JEM Watercraft

Hi Morten/boatplans.dk

I'm really considering building the 40 feet tug. I have taken into concern how massive this project is.

A few questions though, actually i have alot, buy i'll start with these.
How many boats with this, your, design is in progress and/or finished.

Is this boat, when finished, being a DIY, legal to put to sea and operate. I live in Denmark like you.

Hi forum

Now i bought the plans for the 40' tug take five. I faxed and emailed 3 lumberyards this morning for prices for all the marine plywood. I'm considering to use the next few months untill mid-december to cut out all the pieces and from then on hopefully have heated space for the assembly of the hull. When i've finished cutting the plywood i don't know how to store it, is it best to store it vertical, along the walls, or should i instead stack it up on pallets? Do i need to consider ventilation around the wood or wrap it in plastic? I will of course use BS1088 plywood in c/c quality.
Next thing will be the keel, years back i got mu hands on alot of driftingwood from a beach auction, among that wood there's some larch corewood, even though it will cost me a few extra knifes for my skilsaw i'm considering this wood for the keel unless someone got good reasons why i shouldn't.

All the best
Brian Josefsen

G'day Brian,

and welcome aboard mate.

I have never attempted a build anywhere near as ambitious as yours so I can't help much there.

re storing the ply panels, I have found it beter to store themfla,t on a flat level surface. even put weights on them that will hold them that way. I would use scrap ply between the weights and your panels to avoid briuising them.

Over time, if not held flat, and inspite of the high quality of the ply, your panels might tend to warp a bit.

I am sure Morton or Matt will be along shortly to offer more expert advice than mine, but the above works well for me, here in the tropics.

Morton will offer the best advice. I believe he's on holiday for the next couple days but should be back to answer your questions right away.

Hi Brian,

I agree with Mick that the best way to store the pieces is on a horizontal flat surface. There should be no reason to ventilate between the pieces, just make sure the plywood don't get moisture from the floor by laying direct on it.

When you laminate epoxy and fiberglass on solid wood you should make sure it is dry and that the surface is clean. Since the driftwood you have might contain salt I can't say for sure if it will go fine with the epoxy and fiberglass. Therefore I suggest you either make a test or talk to your epoxy supplier about the issue or maybe try both

When you build a boat for yourself it is legal to put to sea and operate without any problems. One thing however is that according to the CE-directive you are not allowed to sell the boat before you have had it for five years unless you get it CE-marked, which is a difficult and expensive operation for a one-off boat.

Hi Morten

Thank you for your answer, very good info to have.

Another thing, the plans for my 40', how do i know that i have all the drawings i need, the naming convention for the documents doesn't match what is written in the boat course manual. Do i have to extract all measurements for the pieces from the 3d model?

Best regards
Brian Josefsen