How much space to build a CS -20?

[Kudzu]

I have a roughly 30 x 40 foot basement shop. When we built the house I had to make a change due to the grade and had to move my garage door to the shop.  I had it laid out so I could put a long term project (like a boat of a car) in the shop and still get another car or boat in behind it to work on.

Having to move the door really messed up my space. While I have a large space I can put the boat then it doesn't leave enough space to bring in my truck or tractor when I need to work on them.

I have been waiting to start on the boat till I could finish several other projects and be able to devote full time to it. I now realize that since I have proved to my skeptical wife that I can build furniture to her standards,   I have more projects than I can do in the next year. So,
I have decided I might as well start the boat and just accept that it will take me a year to build the boat and that I will just have to work on it off and on. As much as I hate it.

With that said, now much space around the boat is adequate to work comfortably once the hull is 3D? Not work space, just space around the boat.

What about building a cradle and putting it on locking casters? Is there a problem with that? If not I think I could move the boat out of the way when I need the space for something else.

[Terry Dunn]

I determined how big a boat I could build by measuring my garage. It is 20' 7" long and about 18' wide. So I built a CS20. I did most of the sawing on my deck at the back of the house. My boat went 3D sitting on the picnic table benches in the garage. I built a cradle on casters to make it easier to move the boat around. I was able to move the boat to one side of the garage and get my wife's minivan (now known as the tow car) in the garage.

Fortunately I am a terrible furniture builder so I was able to devote most of my spare time to the boat.

Good luck with your project.

[JeffM]

My garage (about the size of Terry's) was too short and too low for a 20, but I can close it for the winter if I put the boat in corner to corner.  I couldn't have built it without the caster trick, and even then it probably would have gone much easier and a bit quicker with more space.  Basically, I could only make a reasonable work space on one side of the hull at a time by rolling it back and forth.  In the winter, I learned to get from one side of the boat of the boat to the other by swinging and ducking under the bow.   Otherwise I had to cross through the cockpit.  Finishing the transom had to wait until I could poke the bow out the door.  would have been happier with more work space, but for various reasons I wasn't willing to build a full separate shelter for the project.

[Dale Niemann]

I cannot speak for the 20 but I am building the 17 in a garage that is 10' X 18'.  Basically, with workbench, stationary tools, etc. around the sidewalls, I have about one and one-half feet on both sides and 6" at the bow and stern.  I too put the boat on a frame on casters and it has worked out OK.  However, I would definitely recommend more room.  It seems like I always have to move something to get anything done.  
I have my tablesaw on wheels and move it out to the driveway for cutting anything large.

[Tom Williams]

I'm building a CS17 an a castered cradle. This is a must for a small shop. I'll bet I've put miles on that cradle by now!

My pinch point is between my workbench and a support pole (shop is in a walk-out basement). I've just over 7.5 ft width for the 5'10" foot beam.  I have about three feet of room to move the boat fore and aft. You really only need walking space around the boat. The biggest hastle i've had is maneuvering long lumber through equipment and clearing the boat.

Good luck!

Tom

[Kudzu]

Obviously I didn't word my question clearly. What I want to know is how much space beside the boat is adequate to work in 2', 3' 4'?

As for casters I see that is something I want to do. I have not yet poured a slab outside my shop but it is on the to-do list. Seems like it would be nice to be able to roll the boat outside and sand it there.

Thanks for the input.

I have in the building area 16 x24 which is okay without any big tools. I have for my tool and big saw area 8x16, and planned for long boards to be tun through the window, placing my window sill at the height of my table saw. I would also have at least a 12 foot ceiling. My last boat was 20 foot and without proper planning and daily cleaning it was a bit snug on the wall side. I use saw horses along the other wall that makes it pretty portable and great for cleaning up.

By the way, what was the outcome of your chris craft project?

[Greg Luckett]

My garage is about the same length as Terry's and Jeff's.  My solution to building a longer boat is to cut out the wall in the back of the garage, then put in a wide door system and extend the weather protection with a tarp/tent.  It would be easier if I could do it where the existing door opens, but it faces the street and the city (and one or two of my anal retentive neighbors) will raise Cain about it.  On the opposite side it faces a ravine and I stand a good chance of pulling this off.  I want to build a Vacationer and a Princess Sharpie 26.  I found out that I can build a shed too as long as it is under 200 sqft, 5 ft from the property line, and 10ft from the house.  This enables me to move out most of my stored lumber and materials and those tools I only need once in a while, which will make the room needed.  This is my plan until I can find and afford a real shop space.

[Greg Luckett]

Obviously I didn't word my question clearly. What I want to know is how much space beside the boat is adequate to work in 2', 3' 4'?

As for casters I see that is something I want to do. I have not yet poured a slab outside my shop but it is on the to-do list. Seems like it would be nice to be able to roll the boat outside and sand it there.

Thanks for the input.

I think the question can be answered based on your particulars.  For instance, I am fat and not very limber any more, and getting down on the floor and back up is not as easy as it was when I was young and in better shape.  I like 3 to 4 feet or more around what I am working on.  I would think that a minimum regardless of physical condition should be no less than 2 feet....tool working room and safety considerations.

[Kudzu]

Oyster, nothing decided on the Cris Craft yet. I found a couple of references to local shops I am checking in on. I really would like to have the boat closer to home but I have not ruled you out either. Also waiting on some money that is coming before I commit to anything. So don't forget me yet!  

Drove to NOLA this past week to help my sister check out her apartment there. What a mess! But we used close to $100 in gas going there and back. Since I would really like to see the repairs as they are done that is another motivator to keep her close to home. But as I said, I have not ruled you out by any means.

I did some measuring in my shop and come to the conclusion that the CS-20 is bigger than I thought. Since my CC is 21' I should have realized but I didn't till I streached out the tape.  

I don't have a lot of options as to where it is going to go. I wanted to move it to the side but because this is a basement the darn pole is in the way. I am not sure I could build it and get it out. Maybe if we stood it on it's side but it's not worth the effort.

I am in the process of installing a new lathe. I am going to do some more measureing but I think if I move it I can put the boat up against the inside wall and still get it out. Would have to move a couple of benches around but since it is a long term project that is not a problem

Here are a couple of panormic shops I made. I linked to them because they are rather large.

http://www.kudzupatch.com/temp/shoppan1.jpg

http://www.kudzupatch.com/temp/shoppan2.jpg

[Designer]

I had a nice visit with Peter Peroutka last week. Peter has built one Spindrift 10, two CS17s and one CS20. He built the last two in a temporary shed which is still in good condition after about about eight to ten years. He is about to start on his P26 and he told me that he is going enlarge the shed so that he will have enough room.
I believe he bought plans for the shed from an ad in Wooden Boat but it wouldn't take much to figure it out. It meets all the criteria for a tempory shelter for building boats, it is cheap, strong and fairly snow proof with it's high pitch. If the neighbours don't mind and local covenants don't object, I would build one if I needed more space.

[Brad]

It's nice to have some distance, 10 feet or more, at one end of the boat so you can step back while sighting along the seams checking for fair curves.  Same goes for lofting panels.  If you have a door at one end of the shop it's not a problem.

[JeffM]

Jeff, I can see no magic number to "adequate space."  The more you have the more comfortable you'll be, and the less often you'll resort to strong language as you try to maneuver lumber, climb in and out, look for places to put things down, etc.  You could do it with only a couple of feet on each side, but you might not be safe around your pets or loved ones!  My enemy was clutter-- I never cleaned or put things away until I was forced to (time I spent cleaning I'd rather spend building!)  On the other hand, my sloppy habits probably cost me a lot more in frustration time trying to get space to do things, find tools, etc.  And its hard to do your best work in awkward space.

No problem, I understand that you like to keep it close but thought I would stick it in the post.  It seems that time has a way of getting away from us,  sometimes. Good luck with your search.

[Steve Day]

Shop space is something you never seem to have enough of.

I built my spindrift 10N in a "T" hangar at the local airport and there was a lot of extra space there when I started. By the time I got done, there wasn't a whole lot of room left over.

Ray, I always knew it as the "horizontal surface syndrome." That is, all horizontal surfaces will collect things until there is no surface left uncluttered. All of us suffer that to some degree. Some of us more than others.

That being said, boats have been built in some pretty small spaces using some to the techniques outlined here. Kudzu, kudzujust have to get going.

Steve