics soon...maybe in the next few days...then a bit more trimming and a few punch out tasks and I will give it a test dip...oh yeah, I have to put on the numbers and registration...I already have it titled...

I'll get you a few pics of it afloat soon hopefully once I see the waterline I will be adding the mount for the outboard Johnson that will go in between the twin electrics...

July 20, 2006

at this point, unless I think of something I have forgotten, all I have left before being able to do the test dip is the bow eye and the numbers and sticker...

here's a port stern look with early morning filtered sun, thru the old maples and live oaks along our street

Talked to my friend and go to guy Snake today to enlist his help one day next week for the slash...I'm going to check the tides for my regular testing area waters close to home on the ICW in southern St John's County Florida...

after these few pics tonite,hopefully I have some afloat pics to send very soon

Last but not least of this set is a port fwd quartering shot

August 9, 2006

Dipped the Shantyboat today... only had a little light since it was
late when we got to the ramp, so we launched it,floated it out a bit
by line and then moored by the dock for a while...

you could dance on it and barely feel it move in the water... lots of deck space, esp when you include the roof area...

Here my buddy (the infamous:) Snake holds her while I take some more pics

the combo of wind and current was too strong for motoring out under the electrics, especially so late... but I now have the waterline so I can build and mount the gas engine mount... and I know how it sits in the water...

I'm gonna need more power...:)

All things considered, it went well... the hull is no longer virgin,crossed a major milestone by getting it afloat, and I can see it being a lot of fun...

Here's a shot from across the ramp with her moored by Snake... we had the ramp area all to ourselves so we could manually handle her around at our leisure without holding other boaters up...

it's a out of the way ramp I use on the ICW to avoid crowds when I am dipping virgin boats I've made... This is in my home turf of Southern St John's County Florida... Butler Park... Quiet and mostly used by locals...

Now that I know it floats and sits so well and doesn't leak, officially
entertaining bids...:)

that was also the first time the trailer had ever been dipped, brand
new too... washed it down good when I got it back...

Shantyboat should be a bunch of fun... standing headroom in the 11x7 main cabin... sitting headroom ,sleep 2 in the few cabin... tons of deck space with the strong roof adding another 8x12 deck...

it's always cool to launch a boat you've built for the first time...

hope you enjoyed the Shantyboat saga Chuck, maybe some of DW's loyal readers would enjoy seeing it...

when it goes afloat again I'll try to get more extensive pics under power but it may be a while before I get my gas engine mounted

best,

Mike

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