First timer and a Sweet 16 (2024)

Hello everyone,
As a newbie here I'll just give a little bit about, well why I am here. Since I was young i've been on boats enough, between my fathers '85 Hunter 34 to his newest 2004 Searay Amberjack 290 (AKA junk), with a few other boats in between.

I was 19 or 20 years old when I fell in love with the idea of converting a retired tug into a liveaboard. With that being a bit out of my reach I stumbled upon Glen-L's site here where I have fallen for the idea of building my own boat. Now 23, and I having a place to build a boat what a better boat for me to start with but Hankinson's Sweet 16 which I only just recently noticed was on the site.

Since this will be the first boat I have ever built I was wondering if i might be able to get a little assistance/explanation of how the engine/trans and driveshaft works. This just tends to blow my mind since its all underwater and must be perfectly water tight. I would like to find out where I would be able to get the necessary parts to complete the drive assembly including the rudder shaft and propeller. I have found a supplier that sells the Westerbeke 18HP engine, one a little beefier than Don Aguanno used in his sweet 16. I'm not quite sure how much is a good price for that type of engine but Trans Atlantic Diesel priced it at $6700 including trans motor mounts, exhaust elbow (manifold?), and guage panel.

I have plenty more questions to ask about boat building in general, but I would like to see if there are any other sweet 16 builders out there who could share tips and such.

As for now, good night,

TheReelMuhcoy (Jon Yochum)

Jon,

First, I'm not a fan of Westerbeke. I like Yanmar. But, that is the right price range for a new engine in that size.

If you look around you might find an old sailboat with a diesel, steering pedestal, galley equipment, head, and misc. hardware for the same or less money.

If you trip around the Glen-l site (Menu Bar on the left) they have diagrams of the underwater gear.

Perfectly watertight??? It's a boat. Don't forget the bilge pump (pumps)!!! Traditional shaft packing does and needs to drip. Basically, you have 3 or 4 rings of "flax" packing which pinch against the shaft at the shaft log.

Glen-L sells all the parts you need. Look at inbaord harware on the left.

Sweet 16 - Neat little boat. I have the study plans.

Bill

Bill,
Like I said, I know nothing about this stuff... I had thought that robbing an old sailboat might work but then i read somewhere there is a difference in the transmissions of a sail to a power boat, something to do with the clutch (dog vs synchro i think?). Although I somehow doubt it would make much of a difference for my application.

I also have the study plans, I will soon buy the actual plans. What exactly is a "steering pedestal?"

I browsed through a few boat yards today where one yard in particular had several older powered sailboats. One boat looked homemade, engine looked almost mint. I could only see the engine because someone had cut holes into the side of the boat. the shaft for the rudder had been hacked in two though. is that what you were referring to as the steering pedestal?

Later,
Jon

Jon,

If the boat has a steering wheel it has a pedestal.

The transmission will have a ratio of about 2.6:1.

For $25/year you can join boatdiesel.com. they have a prop calculator that will match the hp/gear/prop/length of waterline/weight...

The Sweet 16 is a displacement hull, the same as a sailboat. So, the application is the same.

Bill

As I am "studying" the study plans and researching all the processes of building a boat and reading Glen L Witt's "Boatbuilding with plywood" book I am coming up with thoughts and questions which has sparked a new one.
How about fiberglassing the sweet 16?

I dont yet have the full plans for the boat yet, but I was wondering if anyone knows what the plans call for as far as the weight of fiberglass. I understand that Marine grade plywood is a must, however if I have to spent the money for this marine grade plywood with a top veneer of Meranti (or other blemish free veneer), I would like to use a lightweight fiberglass to show off the grain if at all possible.

looking at the "lumber members" section of the material list it says "framing" and lists 1x3 to 1x7 then shows other sizes for other components. Is framing separate from these components, or are the components made from this framing list?

-Jon

Jon wrote, "however if I have to spent the money for this marine grade plywood with a top veneer of Meranti (or other blemish free veneer), I would like to use a lightweight fiberglass to show off the grain if at all possible."

Jon,
Look at page 10 of the Tahoe 19 post. That hull is fiberglassed with 6 oz.

Bill

Very nice work Bill! I hope that I can get the same look with my sweet 16 when I get to that point. What kind of workspace did you have when working on your Tahoe 19? I am planning on building the sweet 16 in a 12'6 x 17'6" garage.

-Jon

Jon,

I worked in my basem*nt. The unfinished area is probably 30x35. But, that is shared by 2 cars, canoes, tools, bicycles, ...

I think, if I was you, I'd consider a movable building form that I could move outside. build your frames, shears, chines and battens before moving it though. The shape is pretty well locked in by then.

Bill

I built my first boat - 16 ft center console - in my dad's 2 car garage but he would only give up 1/2 of it so essentially I was working in a one car garage.

He said I could never build another boat there. That was until I decided to build a Tubby Tug for his granddaughter.

I left the boats in the garage and took the tools outside. Most were easily portable.I used a folding table for a workbench.

Now, I rent a 2,500 sq ft "warehouse" to build stuff. Even that filled up pretty quick. No matter how much room you have, it always seems like its not enough.

Be careful though, the boat building buy never seems to go away. Its almost like an addiction - but a good one.

Good luck,

KB

I dont really have an option for setting up a removable shelter, I live in a rather prime "shore" area of NJ, where the property I live on is only 50'x 150'. the garage that I have, in today's standard is a large one car garage, but back when the house was built, when Model T's were driven, it would be considered a two car garage.

My thoughts as I stand are to build the hull as close to complete as possible without the cabin, move the hull out to store it and then assemble the cabin and mate the two after installing the engine. Unless I can manage to assemble it in the whole and tilt it just enough to roll it out.

My other thought is to build a temporary extension of the garage from the doors, and a temporary man door. which would add roughly another 5' to the length of the garage.

-Jon