Thinking about buying a boat

[Bob3]

... instead of dragging it over 3 miles of rough dirt road to launch it in a shrimp farm supply canal...that would go anywhere off shore in Belize in most weather...

It sounds like you could use one of those modified Carolina Skiffs.
I have a soft spot for dories & have designed a few that have a trailer with a bed that lowers right down onto the ground, allowing a launch in a foot of water. My little (19') workboat can hold a ton of material & on average gets about 1 mph per HP of outboard, up to the design speed of 15 hp (or a small 20).
Geeze, I have to look for some pics of the critter...

 

[fweber]

Peter,

Now that I understand the emotional attachment to the Thunderbird. Go for it! Open up the checkbook and have fun, if not reliving all those memories, at least having them refreshed, and as long as you keep your senses, creating new ones. I own a 1969 Rhodes 41 because my father crewed on one when he was younger. I've quit keeping track of the ledger, it's not about that. Could I own a quicker more suitable boat for my uses, that would cost a whole lot less and net a higher resale value? ABSOLUTELY! Would I trade away any of the few times I get him out and behind the wheel? NOT ON MY LIFE!

A friend once said,"the most important characteristic of a boat, is that you fall in love with it every time you lay eyes on it, because that's the only thing that is going to keep you motivated to spend as much time and effort on it as it will require."

Have Fun and may Santa Delivery unto you an old tired Thunderbird that will love you for all the attention and money you lavish upon it,

 

[Nemrod]

It is often said that Boston Whalers and other foam filled hull boats are "heavy." Well, sometimes weight to a point is good. A boat that is to light will pound and skip rather than cutting through waves, simply they ride better and bounce less--but--anything can be overdone. A overly heavy boat will be a slug for sure. Here is a picture, of a Boston Whaler hull with a dump truck on top of it and like most boats utilizing this contruction method in addition to be unsinkable, they are also awfully strong and solid.

N

 

[Tom Winters]

Hey Nemrod, next time tell your buddy with the truck to get out of the vehicle before he gets into the boat.

 

[Bill51]

I loved using cathedral hulled boats on lakes – even when they were rough, but dreaded taking them out in confused seas where you had swells and wind chop coming at you from different direction. In those conditions it felt like the boat was trying to move side to side but the center hull was trying to go straight and it just tossed everything (and body) around in the boat.

 

[Nemrod]

Let me explain something not entirely understood by the casual non boating public. There are many different ways to build a fiberglass boat and most of those ways utilize materials in addition to fiberglass. Boston Whaler has been around for a while now and they pioneered the foam filled single piece hull. This type of contruction is now used in variations by several highly regarded brands. In this contruction an outer hull is layed up in a female mold and an inner hull/sole/interior liner is layed up on a male plug. Then the male plug is set into the female mold and the two pieces are bonded together becoming one single structure. Then foam is injected into the assembly until the interior is completely filled right up to the top of the gunwales. Boston Whaler depends upon the foam to provide structure while other similar brands may also incorporate stringers etc. All good and all resulting in very strong boats that cannot sink. This is an expensive way to build a boat because the assembly has to stay in the mold while it cures.

Now, another way of building a boat, much cheaper--but not always bad---a hull is layed up and popped from the mold and then goes into subassembly process where the hull is dressed out. Generally, especially during the 50 and 60s and 70s and into the 80s this was consisting off glassing in wooden stringers to provide rigidity to the fiberglass shell. Then the interior is dressed out by screwing plywood (usually cheap CDX) to the stringers and then dressing the sides in similar manner and then slathering the entire mess with sheet vinyl and carpet thus hiding the shoddy contruction. Then the top sides are screwed or nailed into place with some marine adhesive and then a decorative molding placed over the joint. Prior to closing the assembly foam blocks are cut and set in place post CG regulations to provide minimal floatation. Now, to be fair, some boats built the above way are not junk and today composite stringers are used in place of wood etc. This is much faster to build hulls because the green hull can be removed from the mold after a short cure and moved to an assembly and finishing area for dressing out.

There are other methods as well, balsa coring for example and as anyone might imagine many variations of marterials and methods within these broad outlines including other composites like carbon fiber, graphite, vinylester resisns in place of polyester resisns and on and on.

Foam filled boats have a weakeness as well, it has been said and to a degree it is true that if the hull is compromised then water can enter into the foam--water logging the boat. This is not entirely urban legend and does seem to happen. Generally, damage that is repaired quickly does not result in a warterlogged boat. Repairing a badly waterlogged boat would be a nightmare. A quality glass and stringer boat could be stripped down and rebuilt--with new stringers if need be--but--opening a single piece bonded hull and restoring the foam--probably not possible. Boston Whaler has been in buisness now for almost 50 years and many of their products are still in use. The same for some of the new comers to foam construction, it is a proven if not perfect method.

The way you keep from spending "gazillions" on a boat is by learning something about what they are and how they came to be. I imagine that Thunderbird is a glass and stringer boat with a topside screwed to the lower hull. Good or bad? You will have to decide.

http://www.pangamarine.com

The panga is usually a rolled edge construction built either on a glass and stringer hull or foam filled lower hull with the single layer rolled gunwale. Naming a boat design with a cute name does not make it immune to the weakness of various construction methods which are used in them as well. Rolled edge boats are a cheaper way of building because the gunwales and decks are simply NOT there. The panga is an efficient design often used in the third world because they are fuel efficient. They are pretty boats but typically not up to US consumers expectations except for those made in the USA.There are other--non panga--rolled edge hulls such as Carolina Skiff etc.

edited to add the Panga Marine link, very nice looking boats and priced well too.

N

 

[Wildcard]

I had a thought last night. You can buy a brand new 22 Panga, OB and trailer for 20K.
Panga claims that there have been more panga type hulls built worldwide than all other boats combined, for a reason. They are a little skinny but this makes for better fuel consumption as well as a smaller motor. It also lets them react quicker ina short chop. They are snapy but come back over very quick. Panga hulls will last forever with hard abuse. Ever see the fleets of skiffs drug up on rocks, beach, whatever world wide? Almost everyone is a panga. If they get torn up, just lay another layer of mat on them, slap on some paint and they are as good as now. Ive seen some with what looks like 10 repair layers on them. You can build a cuddy for it or get a soft Bimini made to fit.
Just a thought......

 

[jeffrey-c]

It should be noted that there panga is being used here in two different contexts. A panga is a style of boat commonly used throughout the world, particularly Latin America, by fishermen and other people who work the sea. The design is characterized by a long, narrow hull with a high prow and fairly low freeboard near the stern. This design gives good efficiency, important in areas where fuel costs are triple what we're used to in the US. The ride of pangas tends to be OK going into a head sea, but they the hull design tends to have a fair amount of roll. The pangas used throughout the world vary tremendously in construction, but are usually built sturdy with solid glass fiber/epoxy resin layup. They're typically pretty heavy as they don't use any form of coring, but are easily patched and repaired as previously noted.

Panga Marine offers several different models of boats using the venerable panga as its styling inspiration. They claim their boats are foam filled, which usually means construction similar to the Boston Whalers as previously noted, but this does not necessarily imply foam cored laminate. One cannot infer that the Panga Marine models are as rugged or sturdy as the the panga style boats sitting on the beach in a fishing village.

 

[Wildcard]

With 10 layers of glass added to them they would be.
So did you realy say anything I didn't? They are a proven design and work well.

 

[Hank49]

I had a thought last night. You can buy a brand new 22 Panga, OB and trailer for 20K.
Panga claims that there have been more panga type hulls built worldwide than all other boats combined, for a reason. They are a little skinny but this makes for better fuel consumption as well as a smaller motor. It also lets them react quicker ina short chop. They are snapy but come back over very quick. Panga hulls will last forever with hard abuse. Ever see the fleets of skiffs drug up on rocks, beach, whatever world wide? Almost everyone is a panga. If they get torn up, just lay another layer of mat on them, slap on some paint and they are as good as now. Ive seen some with what looks like 10 repair layers on them. You can build a cuddy for it or get a soft Bimini made to fit.
Just a thought......

You can get a brand new 25 foot Guatemalan or Mexican "panga" here for $6000. It'll plane with a 60 hp ($4000 for a 2 stroke) and a trailer for $1500...locally made.
Many have told me, "it's the boat that built Belize". But I don't think it would sell in the US. I was in Indiana at a lake in October and my son and I agreed that if I took the Carrot Juice (my "panga" boat, see my profile pic) there, it would get the "Ugliest Boat on the Lake" award.