By popular demand:
My current BlueWave has served me well, but it’s getting uncomfortable: too much where I don’t need it, not enough where I do. I don’t need 35 knots, especially around South Texas bays, but I do want an overnight angler.
And herein lies the problem: nothing reasonably priced on the market quite fits the bill. I checked out a beautiful C-Hawk that would cover about 90% of my needs. I couldn’t agree with the seller on price, but that was the only boat I’ve found in about a year of looking that would really work for my mission. Plus, C-Hawks and similar power cabin boats seem to sleep two uncomfortably, or one slightly less uncomfortably.
My mission is pretty simple: get out solo late Saturday morning, putter around, fish some (fishing is mostly my excuse for staying away from humans—I go not where the fish are, but where the people aren’t), anchor out, watch the sunset while having a cocktail... or three, sleep it off, maybe fish some more in the morning, and return early afternoon. For that, I need a boat that is reasonably good in the shallows, handles moderate chop OK, carries four on a day trip, and sleeps one comfortably or two in a pinch. It doesn’t have to be fast, but it does need to be a decent fishing platform.
R/V Port Yankee—whether that stands for “Research Vessel” or “Recreational Vehicle” remains to be determined—is based on Jacques Mertens’ Novi plans from Bateau, at least up to the sheer line. Above that, I’m adding a combined sleeper cabin/pilothouse midships and a fishing/lounging deck aft. That part was inspired by something I saw at a boatyard lot.
The pictures show one of the layout studies (probably not the final one, but Blender has been invaluable for turning 2D drawings into 3D models and figuring out where everything actually fits), the completed strongback, which deviated less than 1/2 inch over 24 feet, and the temporary frames assembled.
I’m actually finishing up the bulkheads and stringers now and getting ready to flip the hull upside down again for final fairing and painting. I’ll post those photos later.
My current BlueWave has served me well, but it’s getting uncomfortable: too much where I don’t need it, not enough where I do. I don’t need 35 knots, especially around South Texas bays, but I do want an overnight angler.
And herein lies the problem: nothing reasonably priced on the market quite fits the bill. I checked out a beautiful C-Hawk that would cover about 90% of my needs. I couldn’t agree with the seller on price, but that was the only boat I’ve found in about a year of looking that would really work for my mission. Plus, C-Hawks and similar power cabin boats seem to sleep two uncomfortably, or one slightly less uncomfortably.
My mission is pretty simple: get out solo late Saturday morning, putter around, fish some (fishing is mostly my excuse for staying away from humans—I go not where the fish are, but where the people aren’t), anchor out, watch the sunset while having a cocktail... or three, sleep it off, maybe fish some more in the morning, and return early afternoon. For that, I need a boat that is reasonably good in the shallows, handles moderate chop OK, carries four on a day trip, and sleeps one comfortably or two in a pinch. It doesn’t have to be fast, but it does need to be a decent fishing platform.
R/V Port Yankee—whether that stands for “Research Vessel” or “Recreational Vehicle” remains to be determined—is based on Jacques Mertens’ Novi plans from Bateau, at least up to the sheer line. Above that, I’m adding a combined sleeper cabin/pilothouse midships and a fishing/lounging deck aft. That part was inspired by something I saw at a boatyard lot.
The pictures show one of the layout studies (probably not the final one, but Blender has been invaluable for turning 2D drawings into 3D models and figuring out where everything actually fits), the completed strongback, which deviated less than 1/2 inch over 24 feet, and the temporary frames assembled.
I’m actually finishing up the bulkheads and stringers now and getting ready to flip the hull upside down again for final fairing and painting. I’ll post those photos later.
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