Looking For Your Boat Plans Sail Or Power
 
Well I have to say this can be a long and debatable subject,because everyone has a different purpose for under taking a boat building project. Most people already know what type of boat they want to build,be it power or sail,each has their own advantage. One should take into consideration their experience in Craftsmanship and their ability to construct the project they plan on building. If one is limited in this area does not mean he cannot progress and learn skills to build his dream project. For me,while not building a large boat before, I was familiar and had extensive experience in radial line development as a metal worker. I would suggest a person first build a small boat,say maybe 12 to 14 feet before taking on a big project. There are a lot of books on boat construction out there and before considering a set of boat plans I would research a number of them. The first book I read was " From A Bare Hull " It was very informative and had a lot of what's and what not to do .  Another thing to keep in mind is the size of the boat, this is where I was not thinking clearly when
  I choose my boat.In hind sight I think a 38 footer was plenty big enough for me, and as I was progressing on my project my buddy said "You should sell and build a smaller boat. Well if I want to take the boat anywhere , I need to have some help on the 54 footer. 38 I could go by myself,so give this care full consideration. When you have weighed your options you can buy what they call study plans to check out the the construction and accommodations without having to buy a full set of plans. Be sure to think of all your options,you may like a particular hull but not the layout as was my case,fortunately for me, I had a friend Ken Osborne, a Marine Architect whose Mulltihull design is at the top of this page, who helped put together the layout that I wanted.Bottom line in the end choose a marine architect who has a  degree and beware of pirated plans .I had a problem with my plans and the architect had no problem helping me out and the funny thing is ( His hair was black when I bought them,and was grey when I launched ) so that should say a little about a big boat :) and they are not cheap so keep in mind size,type of use if you are day sailing or going to live aboard or be by yourself these are all factors.
By the way the Old Man squatting on the boat at the bottom of this article was a friend of mind and started building his boat at 67 years old. Took him about 7 years to complete and had just gotten his sails , was getting ready to shove off to Trinidad,then came down with cancer and passed away. Will was one of the kindest fellows I have met, always full of adventure, once sailed from L.A. to Australia and New Zealand with his three year old Daughter. Sailed all through the Pacific Islands on the way.He came home a wrote a book about it called "The Voyage of the Sea Lion." by Will Corry  Amazon.com   RIP MR. Will
    A complete handbook on how to select and finish out a fiberglass hull and deck.

A complete step-by-step guide covering every aspect of fiberglass boat completion--woodworking, electrical, plumbing and hardware installation--with hundreds of tips on how to save time and money during construction as well as purchase.
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