It's Finished

[oldgrowth]

For all practical purposes the first Marinaut since the prototype has been finished. Go Here to see the process and click on the top right photo then click the right arrows to scroll backwards through the build process or click the left arrows to start with the beginning and work forward. Either way there will be lots of photos of an awesome boat being built by a very talented group.

Dave
www.marinautboats.com

 

[c-ness]

Outstanding!!!

 

[JamesTXSD]

That is a beautiful boat! :thup :thup The pride of workmanship shows - kudos to the team, and congrats to the new owner.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[DoryLvr]

I like it!

 

[hardee]

Oh boy, More "cute boat" and other assorted endearing comments coming up. 'cus it deserves it. Beautiful. Great work guys.

Harvey
SleepyC

 

[Les Lampman]

Whew! Back to the land of the living...I think.

Thanks for all the kinds words, they're much appreciated.

 

[chimoii]

I realise that my comments may be close to heresy if I don't write "Wow, wish I had one". Maybe because I am too new to C-Brats and C-Dory, don't have a relationship or any history with the builder of this boat I can be critical. Hopefully I can express a personal opinion.

Just looking at the pictures in the post I really like the look of the blue coloured hull. The finish looks good [though almost all boats look good when presented by the builder]. I do like the cleats. I don't like the overall lines.

I think the CD 22 or the Venture 23 flow better aesthetically. It seems to me that form has perhaps followed function a little too excessively. Maybe the quest for good headroom in the cabin gives me the impression that the roof line is a bit too high for the hull. Interesting to compare the height/length ratio on the boat. Maybe these photos give the wrong impression.

I really don't like the round window. The slope on the fore deck is undoubtedly to shed water fast, a la original dory design but in this case it comes across as a bit excessive. If I were looking for a boat and saw this at the boat show I may put it on the list of "possibles" but then for $61,000 plus [with a BF 115] I would want to do some comparisons and certainly go for a test ride and 'kick the tires' on a number of boats. In the end, I would go for the boat that forces me to make the least number of compromises [because there are always compromises]. Just based on looks, C-Dory would have the edge at the beginning.

The owner of this boat presumably 'did all the tire kicking' and this is the boat for him. That's perfect, and what really counts.

 

[thataway]

The boat does look very nice! I can see a lot of work--only 4 weeks from molded hull to finished boats? Most people take a year or two!

My question: Is the freeboard less than the C Dory? Or is this an illusion because of the high gold boot stripe?

There is certainly considerable rocker to the shear, and that also gives some illusions. As for the rounding of the cabin top and dog house--I can see that gives more head room without making it look boxy.

 

[Les Lampman]

Hey, being able to express one's opinion (in a sociable way) amongst others with similar interests is what C-Brats is all about.

I personally take no offense from your post whatsoever. There is no perfect boat and there never will be, and mostly because folks come to the table with their own notions of what's "good" and what's "bad".

Beauty is a very subjective thing. Of course the lines of the boat are the one thing we can't change without building new molds so it is what it is. Interior layout, colors, accessories, and just about everything else (including the round windows) can be changed, but not the basic fiberglass hull/cabin shape.

I think one gets a very different "feel" from the Marinaut in person rather than in photos. I don't know why that is but even I notice it from viewing the boat while photographing it to seeing the photo.

Part of it is a bit of an optical illusion that you see in photos but don't tend to see in person. There's a lot of the cabin/deck part above the rub rail. More typical is for the rub rail to be "just" under the side deck of the boat as it usually defines the sheer line. In the Marinaut there is still a lot of "side" showing above the rub rail, that in turn tends to make the hull look "squatty" or less tall than it is in reality (especially with a dark hull). In person the eye seems to focus more on the whole and not see it so distinctly. [Edit: I was typing this as Thataway was posting.]

The next M215 is going to have a light colored hull. We'll see how that looks comparatively. It would be interesting to see an all-white boat with just colored trim stripes...I'm a little afraid of that much white ( ) but it just might work.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I appreciated them.

Les

On Edit: There's also a "feature line" that's just just above the rub rail (it varies from about 2" wide at the bow to 3" wide at the stern). I think if that area (the 'stripe' formed between the top of the rub rail and the feature line) where colored (like say blue) and the hull done in all white (with maybe a blue trim stripe such as we're already using) that might really accentuate the real sheer line and make the boat look a bit more balanced. Guess I'm going to have to learn Photoshop!

 

[rogerbum]

Les, one thing I noticed is that in the photos with the canvas on, the ratio of the length of the cabin to the length of the cockpit looks bigger than with the canvas off or than it does in person. E.g. with the canvas on in the photos, the cockpit looks small relative to the cabin while in "real life" both have the same rough proportions of the CD22.

Personally, I think it's a nice looking boat though this particular color combination is not what I'd chose. I love the round windows and the raked front window - the latter being not only good aesthetics (IMHO) but functionally useful in the amount of space it provides for the electronics shelf w/o taking up much headroom.

 

[Les Lampman]

Hi Roger,

Actually it works that way on the CD22 as well. Whenever we did full camper canvas it made the cockpit (from the outside) look smaller.

The aft-most vertical line of the camper canvas tends to stop the eye whereas the hull really continues on for some distance. Without the camper canvas your eye naturally travels to the (mostly) vertical line of the transom.

Ah, colors! That's why we hand buyers a gel coat color chart, a striping color chart, and an upholstery sample card and tell them "it's all up to you". This is definitely an area of personal choice. In person (and in the water as I found out this morning) the colors of this M215 work better than they do in the photos.

Les

Les, one thing I noticed is that in the photos with the canvas on, the ratio of the length of the cabin to the length of the cockpit looks bigger than with the canvas off or than it does in person. E.g. with the canvas on in the photos, the cockpit looks small relative to the cabin while in "real life" both have the same rough proportions of the CD22.

Personally, I think it's a nice looking boat though this particular color combination is not what I'd chose. I love the round windows and the raked front window - the latter being not only good aesthetics (IMHO) but functionally useful in the amount of space it provides for the electronics shelf w/o taking up much headroom.

 

[dave]

One of the things I really don't like on my boat is the long distance from the grab rails on the top of the cabin to the bow rail. I don't have the arm span to reach one from the other. Not pleasant in rough weather to let go on the way forward. Lengthening the bow rail would add safety to going forward.

 

[starcrafttom]

I love the boat, but I love it as a whole and for what it can be and can do. As you know I sell homes to people. Some people look at a home from the out side and never want to go into it. Others look only at the inside. I have folks that look at a house and can not see past the furniture and wall colors. They can not see what the house would look like with different colors and their own furniture. I and others see the four walls and what we can do with them, move wall, change ceiling, add , subtract.

Its the same way with boats. Susan did not want the 27 because it was smelly and dirty from sitting. There was rot in a wall and water on the gas tanks. The hull was chipped and faded. the galley was useless. I saw all of these things merely as items to be fixed or replaced. Now she loves the boat.

I see this boat for what it can be and what I can use it for. I for one don't care for the round windows but Susan loves them. I care more about how the boat handles. How it cuts the chop and how it will fish. I drove dave's boat at Friday harbor and I drove it hard and fast. This hull handles better then a cd22 in a lot of ways. corners better, planes faster, cuts the chop better( the small stuff). Tracks very well as does a cd22.

I am not a fan of the smaller table and I feel less storage in the cabin but I love the bigger back deck and the hi sides. The enclosed splash well is really nice and just what I wanted to do to my cd22. The side tanks are a great idea and a vast improvement for allowing more storage room. But at the end of the day I would be hard press to choose between Dave's boat and a cape cruiser. I would not be looking at a cd22 over either boat, but that's just me. each of us has different taste and needs.

oh. I think the boat would look better if the color line was higher up on the shear line.

best thing about a ugly boat is that you can see it when you are using it :wink:

 

[Grumpy]

It looked pretty damn good out on the water this morning. Sorry we did not have time to come back to the yard and check it out properly but I'm sure you don't need anyone coming and chatting while you are in the last rush to the finish line.

Thanks once again to the #1 crew at EQ for managing to fit in our engine service and other work while tearing your hair out with the new baby. BTW I stole a couple of dozen of your tame yard spiders :lol: I'll bring them back when they are fatter.

Merv & Kathy

 

[20dauntless]

Thanks once again to the #1 crew at EQ for managing to fit in our engine service and other work while tearing your hair out with the new baby.

I'll second that. EQ installed an autopilot and windlass and redid my battery setup in the midst of preparing the first Marinaut. Thanks! I'll be back sometime this winter for a kicker and shore power installation.

BTW, I really like the 100 gallon optional fuel capacity on the Marinaut. Combined with the great fuel economy Les reported in another thread, it looks like owners should be able to get 400nm on a tank with a 10% reserve at ~20 knots...very impressive!

 

[Aurelia]

Maybe its the angle Les but that canvas doesn't look very good. They are all some form of ugly I guess but you should look at lots of Cbrat albums and experiment with different angles and volumes. The canvas just doesn't look as proud at the rest of the boat. Keep refining....

We looked an many and came up with our own variation and I think you can do the same with the Marinaut. At least in my opinion, ours came out big and tight and purposeful looking while many of the King products and others I have seen on the same boat look a little ill.

Just leave a bimini on at the show, they all look better that way. Or do a permanent T-top bars off the roof type bimini. Some of those make me jealous.

 

[Les Lampman]

One of the things I really don't like on my boat is the long distance from the grab rails on the top of the cabin to the bow rail. I don't have the arm span to reach one from the other. Not pleasant in rough weather to let go on the way forward. Lengthening the bow rail would add safety to going forward.

Thanks Dave!

It's always a tricky thing that bow rail. When you have wide side decks on a boat a long bow rail (extending further aft) is usually a good thing. What I've found on smaller boats (and thus with more narrow side decks) is when you lengthen a bow rail (extend it aft) it can act as a trap point, and since the rail is usually lower aft than it is forward it's often times a perfect height to end up tail-over-teakettle and in the drink.

When the distance from the cabin side to the railing is too narrow to pass one foot around another you have to then depend on a very firm hand grip to ensure not losing your balance. I think it's safer to be able to keep your weight centered over your feet by not having a trap point and allowing movement of your hips and feet to maintain balance.

This of course while always maintaining the age old tradition of "one hand for the ship, one hand for yourself".

The reach from the forward most part of the Marinaut cabin top hand rail and the bow rail is not far. I'm 5' 10" tall without a particularly long reach.

Here's a photo to illustrate:

Thanks for the observation.

 

[localboy]

Congrats again, Dave. That thing is beautiful! 8)

 

[Les Lampman]

Maybe its the angle Les but that canvas doesn't look very good. They are all some form of ugly I guess but you should look at lots of Cbrat albums and experiment with different angles and volumes. The canvas just doesn't look as proud at the rest of the boat. Keep refining....

We looked an many and came up with our own variation and I think you can do the same with the Marinaut. At least in my opinion, ours came out big and tight and purposeful looking while many of the King products and others I have seen on the same boat look a little ill.

Just leave a bimini on at the show, they all look better that way. Or do a permanent T-top bars off the roof type bimini. Some of those make me jealous.

Hi Greg,

Aesthetics are always a tough thing. The funny part is that I designed the radar arch, transom safety rail, and the custom camper canvas that's on an awfully lot of C-Dory 22's (the radar arch and transom rail became "factory" options).

The thing with the camper canvas on the Marinaut is, quite frankly, "how high do you want to go?" You can see that's there's not much rise to the camper top from the aft end of the cabin top, yet there's still 6' 4" of headroom under the stainless bows. It might have looked better with more rise but all that would do is increase the windage, the size of the bows to be stored and added height where non is needed (for most folks).

The width is set by the boat. The length is set because the rear curtain needs to be in front of the motor and because of the "dam" across the back of the Marinaut (the one that runs across in front of the aft decks and motorwell) it makes a natural stopping point and a perfect place for the aft curtains to fix to at their lower ends.

Movement inside the cockpit isn't restricted so one can walk right to the front of the motorwell (or put a chair there) so in order not to lose space (volume) inside the camper canvas the aft curtain is very nearly vertical. Any more slope to it would have meant folks couldn't stand up all the way to the motorwell.

The panel sizes are a natural result of the geometry of the boat. The aft line of the cabin is sloping, not vertical. That means where it meets the side deck is further aft then where it meets the cabin top. If you're going to have a useful entry area (just aft of the cabin) the opening need to be wide enough to be comfortable to use and the sloping cabin back pushes that aft. The entry opening width sets where the pivot point is for the main bow, which in turn sets the length of the entry panel and the aft side panel.

All that remains are the aft panels and the natural breaks there are one for each aft deck and one in the middle for the motorwell.

Unless we do something only for the sake of aesthetics there's not much to change. It's got all the height, width, and length the boat can accommodate.

The nice thing about our boats is that folks get to pick exactly what they want with regard to colors and design (where it can be accommodated). So the new owners of this Marinaut were able to pick a hull color, striping, interior fabric, and camper canvas fabric that they like and will work in their area.

Here is the PNW we're used to seeing darker colors. I'd dare say if the same camper canvas was done in Mediterranean Blue or other dark color it would look more like what you describe.

 

[retnavy]

I think it looks great! wish I could afford it. I do think it needs east coast exposure and I happen to leave on a river that feeds into the Chesapeake bay. With striper season right around the corner the pilot house would be very nice err I mean would get lots of exposure in real life situations, lol.