What if?

The Starting Point...

It’s been a bad year for our southern friends. One hurricane after another battered homes, marinas and boats. As a result, literally hundreds upon hundreds of damaged boats are being auctioned off by the insurance companies that insured them. Some have been battered against pilings, others submerged for days. It is sad to see the pictures of someone’s pride and joy up on jackstands with an auction number plastered on the bow.

(I wrote this several years ago but renewed interest has popped up, so I'm reprinting it here.)

 

Some of the better ones will be purchased and restored for resale. Others will be bought by dreamers who will hope to fix them up for their own use. A large number of them will be stripped of useable parts and sent to the crusher and the landfill.

 What if? What if we could recycle some of these craft into new and different boats? Admittedly, this isn’t the type of project that everyone could or would want to undertake. Nevertheless, the inveterate dreamer and tinkerer in me wondered what could be done with some of these boats.

 Many of them have sound hulls with waterlogged interiors. Some were caught in collapsing dry stack buildings and have crushed topsides. So, if you had the time and inclination, what could you do with some of these boats? For the purpose of this article, we’ll not consider boats that could be rebuilt to their former configuration.

 I’m not close enough to Florida to photograph any actual storm damaged vessels. I did go out to a local boat yard and take some digital pictures of some typical boats. I loaded these into a CAD (computer aided design) program I use for my article illustrations.

 Once digitized, I was free to draw up a few examples of what might be possible. Noticed I said possible, not necessarily practical or cost effective. But then, if we were all concerned with being cost effective, we wouldn’t be boaters, would we?

 Here are the results of the design exercise. Note that these haven’t been designed and/or approved by a naval architect; they are just sketchy ideas thrown out for discussion and illustration.

 

Lunch Launch

 Lunch launch? Yes, I don’t want to get into any legal trouble by using the trademarked “P***** Launch” label. It features a small cuddy cabin for changing and a porta-potti, and ample seating around a small table in the aft cockpit. Use a small outboard for economical operation or a big one for quick lunches.

 

C-Dory Wannabe

C-Dory’s are popular west coast boats (we do have a dealer on the Chesapeake, though). The angular cabin would lend itself to plywood covered with fiberglass construction. A v-berth cabin, small galley and a porta-potti and you would be ready to circumnavigate the Delmarva Peninsula.

 

Mini-Trawler

Okay, I admit it; I have a weak spot for trawlers even though I’m nominally a sailor. Unfortunately, I also have a weak wallet, so I won’t be buying a new trawler any time soon. This number would have a usable v-berth, galley and an enclosed head compartment. Wouldn’t want to tackle the Atlantic in it, but then again I probably wouldn’t in a full size trawler either.

 

Mini-Tug

Well, it does look a little like a tug, doesn’t it? A minimal v-berth and an enclosed head would be possible. How about putting one of those woven rope mats on the bow? Small trailer tires hung from the gunnels for that authentic workboat look.

 

Mini-Deadrise

Okay, so this is pushing it. It’s just an open fishing boat with a hard top sunroof. If you squint just right, it does look at least a little like a deadrise, though.

 Finally

Starting with a production fiberglass hull would eliminate some of the time needed to build your own custom boat. The topsides and additions would have to be light to keep from unbalancing the boat. However, you would be saving a boat from a landfill and would have your own custom boat. Hey, it’s just a design exercise remember! Idle doodles? Probably, but maybe they will spark some interest in one of you. Good Luck!