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About custom boatbuilding - How long does it take?Building a custom boat in the 50-foot range is going to take months or years of planning, and between one and three years to complete once construction starts in a professional yard. DelaysConstruction might not start on time, depending on how the builder's other projects are progressing, whether you have sufficient funds, and various other factors. RED slipped a year because Waterline was overcommitted on two other, larger, sailboats. We didn't mind (too much) because it gave us time to refine the plans (RED is a better boat because of this) and to make more money. You've gotta be patient. DIYIf you build it yourself, consider that a boat this size requires between 10,000 and 15,000 hours of professional man-hours. If you can invest 1,000 hours annually, you're looking at a 10 year project, assuming you're as fast and capable as professionals - and have the tenacity to see the job through. The record among the DIY crowd we know is a 45 foot ferrocement heavy-displacement sailboat that's been under construction (more-or-less continuously though not intensely) over 30 years, and still not in the water.
May, 2005: RED anchored off the uninhabited island of Uonukuhihifo, Ha'apai Group, Tonga. |
