Agreed on Marissa, that is a much prettier boat. A bit more diffult construction with the chine arrangement, but worth the effort IMO.
Another similar easy / ugly boat that a friend has built is the Bolger Diablo. Very capable boat for little material cost and a simple build.
In a few years I'll be able to build another MiniMax with my son, like I built one with my dad, and he with his.
After spending a weekend on borrowed Jetski's, that MiniMax looks like a good project to do with my boys. Any recommendations on engines?
In reply to Grtechguy:
That deserves something like this.
The Mini Max reminds me of the Cocktail class racer from CLC.
It runs high-20s with a 9.5hp and a ~100lb pilot. Will also pull a kid kneeboarder.
Anything from 5-15hp, depending on skill and responsibility of the driver. Can be set up as remote with dual cable steering, ours was tiller.
We used to put it on top of the "big" boat (a 15' Hydrostream) to take them both on vacation. Original plans were from a '50s Popular Mechanics article, available on the web here: http://www.boatplans-online.com/planform.php?planfile=BPO_minimax.pdf
Toyman01 wrote: In reply to curtis73: I'd love something like that and I have a 260hp MerCruiser looking for a home, but feeding it gets expensive. Like 30-40 gallons of gas a day expensive.
I recently sold my 19' Baja with a 300hp Vortec. Expensive indeed. Especially because I boat primarily in Canada.
Dry weight on my Baja (boat and drive) was 2150 lbs give or take. Many of those wooden boat plans work out to about 1000 lbs dry, plus 1000 lbs for I/O engine and gear... but that particular one can also be fitted with an outboard. I'm thinking a nice 90 hp 4-stroke at 500 lbs would use less than half the gas.
Skiff plans are a dime a dozen. Most are ugly as sin, especially if you go looking at free ones and Bolger plans. That said, the old Popular Mechanics plans are sound and to be had for free.
A particular skiff that I've considered building for years is a Simmons Sea Skiff. I like the lines and the design concept of that one.
As for how hard they are to build, figure on building two. You'll learn the mistakes on the first one, and build the second one more right. Still not right, but not as screwed up as the first.
World of difference in materials and construction techniques between say plywood and fiberglass vs lapstrake wood.
In reply to foxtrapper:
There are several Simmons Sea Skiffs that I see regularly as well as other similar looking skiff well boats. Folks still use them for fishing around here.
EDIT: I just checked local CL, and there are three Simmons Sea Skiffs for sale.
Build a Cracker Box on my Bucket List.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/boa/4636841312.html
foxtrapper wrote: That said, the old Popular Mechanics plans are sound and to be had for free.
http://www.diy-wood-boat.com/free-boat-plans.html
(I had this in a reply last night that I accidentally deleted before posting)
this thread is evil. making me think that making my own boat would be fun. yikes.
T.J. wrote: The Mini Max reminds me of the Cocktail class racer from CLC.
HNNNGGGGGG
Damnit, now Im gonna have to buy a trailer...
Or roof racks.
As a kid I transported the minimax on a homemade 2x6 trailer towed by a riding lawn mower.
That B&B Outer Banks 20 is very tempting, with a nice evinrude 25.
Thankfully it is beyond my ability and resources.
Go big or go home
Let's go unusual.
That B&B Outer Banks, the similar Bluejacket 24 by Tom Lathrop, Tad Roberts Wedge Point 27, and the DE23 from Bateau, and were baselines for the camp cruiser sketch I posted earlier. The goal is simple, lightweight, stitch-n-glue construction for 25-40hp 4s outboard, and barely planing cruise speed. Classic aesthetic with minimal systems, sleeping for 4, and room for 8 on day trips.
Bluejacket sketch:
Current limitation is build space, they are all too big for the garage and my wife veto'd the back porch idea. So I started house shopping and found one with a 40x60 shop but that didn't fly either. Hard to justify spending $400k+ to build a $10k boat.
In reply to MattGent:
Most of the build-threads I've read for DIY boats that large were built in temporary garages. Whether or not you can get away with having one in your back yard for a year or three will depend on where you live.
My size restriction would be the under 8' access to my back yard.
With a little bit of rearranging and a wheeled strongback, I could do a 22'-23' boat in my shop. Anything bigger would require a temporary shelter.
The kayak I'm building is 13'. It will be easy. The Minor Rescue is 21' which is doable.
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