Hey r/boatbuilding — I’m Ken. I run a small marine tech startup that’s currently part of a NOAA-supported accelerator.

I’m doing some research on how people actually use electronics on their boats — chartplotters, AIS, wind, depth, alarms, all of it — and where useful information starts turning into too much information.

A big part of what I’m trying to understand is what works well at the helm, what gets ignored, and what ends up competing for your attention when you’re actually underway.

I’d love to talk with a few people here about their setups and real-world experience. It would just be a casual 20-minute conversation.

If you’d be open to chatting, send me a DM and we’ll find a time. I’m also happy to answer any questions about the research or what we’re working on.

Thanks,

Ken

Recently completed my third build of this tiny rowing skiff "Lunch Break". This is the best one yet. A 7'7" boat is not going to be fast undr oars no matter what, but with more rocker than the original and just the right side height, this is super smooth, quite stable, and reasonably fast (3 mph easy, 3.5+ possible). Most importantly, it is very easy to transport--above head, shoulder, car top, behind bike. . . So much fun! I know a better design could be faster but so far I haven't come a professional design this small and simple (suggestions). John Gardner presented two 8' designs, but they are not nearly as simple. I am sure they are better though. I set up the rowing thwart (seat) and oarlock blocks so positions can easily be fine-tuned in the future.

Hello everyone,

I’m looking for a recommendation for the best sanding and grinding tools for fiberglass. I have a few large deck projects on my 47’ fiberglass boat and I’d like to get the best possible tools for heavy grinding for glass prep and for smoothing out glass for paint. We aren’t looking for show quality work but some assortment of tools that would make the job easier, I have access to a 30gal air compressor if pneumatic is the way to go, but there is 110v hook up as well. Cost is not much of a factor but if I could get 2-3 tools for total under $2k that would be nice. Dust collection is semi important as I’d rather not make a huge mess but the boat is at a haul out yard so it comes with the territory. Thanks for any advice!

Is anybody here planning on going to the wooden boat festival in Madisonville, LA this weekend? Such a gem of an event

Greetings all.

This summer, I discovered just how thin my sailboat deck is. My knee went through it, despite me trying to distribute my weight.

I would appreciate suggestions/feedback on how I could possibly repair it and preserve the original look. I suspect I have the following options :

1) Push the indented pieces from below and mount strapping underneath using wood glue. Light sanding, wood filler and staining. The access to the deck is limited as per the photos below.

2) Build a v-shaped patch that could cover the hole and look like a chevron that stretchs to both sides of the boat. The edges would be tapered down, smoothed out. Final step, staining to match the deck.

3) Replace the entire deck at the front of the boat.

There are likely pros and cons to each...

Thanks for any ideas and perspectives. -Andy

I just visited my cabin over the weekend to find out that a tree branch fell on my shed and severely damaged the roof at some point this summer. Luckily the boat and trailer are unscathed. I also learned that a mouse chewed through my boat cover in a few places allowing for subsequent rain fall to leak through my roof and then fill up the inside of my boat.

So yea… I am dealing with a mouse poopy, moldy stagnant water problem inside the boat that I have to work on cleaning up before I bring the boat to my neighbors garage for heated storage over the winter. I am in Michigan if that helps. My neighbor also has an unheated garage too, if we think that the cold will be good for killing off any residual mold spores that may remain over the winter.

Any advice for cleaning up that mess is greatly appreciated.

Also many of the ropes have like a green mold growing in them too. Is there any way to clean the ropes for the halyard and mooring the boat? Or should I just scrap them and buy all new.

Any advice, YouTube videos, diagrams, recommended products etc… are greatly appreciated. This is sort of an unexpected project and I am trying to use has much items/products I have on hand as possible. Not looking to spend hundreds of dollars here.

I am willing to put in the elbow grease though.

Please and thank you!