Sailing Journey: Building a Boat Part 1

Continually asked about the adventures of my sailing journey, building a boat, and living on a boat for 21 years, so this is the first chapter.

Why a sailing boat?

They say that when you’re young, you’re crazy. Although when you’re young, time is a different dimension.

Part of this chapter starts back in the early 1980s without me on the scene. And, during a time when the future skipper worked on a fishing trawler in far north Queensland’s Cape York waters. Thinking, ‘wouldn’t it be great to have my own boat to sail the beautiful secluded islands of eastern Australia when I want and for how long I want. I’ll build my own boat’ – or words to that effect.

The ambitious dream is born.

Six months after building commenced, a chance meeting throws me into this dream, which soon engulfs our lives and almost every waking hour.

Is it delusional or optimistic in believing that building a boat would take only 6 months and cost only AUD$10,000 (a lot of money back then)? Through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears – not so much of the tears – your life morphs into a very different story.

A little background

Thinking of building a boat? Don’t do it, but don’t let me put you off. If you don’t try, you won’t know what’s involved, right?

Building a boat is just like excavating a massive-sized cavernous hole, whimsically throwing dollars into this endless void then lighting a fire to it all for good measure. Dramatic? Maybe.

But don’t be fooled. It isn’t cheap building your own boat unless you’re in the habit of slapping things together on the cheap.

The problem with a project of this size when you’re in your early twenties is that you don’t have the available cash flow unless of course, you’re born into a wealthy family made of money. What’s the alternative? Work for 6 months of the year then take 6 months off to build the boat. This is what we could afford at the time.

Before starting the boat building, I was saving hard for a 12-month trip around the world, which I did solo during 1985, some 18-months after meeting my partner. This was something I felt I must do and longed for since leaving school, and very thankful I wasn’t stopped.

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Choosing the boat plans

Arriving on the scene 6 months after the building commenced and with plans already purchased for a Bruce Roberts 28′ Motorsailer, I go with the flow as don’t really know what I’m doing. Although, you’d think that the thick bundle of a zillion plans would indicate the amount of work to follow?

Reasons for choosing a Roberts 28′, which is just over 8.5-metres long:

• Bruce Roberts’ boats are typically home-built and its plans are easy to follow (they say)
• 28′ size is a little easier to handle as a first boat
• the size saves costs when mooring, berthing, and on slipping fees as in Australia, you’re under the 30-foot fee threshold before the next expensive tier
• twin-steering (helm in the wheelhouse and tiller in the cockpit), the cockpit’s tiller also acts as an emergency steering tiller
• hide in the wheelhouse during nasty weather
• spacious living areas especially for a 28′ boat
• a steel boat is safer than other materials when running aground or hitting a reef (hopefully)
• shoal draft for creeping closer into bays and coves, also better to take further into riverways
• a long keel for more stability and comfortable sailing, although this does create drag and slows the boat down more than a fin keel
• great long-term coastal cruising boat

So on to building the dream…

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Where do you build a boat?

Hiring an enclosed shed is out of the question as the rent is too expensive. At this stage, there isn’t an end date for completion – scary.

Luckily, there’s a vacant paddock next to the skipper’s parents’ home alongside a creek, although in the open. As the rent is minimal, this spot is to be the boat’s home during the build.

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What’s it like building a boat?

Hard. Slow. Time-consuming. Expensive. Stressful. Challenging. Numerous hurdles. Gain a plethora of skills. Teaches patience.

We learn everything on the job by trial and error as neither of us is a boatbuilder. It’s incredibly fulfilling knowing that you’re building your own boat. When finished, you’ll know your baby inside and out – every inch.

The sense of achievement is immense.

After 6 months into this mammoth project, the boat resembles only a mere skeleton of stringers and frames.

Eventually, the shell becomes just like an enormous upside-down carcass of a great whale.

At this stage, thoughts of uncertainty run through my mind. This boat-building project is both hugely daunting and overwhelming, and with no end in sight.

Can we finish this boat? How long will it take to build? How much will everything cost? Don’t forget, we’re in our early twenties and not earning a plethora of money.

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Can you sail?

No.

For now, I’m taking part in building a boat, not actually sailing a boat. Back then, I didn’t know how to sail and had never set foot on one either.

The skipper’s family always owned boats of some kind, albeit not the sailing variety.

Luckily, hijacking their boat during our downtime is a great way to learn some of the boating ropes and to gain a little experience, whilst enjoying the Hawkesbury River…

…or, leisurely discovering Sydney’s northern beaches and inhabitants.

Learning how to sail came with an 18′ Hobie Cat, which teaches you the principles of sailing even though it’s much smaller than what we’re building.

If you haven’t seen one before, this short video by Flofloflo869 gives you a taste of a more modern Hobie Cat than in the early 1980s.

Whizzing across Sydney Harbour dodging commercial vessels whilst freezing our butts off in the skipper’s Hobie Cat, is not only exhilarating but an excellent way to learn how to sail.

Donning wetsuits during Sydney’s icy-cold and windy winters, you don’t need to sail for very long before turning blue from the bitter cold. Returning as quickly as possible for a little warmth becomes a priority. So, pushing the Hobie forward fast without capsizing becomes the objective and challenge.

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Learning some boating theory

During the build, we indulge in TAFE college night classes for vital theory subjects.

Lessons include Small-craft Seamanship, Radiotelephony (even learning Morse Code), Meteorology, and several more as after the boat is finished, of course, we’re going sailing.

As we’ll be cruising in riverways and along Australia’s vast coastline, then we need to know what to do out there – can’t expect someone to save us and the boat, should something go amiss.

Most courses lasted a full semester including exams, proving an invaluable way to learn how to read charts and use a Sextant (long gone now). Let’s face it, what happens if all of your electronics on the boat die when you’re out at sea or near an isolated island? What’s your Plan B?

Back to boat building. Be sure to check back next week to read the next chapter of the Sailing Journey: Building a Boat Part 2, where I get into the real nitty-gritty of boat building.

Visit Nilla’s Photography for more global images. More posts at Image Earth Travel.

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More boat-building chapters

Check out more of my chapters in this boat-building series!