Troller Yachts (cruising boats based on troller concepts) A 44′ Diesel Duck, off the coast of Italy in 2011. She shows what I call the “modified dhow” sailplan which is ideal for off wind travel. Note her trolling poles are shortened and just used for dragging her stabilizers, or “fish” or “floppers” as some people…
BY KIM KAVIN APR 25, 2018www.soundingsonline.com In the online postings, the dust jackets on the books are torn and faded, not from lack of care but from love of use. Many of the pictures show the cover of The Troller Yacht Book, which evolved from the 1999 first-edition subtitle “A Powerboater’s Guide to Crossing Oceans”…
(For want of a better word) Summary (of What I Think About That….) I like all kinds of boats but as I said, I admit to being prejudiced towards simplicity. Keeping things simple doesn’t mean you have to settle for second best; quite the contrary! But it will make a boat less expensive to build,…
Posted 5/2/08 Page 2 of Building ELLEMAID Engine room Bulkhead and fwd. frames errected. Pilot House sole and fuel tanks. Wheelhouse Sole and engine room. Tanks in forward house. Looking down at the tanks. Note the neat cuts for the longs and along the plate edges. The “cutting files” and computer cuts of the parts…
Pictures from Kirk Pintar, building an original version of RUARRI in Alaska Casting the ballast Kirk modified the plans to make her Raised sheer, with the raised sheer leaning inboard. That’s fine, and that freedom is the reason to build your own boat! Getting out the wood!
The first step in any boatbuilding is the Lofting. This scares a lot of folks but there’s really nothing to it. The best description of how to do it is in Howard Chapelle’s book BOATBUILDING. The simplest description of how to do it is in, if you’ll forgive me, MY book; BUEHLER’S BACKYARD BOATBUILDING.… The…
All the frames and deck beams are in place. A deep “S” round bilge boat is sure a sexy thang…. Here’s some fine boat carpentry; note the mitered in carlins and how neat the joints are. Here’s the ship “in frame” as it’s called. The “Garboard” plank is going on. These planks are steamed to…
Practically every design I’ve done over the years is in my stock plans catalog, described in the BOOKS & CATALOGS menu bar. Eventually I WILL get them posted on this site too. It’s happening slowly…… Most of them originally were custom designs for somebody, but some of them are simply my own idea, the result…
Posted 5/4/08 Page 3 of Building ELLEMAID The bow view sure don’t look like the typical “trawler” does she! This closeup at the stern shows the structure well. On to Page 4 Back To Beginning of PhotoSeries
7/17/09 We’re getting close to the launch. Here’s a few photos showing the interior getting finished out. The owner’s bed has a grand headboard as well as reading lamps on each side. Ever notice how many hotels, even very expensive ones, don’t offer good reading lights? This is a good touch. There’s an adult…
This shot shows how top quality wooden yachts/ships were built. Rather than let hull planks run out into long narrow ends prone to splitting, the plank itself is notched to make a solid end. Note too the laminated keel. Oh; those round things ain’t wood plugs covering screws or nails. They’re Trunnels! We’re somewhat out…
1) The LINES PLAN & OFF-SETS: The ‘hull lines’ are all the dimensions of the basic boat. Along with the Table of Offsets, the LinesPlan gives you all the dimensions needed to build the boat. The frame or station dimensions, the house and windows, the engine shaft angle; everything. Sometimes there’s more dimensioning needed. For…
9/4/08 Building ELLEMAID page 4 Note the 41-Plus DUCK in the background. The yard is a busy place! August 08 Asboat moved to a larger facility with ceilings high enough to build serious ships. Here’s Ellemaid headed down the road. These photos are also interesting because they show how “fair” the hull is. No…
Building the 71 ELLEMAID page5 Looking aft from Bow Deck at stern Deck at Bow Following are a bunch of interior shots…. The heavy black pipes you see below sticking up are an idea I got from Ed & Ruby Roote, who built the first 50′ OTTER. The idea is the pipe braces the…
After just a short time, I think 2 years, Walter & Karen launched ALCA i. They did quite a job of it. Here’s a few photos shot not too long after the launch! An unusual color scheme. I think she needs a contrasting boot top but that is certainly not an immediate issue! I love…
Deck Views. Happy doggies. And look at this slick steering setup Imagine seeing this coming over the horizon…. I was once on a 120′ schooner sailing like this. The feeling of brute power is simply unbelievable. I suspect RAINBOW generates that same sort of “high” to those aboard. Reg says in a 25 knot…
8/3/09 spars up! Finally, July 23, 2009, the first ELLEMAID is launched! She passed her EU certification for Class A. Her owner will be heading her to Brazil very soon. Hoisted by a serious crane…. She floats right side up! She looks right at home among the working boats of the harbor. It will be…
71′ ELLEMAID, in Turkey. Completed Photos added 8/26/09 To my pleasure and I admit, surprise, our Diesel Duck family seems to have captured a lot of folk’s heart and today there is quite a following. Several are voyaging all over the world, and many are being built. These new Ducks are being built in all…
Page 11: Ellemaid’s Engine room The engine is a 6 cyl Non-turbo IVECO. She’s set up with wet exhaust because that’s the simplest installation since there’s no hot exhaust pipe to deal with or smoke on your sails. This is owner’s preference and of course a new boat can be set up either way. Gen…
4/20/09 Page 6 of Building ELLEMAID in Turkey First step in building an interior in a steel boat is running all the wiring and plumbing stuff. Insulation and hull liner will then cover it. Look how smooth everything is coming out. By the way, I’m glad Drew is using the “Little Toot” as somebody…
BOOKS BY GEORGE BUEHLER BUEHLER’S BACKYARD BOATBUILDING New 21st Century Edition I’m sorry but I’ve had bad luck with the mail getting to Canada in particular. I suggest you order the book through an online retailer or your local bookstore if you don’t live in the States. NOTE this book is also available as an…
Early June, 2009 On to page 8 Back to beginning of series
New photo 8/25/2015 Building Pilgrim Larry in Oregon’s progress building a PILGRIM The first step; setting up the frames Eric Davidson is making fine progress. Back to PILGRIM start page
7/18/02 Owner’s Stateroom Looking Fwd. Stern cabin Head with door to Engine Room Fwd. Cabin Head Desk. Passageway to Stern Cabin and stairs to Pilot House. Click Construction shots to continue on with the Seahorse 44 photos.
Page 10: The INTERIOR August 11, 2009, ELLEMAID is finished and being provisioned for her trip across the Atlantic, to Rio. Looking aft Looking fwd. The Wheelhouse has good visibility and lots of lounging space. Main Cabin, looking aft. Note engine room access door near the companion way She has a house sized galley.…
Page 12: Finished and off on a first cruise…. Finally everything is together and she heads off to Greece for a trial run. She worked out as well as hoped as the owner’s comments below describe, although when fully loaded down for her trans Atlantic crossing we think she’ll be sitting 9″ lower than I…
Page 1 Building a 71′ ELLEMAID Before building any new design, As boat makes a cutting disk. This guarantees the boat flows together smoothly because everything is cut out by a computer. The photos you’ll see later show how “fair” the hulls are without bondo. You don’t need a computer disk to do that of…
Design Philosophy Years ago, like many enthusiastic people heavily involved in a subject, I was a zealot about design.I had VERY specific opinions, and would turn up my nose at things that did not meet my very narrow definition about ‘proper’. No more. As you have before and will again read me say, I finally…
