Shanty Boat 2015

Shanty Boat Project
Our current boat project is building a shanty boat that we can use as a combination travel trailer/house boat. This blog chronicles the boat build from start to finish. Scroll down for the most recent updates, including updated interior photos at the bottom of this posting.

Here is the most recent picture:

Continue to scroll down for start to finish updates:

It took a lot of beer to sketch out the shanty boat.

This is the rough sketch.  It will have a full size bed on one side, a 2-burner propane stove with oven, a separate room with a door for the Nature's Head composting toilet, 2 seats up forward in the steering compartment, and front and back porches.  It is basically 24 ft. x 8 ft. wide.  Sort of an elaborate "Duck."

The first of many shopping trips. 

Gus enjoyed helping Chris get things lined up for cutting.

Laying it out in the drive way. That is not our car.

Coming along nicely, upside down, bulkheads in place.

No complaints from the neighbors, so far.

We bought an old galvanized 2 axle trailer for $250 . It came with an old, junk power boat on it . We were able to salvage the steering, shifter, fuel tanks and down rigger mounts, also we found a small fortress anchor amongst the debris in the cockpit. Chris put all new tires and wheels on it.  As soon as we take the junked power boat to the dump, we will have the trailer available for the shanty boat.

February 2015: 

Another load of plywood:

 I wish we had bought one of these a long time ago -- a sticky pump!
Ordered it from Duckworks along with a few gallons of epoxy, thinner, fiberglass, and a few other things.

Fixin' to get busy putting on the bottom. Those long boards are laying up there for no particular reason.

Most of the bottom on, getting ready to finish bow. Still no complaints from the neighbors although I have perceived a few dark looks.

The stove arrived -- Camp Chef 2burner stove with oven.  We have this same stove on Plover. We like it so much that we bought the same stove for the shanty boat.

Miscellaneous:

Sherpa worked hard while we were cruising the San Juans.

We'll have her looking brand new again soon.

Gus keeps a sharp lookout, even while living on land, while Major snoozes in his bed.

Pool time!

 We picked up a 30 HP outboard for lots of power:



Getting the bottom on (boat is upside down). The areas you see will be filled with flotation material.

Inside Upside Down -- Entrance to bathroom and shelves.

I don't know what happened to the drought.



It kept raining so we bought this carport type thing to keep the rain off without having to cover/uncover with a tarp all the time.  Aren't you glad you don't live next door to us?

The trailer frame is coming along nicely. Chris did all the welding himself which attracted a neighbor who sent over a chair to be mended. 

Rollover Day:

We invited family over for Easter Dinner and tricked them into helping us get the boat rolled over.

Many thanks to Fran Tomsett, Donna Jourdan, Al Alviso, Edrick Alviso, and Suzi Alviso for helping with the roll.

Chris cut out and attached these "rockers" to the side of the boat to assist in rolling:



 Then he started jacking up the boat and putting concrete blocks under it.

We held the boat from the opposite side while he used a cable tied to our truck to pull the boat up into position.  Note the bean bag chairs placed in the landing zone.  I don't believe Chris put those there for me to sit on.

You can see the freshly applied bottom paint (Trinidad antifouling paint).  I only painted the very bottom as the bow and stern still need some work before the paint goes on.





The time span between this picture:

and this one:

occurred in about 3/10 of a second.  Thankfully, the bean bag chairs performed well.

On the driveway, rotated around, and putting the carport back up.

Bulkheads going on, back door framed:

The boat is getting taller so we had to put the carport up a little higher.  Chris made these little stands which worked out quite well until a big storm blew in.  The carport stayed up, however, and we can put it back on the stands when the weather clears.

Gus wants us to hurry up and get finished so we can get back out on the water.

Sides going on. Working after dark.  The neighbors have ceased speaking to us and refuse to make eye contact.



Gus spends his days at anchor while we work on the shanty.

 Looking in through the back door.

 Major and Gus want to know when this silly project is going to end.

Checking out the final piece of the roof.

 

It's been a few weeks since I last posted pictures. I've done lots of painting and Chris has finished out the wheelhouse, the transom,  and constructed the window frames and doors.

 

 

 

 

It seems like the painting will never end. Thankfully, our daughter, Meridith, is here for a few weeks and niece, Melina, has been helping out, as well.

 

Melina painted on the boat's name:

She did a great job.

 

Our next task was to get Scruffy loaded onto the trailer.

We spent 5 hours getting the boat jacked up and on the trailer.  As with everything we do, it was an adventure.  Our first attempt resulted in 2 broken jacks.  Chris went to Northern Tool and got 2 bigger jacks. Our son, James, came over and he and Chris lifted the boat inch by inch while Meridith and I inserted concrete blocks under it. When it was finally high enough, Chris and James pushed the trailer under it. Success was celebrated with ribs and beer!

 

Our first oyster reef.   Just a small crunch.

Nothing damaged except 2 jacks, 2 furniture dollies, and a broken concrete block.

 

A few inches higher.

Levitating:

Almost there.

Success!

Reward for all the hard work:

 

Windows going on, frames to be added at a later date.

 

 

Rudder

 

 

 

 

 

Hanging and testing the outboard

 

Of course, we didn't get Scruffy finished before the TX200, so we launched and went anyway.

 

Here are a few photos of the interior:

 

Steering wheel

 

  

Steering station

 

  

 





 

 

Now that we're back, it's time to get ready for the PlyWooden Boat Festival. 

Maybe we'll have a steering wheel by then.

And the shower finished.

 

 

Redfish caught at Army Hole by James Tomsett.

 

 

 

After the TX200, we didn't do much during the hot months of July and August. However, the Port Aransas PlyWooden Boat Festival was coming up so we finally got around to finishing the interior.  Having a steering wheel has come in handy.

 

 



Our next trip will be to Bayou Teche for their wooden boat festival in April.