Our New Boat
A 14.5 foot Caravelle
Plans and Info on this boat are
available at
Here is the boat with the frames and transoms cut out and stitched
together with wire to start the basic hull
Next, the bottom panels were stitched on the the seams covered with duct
tape to keep glue from leaking out.
The boat is then righted. The
entire interior is coated with epoxy resin to waterproof the wood. Next, epoxy
putty seals the seams and two types of fiberglass tape are used to reinforce
the seams. Bi-axial tape is used for the transoms and keel, and standard tape
is used on the frames.
Epoxy resin is used throughout to
seal the glass to the hull.
We found an old pop-up tent
trailer for $200 that will make a perfect trailer. It has new tires and is
rated at 1900 lbs; More than enough for our little boat. We removed the top.
The levelers will be removed. We may have to lengthen it to accommodate the
boat.
We were going to use the
Douglass-fir boards for the mast but we found a supplier for sail boltrope
rails. We will attach this rail to the 3” aluminum catamaran mast that we have.
The Douglass fir will be used instead for the rub rail around the outside of
the boat, and for cleats to reinforce the bench seats and the front decking.
We found a 4.5 hp Sears
Game-Fisher outboard at the swap meet. After a little research on the Internet,
we found parts manuals and parts suppliers should we ever need them. The plans
for the Caravelle detail the plans for installing the outboard. The transom
will have to be cut out and reinforced with an extra layer of ¼” ply.
We added 3-inch Douglas Fir
rub-rails to each side of the boat
These are the stringers that will support the 8-foot bench seats on
each side of the boat and the small cuddy. The cuddy will be used to store the
sails and rigging.
Here is the rear view of the cuddy cutout in the front bulk-head